enquiry

[Guest guest]

Dear Fellows

I am new to the group. The reason why I joined is that my son, who is 23 years

old, suffers from OCD. I've a feeling that the answer to his problem is not

difficult and might be in one sentence told to him, but provided it's

convincing.

The problem started 3 years back when he felt that putting on his hand watch

exerts a feeling of anxiety and doesn't allow him to think well, it tightens on

his arm and he needs to be freed. Strange, before this new feeling he had, he

used to wear his watch without any problem, but apparently as his studies became

more difficult and apparently started to exert much pressure on him so it might

have triggered his OCD. The same applied to wearing a shirt as it tightened on

his neck. We bought a book called " Brain Lock: free yourself from obsessive

compulsive disorder " where it shows on a picture inside that there are 2 doors

one called damned if he enters while the other is also damned if he doesn't.

There is satin standing behind him compelling him to enter in either doors. It

seems that both doors are not the choice which is rather perplexing and it

really torments him and made him suffer. For one thing, to put it on makes him

more anxious so he can't think well (when he

submit exams, he doesn't put his watch on and he checks the time from his

mobile phone) , whereas if he doesn't wear it, it's also a problem simply

because everybody wears a watch so he feels he's crazy. Further, if he subsides

to these crazy thoughts it applies to other things so he will become more and

more isolated from society, for instance he doesn't like to drive his car as it

might run into an accident, etc.... His psychiatrist (one of them) thinks he has

a weak personality. His mother is convinced that once he finishes his studies

and acquires his B.SC., no more stresses on him and therefore his OCD will not

influence his life. I advised him to forget about checking the time and he can

equally forget about the watch forever. He is not convinced because the same

attitude can be applied to other experiences in life and he wants to be like

everybody else. Incidentally, I myself have an OCD (I wash my hands and keys

often when I feel that I made them dirty by other

things belonging to other people). But my son said my problem is much easier

than his and is called OCPD. For washing my belongings cancel out my OCD and it

isn't damned. Actually I feel I have no problem whatsoever for it doesn't stop

my life at all. If I don't use other people belongings, then I don't wash my

hands all day through. It's a matter of getting disgusted (wrong idea) but has

to do with other people. For instance, I hate to shake hands with other people.

If I feel they are angry, I do it then rush to wash my hands. But afterwards, my

life goes very smoothly.

So now my question is whether to tell him: wear your watch even if it

distracts him or else don't wear it but suffer the consequence that it might be

equally valid for other things. The book says there is a third door by

forgetting completely about the issue and try to distract yourself by a lot of

reading, sports, etc,…So perhaps as his mother and doctor claim once he finishes

his studies, he will assign to every item its real value.

Can one tell me how he can get out of his thoughts and manages his life. Help

pls if you can.

A tormented father: Adel Ezz

Adel_ezz1000@...

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