Backstage Television It's all in the brain: A review of A&E's Obsessed
| 06 June 2009
Since I was 12-years-old I have had some sort of mental tic or anxiety that cries out for the soothing relief of a compulsive thought, repeated phrase or outright ritual. It all began with an irrational fear of becoming homosexual in the sixth grade. From there it transformed into worries about turning into a serial killer or some other vile character. By the time high school came around the thoughts were fixated on misfortune caused by my failure to tap a table or surface or cu
t through the kitchen at a 90 degree angle right in front of my family's dishwasher. In college the thoughts became even more strange, absorbed with religious, philosophical and scientific questions.
It wasn't until a decade after the symptoms began in which I even knew for sure that what I was dealing with was not about the importance of particular distressing thoughts. Rather, it was with a quirk of brain chemistry and electric wiring that at least three percent of the world has: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Up to this point OCD has probably been the only particularly debilitating thing in my life. Combined with it's cousin Panic disorder, it's wreaked a bit of havoc during my early and mid-20's. I have no doubt that I will always have this disorder, as it is hardwired into the brain. It has taken years to realize how bizarre I've behaved with it in the past and how draining and alienating it can become. Nevertheless, I still can have a sense of humor about the strange brain tic that has bothered me since the early 90s.
I was very pleased last week with the premiere of A&E's Obsessed, a reality show that details the treatment plans of people suffering from severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the type that doubtless alienates many people. Obsessed dealt with the disorder in a decent, humane and unexploitive way that may possibly help some people out there suffering from far worse OCD than I could ever imagine get some help with it.
The first two patients Obsessed highlighted live with common although very intense fixations of the disorder. Scott, a succssful 43-year-old contractor, with an impressive house in Southern California was obsessed with cleanilness in an extremely unhealthy way. During his work with a his therapist Scott was challenged to expose himself to the discomfort caused by the uncertainty that germs and viruses may or may not be covering the surfaces in his immaculately polished home. He admits to going through multiple bottles of Purrell each week and clogging toilets and giving himself toilet paper abrasions.
During one of his in-house therapy sessions, Scott's psychiatrist challenges himself to touch countertops without washing his hands. She even stops by his house during her period and explicitly tells him she will be using his bathroom, causing her patient to become visably frightened to his core.
"You want to throw a bloody tampon in a receptacle in my house?" he asks, before consenting to allow him to use his bathroom.
After several months of treatment Scott,
progresses to the point where he feels comfortable having "contaminating" visitors in his home and even invites his boyfriend to come live with him.
Helen, the other patient highlighted in the premiere episode has an unhealthy fixation with the thought that driving on the 710 freeway will automatically cause her to crash and die. Although she admits to suffering from obsessions throughout her entire life, the death of her father on the 710 had become her primary point of fixation.
Mental illness is a awful lot for a person to go through and one that can really alienate not just the sufferer but the folks around them. One of Helen's three young sons is smart enough to realize that his mother - in order to ward off some unintended consequence - puts on the bloodstained clothes that his grandfather perished in.
During her treatment, the thirtysomething Helen is put to the test, directed to prepare herself for the the ultimate in exposure therapy, which will be a drive on the 710 freew
ay. Like Scott's therapist, Helen's is patient but firm. In order to conquer her fears, she must learn to live with uncertainty. Eventually, after weeks of consultation and assessment he is able to prod Helen into his car as he takes a trip with her on the roadway she fears so much. The viewer is uneasy as he watches, particularly those of us who have ever suffered from unreasonable fears and intense anxiety. I could feel her heart racing as her psychiatrist maneuvered the busy expressway. He was compassionate, but firm. To add extra dramatic value to the episode, they went to visit the gravesite of Helen's father. As was the case with the premiere episode of Obsessed, the cemetary visit was tasteful. There wasn't the slathered on exploitation that comes with a lot of reality television. Clearly, both OCD sufferers will always have their disorder but one walks away from the program with the knowledge that neuroscience and applied psychiatry have opened important doors to helping people with these disorders live more full and gratifying lives.
The best moments of the show - and I'm not the sappiest person out there - was seeing Scott able to invite his partner into live with him after years of relationships cut short by his brain ailment and seeing the young single mother take the 710 with her boys to a day at the beach. I'd recommend this show.
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