Getting Control of OCD

Jan. 29 -- Becky, a schoolteacher, is frightened of contamination from cleaning products.

Lee, a chiropractor, fears accidentally bumping into things, and can't walk past a mirror without turning back to look again.

Danielle, who is terrified of eating with plastic utensils, obsessively washes her hands.

Each has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, an illness that affects as many as 3.3 million adults and about 1 million children every year. It can ruin lives and even drive some people to thoughts of suicide.

It is also a disorder that is so embarrassing to sufferers that most never seek help. On average, people see three to four doctors and spend at least nine years seeking treatment before they get a correct diagnosis, and even then, it can take even more years to get the right treatment.

But Becky, Lee and Danielle — who all wanted their last names withheld — went to McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., where the OCD Institute is a last resort for people in the grip of compulsion.

"It's sort of the purest form of torture, because these are people that aren't crazy or insane, and yet they're unable to see that ... or unable to stop what they're doing," said Dr. Michael Jenike, who heads the institute. At the clinic, patients learn how to overcome their obsessions by confronting their fears head-on.

People Don’t Understand

It is unclear what causes OCD, but some speculate that it could be hereditary, while others say it may be the result of a chemical imbalance of serotonin, a neurotransmitter linked to mood and depression. But other brain chemicals are almost certainly involved, and stress can be a trigger for it as well.

Because of their odd behavior, people with obsessive compulsive disorder are misunderstood, and often miserable about their obsessions.

"I never had a normal childhood," said Danielle.

"I've been called, lazy, stupid, inconsiderate," Becky said. "Even people who know I have the disorder just don't understand."