Hi all -

finally, I am in the position to make a re-start with the blog. I want to thank you for being patient, many of you looked here from time to time to see whether there is anything new.

So we’re heading for the 30,000 mark in terms of visits/visitors – that’s a wonderful thing.

I decided to do the following: to start again, in a more focused manner, and not to wade through all previous posts and re-writing and ordering these. That is a very time-consuming thing to do, and I do not have that time. See the past stuff as some point of entry. All of this means that I will, in all probability, write things that already were brought under your collective attention. But all in all I think that it will be the most fruitful way to continue.

Furthermore, I will reply to comments that have been sent in the meantime. Thanks to those who did that.

That’s it for now, folks. Have a great day, Frank.

Important Announcement – A Book On OCD From The Perspective Of Patients

Hello everyone -

I am honoured and thankful that I can tell my readers about a to-be-published book on OCD, that is unique. It was written from the perspective of those who deal most intimately with the disorder, or rather: disorders present in this complex and incapacitating illness: the sufferers themselves.

It will be highly useful and provide comfort and knowledge to patients and those close to them. And it will be available at a very affordable price.

Now I am proud to publish here a description by the author herself. I am certain that many of you out there will be interested, and may want to get to know much, more about OCD, from the patients’ perspective. I only would like to emphasize that my blog has no commercial intentions whatsoever, and also that there’s a truly wonderful non-profit website for people who suffer from OCD and related disorders: it is www.ocdaction.org.uk and has proved to be immensely helpful and informative for yours truly.

Here’s the author’s description of her efforts and achievements:

____________________________________________

 
Obsessions, Compulsions and Optimism: True, Honest and Brave Accounts from those who really know what it is like to  Live with OCD….the Sufferers. Hi, my name is Anne Watkins and I have had severe contamination OCD for well over 40 years which is currently around 80% under control. As with many OCD sufferers, my OCD waxes and wanes according to the pressure I am under and how happy and fulfilled I feel. I was lucky enough to have a 12 year respite as a result of going to The Bethlem, and then seeing a wonderful homoeopath who cured my clinical depression once and for all. This allowed me to take an A level, go to University and obtain a BA, and MA and a PhD. When I stopped studying I had a relapse because my brain was not fully occupied but with the help of a great therapist (Morgan) and a week’s course at the OCD Clinic at Tiverton, I am now more able to fight back and deal with my obsessive thoughts.

Just over two years ago, I joined several OCD forums and realised how many other OCD sufferers are struggling just like I was – some without any expert help. I also read several self help books but found that they did not give the whole picture. Firstly, because most were written by professionals without OCD, they tended to understate the complexity of the condition. For instance, I was already aware that most OCD’ers have more than one subtype and have other conditions including depression, eating disorders, ADHD or autism and that many have suffered trauma and may self harm. I knew from personal experience that uncontrolled OCD leads to under performance at school and college, affects job prospects and can result in the inability to work at all. I also knew beyond any doubt from my time at The Bethlem and on the various OCD forums that one size does not fit all. Some sufferers will find medications helpful, many will not. Some will embrace CBT / ERP and find that it brings enormous relief with or without medications, but many will not – especially those with Pure O. Finally, I was very well aware that the need for support from family and friends is vital for recovery and for retaining control. Accordingly, it was absolutely clear to me that what was lacking was a book which deals with OCD in a holistic fashion. And the only people who could write such a book are OCD sufferers.

I started by compiling an extensive on line and paper survey which was very different from those used by the professionals as it entirely comprised questions posed by sufferers. With the help of a friend, I launched the survey on a UK and U.S. forum and obtained 230 completed surveys. It has taken a year and a half to analyse the data and collect stories, book reviews coping tips and poems from sufferers from three different continents but it has been so worth the effort. The end result is sad and joyful, challenging and inspiring and extremely helpful. Indeed, I have learned so much more about OCD since starting the project.

The book is now finished but, alas, it was turned down by the publisher who was interested for economic reasons. I therefore felt that the best ways forward was to use some of my savings to self publish. This may mean that there are no profits to be passed on to OCD Charities, but, as the main reason for the book was to help other sufferers this price is worth paying. In order to go ahead, I still need 30 more people to say they will buy a copy. The price will be £10 per copy.  Please will you let me know if you would. Thanks so much, Anne Watkins.

______________________________________

I will ask Anne about how those interested can contact her in person in the best way ASAP. In the meantime, please drop a comment here on this, or mail to:

ocd.book.by.patients@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your interest, and also on behalf of Anne: many, many thanks!

_________________________

As promised, here is the update, to provide you with options for contact with the writer herself; these are her personal Facebook page, and a Facebook page dedicated to the book. Here goes:

http://www.facebook.com/anne.watkins2

http://www.facebook.com/anne.watkins2#!/pages/The-Project-A-Book-for-sufferers-of-OCD-by-Sufferers-of-OCD/125609457479139

So there are multiple ways to make your interest in this wonderful book project known.

And do stay tuned, dear readers!

Blog To Be Resumed

After quite a long period the blog will continue shortly. Personal circumstances stopped me from posting, despite the fact that I indeed wanted to carry on with providing information. I am happy to say that the matters in question have been resolved. In the next couple of days, I will trawl through that which I already have written (believe me, it can be surprising to get to know again which topics already have been covered…).

