S. wrote to me recently. It was quite inspiring, and he gave me permission to share it with you, my readers.
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Dear Ms. Pedrick:
Recently I happened upon your OCD site and found it most impressive! I am 50 years old and it was only some 5 years ago that I realized (with the assistance of a knowledgeable therapist) that I had had OCD literally ever since I can remember. I now recognize many of my childhood behaviors, even very early childhood behaviors, as manifestations of OCD. Like so many OCD sufferers, I developed a very intense form of OCD in my late teens and early twenties, partly, I think, as a result of doing drugs (marijuana, LSD, etc.). Depression ensued, interspersed with attacks which I interpreted as the onset of madness.
To cope with these problems I engaged in wild, self-destructive behavior, which entailed heavy drinking, aggressive behavior (e.g., fighting), and reckless and risk-taking actions. I thought my problem to be a mental illness attributable to character flaws and a damaged soul. "Insight" therapy was utterly useless. Meditation was useless. Relaxation techniques were useless. I was clinically depressed and suffering from chronic OCD without knowing it. I am sometimes astonished that I survived the period. It was only through the grace of God that I did. Other activities that alleviated the symptoms and related problems included writing, physical activity, reading, studying, and, finally, my Catholic faith.
But what really turned the tide against OCD was finding a behavioral therapist who specialized in OCD. I had suspected I had OCD after reading an article about it in the Chicago Tribune; shortly thereafter I "fired" my therapist and sought out a behavioral therapist who knew all about OCD. He put me on Prozac and worked with me to develop exercises for dealing with OCD--exercises which, I am given to understand, ultimately achieve positive (i.e., anti-OCD) changes in brain chemistry. I am a Prozac-CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) success story. Prozac was a miracle drug for me. And the OCD-directed CBT has had equally wondrous, I daresay miraculous effects. Without the therapy, the Prozac would have been merely a stopgap measure, a temporary fix.
I should note that recommitting to Roman Catholicism was the key to maximizing the unitary effects of Prozac and CBT. For that reason I am convinced that future research into treating and curing OCD should address the therapeutic/healing benefits of true faith and spirituality (as opposed to OCD ritualized spirituality, which is a sort of "false religion," if you will).
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