Friday, August 19, 2005

Fan mail: OCD explained

From time to time, I get letters from my fans telling me how much they worship the ground I blog on and how my blog has changed their lives friends who read my blog and today I would like to take the time to answer a question that was posed by one:

Question from a fan...

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). For more detailed explanation, please visit the National Institute of Mental Health or the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation.

According to Psych Central, there have been quite a lot of famous people who have either publicly talked about their OCD, or otherwise been identified with the disorder:



  • Howard Hughes
  • Roseanne Barr
  • Howie Mandel
  • Martin Scorsese
  • Howard Stern
  • Michelangelo
  • Stanley Kubrick
  • Harrison Ford
  • Penelope Cruz
  • Billy Bob Thornton
  • Volkert van der Graaf
  • Paul Gascoigne
  • Kathie Lee Gifford
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Donald Trump
  • Cameron Diaz
  • Albert Einstein
  • David Beckham
  • Charlie Sheen
  • Leonardo DiCaprio
  • Fred Durst
  • Michael Jackson


  • Interesting to note that we had Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, both with OCD. Recent years some of you may have watched the show "Monk" where Tony Shalhoub plays an OCD detective. In 1997's "As Good As It Gets", Jack Nicholson played a OCD writer and ended up with a Oscar for his effort, though some would argue that his portrayal is unrealistic.

    Therefore, you can't really tell if a person has OCD just by appearance. Take a good look at my brother.... Does he look like one?


    "Who said limpeh OCD?"

    His usual routine is something like:

    1) wake up and take a bath
    2) go to work
    3) come back from work
    4) laze around watching tv
    5) vacuum the floor
    6) if got dried clothes, then iron clothes
    7) after ironing, vacuum the floor
    8) if bought something back for dinner, eat at home
    9) after finish eating, clean the table and vacuum the floor
    10) laze around watching TV
    11) vacuum the floor
    12) wash clothes
    13) vacuum the floor
    14) maybe mop the floor
    15) take a bath
    16) watch TV eating snack
    17) vacuum the floor
    18) go to sleep

    notice any odd pattern?