In a book called "Freedom From Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" by Jonathon Grayson, the author says...

"Imagine I'm holding a gun to your head or to the heads of your loved ones. I tell you that if you ritualize, I'll shoot. I'm not leaving, so this is not a matter of waiting. Under these circumstances, will you engage in your rituals? If the answer is no, that you would resist, then you are admitting it is a choice." (pg. 23)

What do you all think about this?

I think it dangerously oversimplifies the problem...What defines OCD as a DISORDER is that we would NEED this exact situation to happen in order for us to control the ritual.

As soon as the proverbial "gun" were removed, we would go right back to worrying! This is not because our worry is a "choice"...it's because the gun gives us something STRONGER to worry about, and we worry about the gun in the same way we worried about whatever we were ritualizing over!

I agree it is an oversimplificaton. To be able to moderate OCD behavior you have to know that you are engaged in them, and that is not always easy to do.

I have ocd tendencies... maybe we could call it mild OCD, or not... whatever...
But usually by the time I repeat a ritual 3-4 times I realize I am doiung it... and once I realize where I am at I am able to resist the impulse to continue. For me it is no more difficult than stifling a sneeze, but I have to know that I am about to sneeze first...

I can imagine that someone with severe ocd is going to have a tough time resisting the compulsion to do whatever, and find it difficult to purge their mind of obesssive thoughts.

In my opinion, caling it a "choice" is just not facing the facts when it comes to severe ocd.

I think that one can chose to adopt strategies to overcome OCD, and I think that even severe OCD can be overcome, but not by simple rationalization.

ME :D

I wouldn't even classify this as an oversimplification; I think it's just plain wrong.

There is absolutely nothing in the OCD description of symptoms that says one cannot resist the urges. What it says is that resisting causes extreme anxiety (hence the classification of it as an anxiety disorder) that is not relieved until the compulsion is carried out.

I don't have OCD, but I think I understand it, and this bothers me.

I couldn't agree more that Grayson is a bit off in his assessment. I can’t speak for all but even in the moment of worrying about the situation I would still find the compulsion to be overwhelming and the battle within me would trigger an attack. With my OCD I lack the ability to just let things go, despite the threats, ultimatums, etc. This sensation is much worse when I feel out of control in other areas of my life, to the point where I essentially hyper focus on the "ritual," generally the thing that is out of place. You can talk to me but I won't hear you until the item is back where it “belongs” and it actually pains me for it to remain displaced. I HAVE to fix it. There are rituals that I HAVE to do or I can’t function. Just thinking about the scenario creates a sense of helplessness in me. I KNOW that I would just breakdown given the stated situation...no doubt in my mind and it more than bothers me.

Now I won't waste my time trying to read it. Reading books is torture for me anyway.


When I was about 10, my substitute aftercare lady's husband, Mr. Palmer, tried to frighten, intimidate, scary talk me out of my trichotillomania. What an :mad:#@$%$%$ It didn’t help that while returning from a walk to the corner store, an hour earlier, his oldest son found an injured bird on the ground and “put it out of it’s misery,” right in front of me.” :eek: :( :confused: :faint:<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:12pt; height:12pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:DOCUME~1ANGELA~1LOCALS~1Tempmsohtml11clip_image 001.gif" o:href="http://www.addforums.com/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

I was so terrified by this giant of a man that I spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in his daughter's playhouse in the back yard pulling with more fury than I ever had before.

Thirty years later, my heart still pounds when I think about that family.

I recently sat at my desk at work and pulled out every single eyelash, after not pulling them for years. I didn't even realize I did it until I went to the bathroom and when I stopped to wash my hands I looked in the mirror and freaked out.I don't even know I'm doing things, like pulling my hair, eating too much, just panicking.

I'd be afraid I'd lose and either me or my loved one would get shot.