Moreover, I will streamline that which is already there a bit. There is some duplication, and perhaps I will also have to change the order of posts around a bit. But I will return next week. And also reply to the comments that have been made in the interim.

As always, thanks for your attention, and for the kind words, and: see you again soon!

Well, Yes, We’re Still On Air!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, all my nice plans nosedived. Hope that my dear readers still do a regular check whether new posts will appear – they will, believe me. One thing about an unwanted and long pause is that I must devote some time to look up what I already wrote about… which surely will happen.

Another and unrelated problem is that I must decide to what level of complexity I will aspire; and also which level of ‘simplicity’ is fit for a general readership. Does Joe Public know what a neuron is, for instance? Or messenger molecules in the brain? Perhaps I’ll simply write beforehand about which knowledge I suppose to be already present with my readers, and/or which level of schooling is more or less required to understand concepts such as connectivity in the brain, gray and white matter, synapses and receptors, and so on. It’s a bit hard to say: well, after all you can search for each and every term in Wikipedia…

Stay tuned, and this is also directed at the people who took time and made the effort to give a comment lately. Sorry for my being so late… but better late than never.

Ciao, Frank.

OCD, Why Is It A Neurological Disorder?

At the risk of repeating myself: OCD is a neurological illness. That is something I find important to emphasize. OCD and other anxiety and mood disorders are still viewed by many to be the product of a ‘warped mind’, something immaterial. Something that cannot be seen, not even if you were to lift the skull of a person; a figment of the imagination. Perhaps even something simulated by persons who want to exempt themselves from society, in one way or another. I happen to know of politicians who really use such an opinion to win over voters who are at best ignorant, and at worst really malicious and greedy (after all: treatment and benefits for patients with mental problems cost taxpayers’ money).

People can’t simulate a disorder like OCD. No one ever can be always ‘on guard’, and continuously monitor themselves as to their ‘performance’ of the role of patient.

Moreover, OCD does have a biological substrate, or better: it does have several biological substrates in the brain; areas that are affected, that are associated with the disorder. Note the use of the word ‘associated’, it’s important. Scientists use it to make clear that one state of things is somehow occurring together with another state of affairs, without assuming causality in one direction or another. Something that co-occurs with something else can be the cause of that other phenomenon; or it can be the consequence; or both can be related to a third and as yet unknown, unidentified substrate or state.

Many findings in research are suggestive; if a certain area of the brain is known to be involved in the processing of fear, and we present a photo of a fearful event to a test person; and if that area in our subject gets very active in our laboratory, as seen on some scanning picture – then it is highly tempting to jot down: fearful photo causes hyperactivity in this or that area.

That is not totally wrong, but it’s overenthusiastic in its claim. We don’t know all the variables. We don’t know whether the subject will react that way with only this type of photo, or with just any photo (perhaps the person has a hitherto unknown disorder called ‘photophobia’…). Or he/she is very afraid of having a scan made of the brain. Or the researcher just brings about a lot of fear after a certain amount of time. Or second, third, fourth as yet unknown brain areas are the true cause of our ‘suspect’ area showing a lot of activity.

And that is why we must be cautious with assuming direct causality. Therefore, we use terms like ‘association’, or ‘correlation’. Yes, we keep our options open that way, but it’s not because we are cowards. We are careful.

Now, what do we know about brain areas (also called: ‘regions of interest’, ROIs) potentially involved in OCD? A lot, in fact. What’s more: despite all due caution we have to observe, the actual function of several brain areas, and the symptoms observed in OCD lend credibility to what we can see in scientific assessments. The results of these are related to:

• the metabolism of nerve cells
• the viability of nerve cells
• the activity in a number of ROIs
• the size of some ROIs
• the shape of some ROIs
• the connections between different ROIs
• the actual parts that ROIs play in complex circuits

For now, I will leave you with some posh names to remember: major brain ‘players’ in OCD are:

• the cortex
• the basal ganglia
• the thalamus
• the insula
• the corpus callosum
• the amygdala
• the cerebellum

 

Most likely, there are more ROIs.  But this list will suffice for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry For The Inconvenient Gap

Dear readers -

apologies for the unforeseen gap in posting. Personal circumstances prevented me from fulfilling my promises re: continuation of the blog. I hope you will keep tracking this weblog – from what I gathered, some 100 faithful daily watchers were on the lookout for new info.

It is pretty adventurous to know that there will be more of a scientific approach in the future; I am quite wary of specific dangers inherent in such a treatment, not the least of these is that it will be too dry, too uninviting. So I hope to incorporate the familiar too – I mean: not that what you already know, but what can be grasped by people with and without OCD, immediately, and lead to a better understanding. My favourite example at the moment is: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). And that is because people tend to hide such afflictions in shame, because they probably think they’re alone with them; or secretly hope that ‘it’ll be gone on one fine day’. That, and I speak from experience, causes a lot of sadness and grief. And loneliness too.

So: please don’t give up and watch this space!

Sorry, Two More Days…

…before, em, ‘normal service’ will be resumed (personal matters prevented me from writing new material today).

See you!