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Photo OCD Action

OCD Week of Action

Mental health professionals are marking ‘OCD Week of Action’ by encouraging people to speak out about the illness – and challenge the way it’s viewed in society. ‘OCD Week of Action’ runs from Monday 19 – Sunday 25 February 2018.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most common mental health conditions, and affects over 60,000 people in Sussex alone. Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health and learning disability services for all ages in Sussex, as well as services for children and young people in Hampshire, is calling for people to understand this condition and be sensitive about how it affects people’s lives.

OCD is a long-term mental health condition which causes the sufferer to have obsessive and distressing thoughts, and compulsive behaviours. It can affect anyone of any age, but it is believed to usually develop around puberty. There are a number of different reasons why someone might develop OCD, such as a significant life event (bereavement, bullying or abuse), a feeling of not having control over their life, or from having a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Sussex Partnership provides specialist services to support adults and young people who are suffering from OCD, including the OCD clinic in Hove, which offers support to the people of East Sussex who are suffering from the condition.

Dr Rick Fraser, Chief Medical Officer of Sussex Partnership said: “We all have ways we like to do things and behaviour and personality traits which make us who we are. Some of us are more organised, some of us like things to be neat and tidy, and some of us experience anxiety more than others might – but this in most cases is not OCD. As part of OCD Week of Action, Sussex Partnership is encouraging everyone to consider how they use the term ‘OCD’, such as not using phrases like being ‘a bit OCD’, which can trivialise what is a very real and distressing mental health condition for many people.”

Emily, who received treatment from The OCD Clinic in East Sussex, said: “I think a lot of people think OCD is just ‘being neat’ or ‘washing your hands all the time’. Those are common things that people with OCD do, but the vital difference is that we do our rituals and behaviours because we think that if we don’t, bad things will happen. Everyone has irrational thoughts, but people with OCD dwell on these irrational thoughts, and start to believe that they have to do everything they possibly can to prevent them from happening.

“I was diagnosed with OCD when I was about 16. I became very stressed whilst doing my GCSE’s and this manifested itself into behaviours and rituals. These behaviours became such a problem that I found it impossible to continue my studies and had to put a temporary stop to my education.

“Now I have learnt how to manage my OCD, my life is so much more positive. OCD is still, and most likely will always be, a part of my life but now I know how to take the control back, it does not affect my life as much as it did.”

Our_valuesTo find out more about OCD go to www.ocduk.org or to find out more about the services that Sussex Partnership provides for people experiencing OCD, go to www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/condition-obsessive-compulsive-disorder.

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Posted 08:36 Sunday, Feb 18, 2018 In: Health Matters

1 Comment

  1. Glen Davies

    AT LAST SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME ‘being a bit OCD’ IS OFFENSIVE TO PEOPLE LIKE ME AND OTHER SUFFERERS OF OCD I WAS DIAGNOSED 25 YEARS AGO AND HAVE TO WORK HARD EVERY DAY TO GET THROUGH THE DAY USING TOOLS I HAVE LEARNT!!!! I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A YOUNG AS 4 HAVING TO RITUALISE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS IT AIN’T FUNNY

    Comment by Glen Davies — Wednesday, Feb 21, 2018 @ 23:30

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