‘Learning to live with OCD is a little mantra I often repeat’: Understanding the lived experience of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) in the contemporary therapeutic context

Murphy, Helen; Perera-Delcourt, Ramesh

doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.2012.02076.x

Cited by 21 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Given our limited level of knowledge on seeking help for OCD, there is a particular need for in‐depth studies. We found five qualitative studies with a bearing on this area: one on anticipated stigma and actual experience of stigma (Stengler‐Wenzke, Beck, Holzinger, & Angermeyer, ), one on pathways to psychiatric care (Stengler‐Wenzke & Angermeyer, ), and three on the lived experience of OCD, including the experience of stigma (Fennell & Liberato, ; Harrington, ; Murphy & Perera‐Delcourt, ). However, we found no qualitative studies specifically examining the barriers and enablers in seeking help for OCD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): a qualitative study of the enablers and barriers conducted by a researcher with personal experience of OCD

2017

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People with OCD may face a wide range of barriers to seeking help, including concern about the reaction of health professionals. The level of awareness, kindness, and understanding shown by first-line practitioners can be very important to those seeking help. Acknowledging a person's journey prior to seeking help is likely to foster trust between therapist and patient. Some barriers to seeking help, for example, fear of criminalisation, may continue to have an important effect afterwards unless sensitively explored and understood.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): a qualitative study of the enablers and barriers conducted by a researcher with personal experience of OCD

2017

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“…Similarities with other qualitative studies are striking. For example, this study's theme of ‘The battle of living with OCD’ maps onto Murphy and Perera‐Delcourt's () theme of ‘Failing at life’. Furthermore, stigma and difference as described in the current study are omnipresent across qualitative studies on OCD, for example ‘Wanting to be normal and fit in’ (Murphy & Perera‐Delcourt, ); ‘Feeling different’, ‘Personal shame’, and ‘Stigmatisation’ (Brooks, ), ‘OCD is a ‘joke’ condition – not recognised as serious’ (Fennell & Liberato, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…They identified four overarching themes, which included participants ‘interrogating their feelings to achieve a sense of certainty’; ‘ceaselessly and carefully’ seeking to be reassured in a range of ways; experiencing a ‘reluctance to seek reassurance’; and finally, experiencing ‘interpersonal concern’ due to feelings of embarrassment, guilt, gratitude and compensation. An interpretative phenomenological analysis involving adults with an OCD diagnosis (Murphy & Perera‐Delcourt, ) identified that people ‘wanted to be normal and fit in’; felt that they were ‘failing at life’; and wanted to ‘find the roots’ of their difficulties. Furthermore, an auto‐ethnographic study of an adult highlighted how the fear of stigmatisation, a strong sense of personal shame, and feeling ‘different’ functioned to keep obsessions private (Brooks, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The battle of living with obsessive compulsive disorder: a qualitative study of young people's experiences

Keyes

Nolte

Williams

2017

Child Adoles Ment Health

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Background: There has been an abundance of studies that have employed quantitative methods to research obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and its neurobiology and neurochemistry. However, there appears to be a paucity of research investigating how OCD is experienced by those living with the diagnosis, particularly young people. Method: A qualitative cross-sectional semistructured interview design was used to address this lack of research. Ten young people, aged 14-17 years old, with a diagnosis of OCD were recruited from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the United Kingdom. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Four themes were identified: 'Traumatic and stressful life events', 'Responses to signs of OCD', 'The battle of living with OCD' and 'Ambivalent relationship to help'. Young people reported experiencing stressful or traumatic life events prior to obsessive and compulsive behaviour. OCD behaviours were misunderstood by the young people and others, leading to delays in finding help. A sense of shame among the young people led them to keep their OCD secret due to feeling 'crazy'. The all-encompassing nature of OCD led the young people to withdraw socially. Most of the young people experienced an inner conflict between fighting and giving in to the compulsions. Conclusions: Traumatic experiences may be an important factor in the development of OCD for young people, which might indicate a direction for prevention. The sense of shame and stigma needs addressing if young people are to access help earlier. Education of the public, medical professionals and educators should be a priority. Key Practitioner Message• Where young people are given a diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), formulations of their difficulties should attend to previous traumatic or stressful life events and addressing these should form a central part of therapy.• Interventions that help young people with an OCD diagnosis to connect with other young people with similar difficulties should be given priority. This could include support groups, and also leaflets, booklets and videos developed by or in collaboration with experts by experience.• A family-based approach to therapy should be offered where clinicians and family members can help guide exposure therapy in a graded and supportive manner in the young person's everyday settings outside of the therapy room. Intervention should also include psycho-education for family members.• Training sessions for school staff involved in the schooling of a young person with an OCD diagnosis as part of a therapy plan could help teachers understand the young person's difficulties and how to respond to it and best support the young person. Clinicians could also contribute to awareness-raising in schools to combat stigma.• Further qualitative research with young people who experience obsessive and compulsive behaviour can increase our understanding of their lived experiences, the impact of their difficulties on their lives and relationships and what they find helpf...

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“…It may be important to consider another subjective facet in the definition of recovery. Every mental disorder intrinsically entails a component of self-stigma, but this is particularly true for OCD, where diminished self-esteem is related to the perceived ego-dystonicity of the symptoms and the insight harbored by a high proportion of patients ( Catapano et al, 2001 ; Murphy and Perera-Delcourt 2014 ). Moreover, it is questionable how a term that derives from the Inquisition Era, such as “obsessive-compulsive disorder” referring to a lucid demonic possession ( Robbins 1959 ), is still included in the current nosography.…”

Section: Recovery: Application Of the Concept To Ocdmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Treatment Response to Recovery: A Realistic Goal in OCD

Burchi

Hollander

Pallanti

2018

International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

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Despite longitudinal studies reporting symptomatic remission rates ranging from 32% to 70%, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is considered a persistent and very disabling disorder. However, these studies suggest that recovery can be a realistic goal for a subgroup of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder population and that a clear definition of recovery is timely in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The aim of this paper is to discuss the dimensions of and propose an operational definition of recovery in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Considering the impact generated by the definition of recovery for other mental disorders, this article discusses how this concept may shape the future of research and clinical practice in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Ultimately, the hope is that the management of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder may parallel, and expand upon, some of the current approaches implemented in the care of schizophrenia, so that early diagnosis, stepped-care techniques, and a personalized approach can be used to create recovery-oriented treatment programs and influence policy making for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

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‘Learning to live with OCD is a little mantra I often repeat’: Understanding the lived experience of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) in the contemporary therapeutic context

Cited by 21 publications

References 40 publications

Seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): a qualitative study of the enablers and barriers conducted by a researcher with personal experience of OCD

Seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): a qualitative study of the enablers and barriers conducted by a researcher with personal experience of OCD

The battle of living with obsessive compulsive disorder: a qualitative study of young people's experiences

From Treatment Response to Recovery: A Realistic Goal in OCD

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