Living with OCD Interviews:
Clyde
Clyde
Clyde has a son who was diagnosed with OCD around age 11. Clyde told me it was a two month process to get a diagnosis. He described how his son experienced tics that could last hours. He depicted his son tying himself in knots and sometimes not being able to talk, or speaking in a way that made it seem as if he regressed to a younger age. I am including his story here because researchers have been questioning whether a subtype of OCD exists that includes a tic disorder, which is characterized by early onset. Clyde also depicts what it is like to be a strong and empathetic supporter of a loved one with OCD. Clyde's son was eventually diagnosed with anxiety and OCD. He has since grown out of the tics post-puberty! (Note that Clyde's son was diagnosed with OCD and anxiety.)
In Clyde's words:
"I think for the most part, that's the way we have to treat it is that they're wired differently. And we've got to navigate that. Instead of looking at it as a problem: look at it as something to navigate. Everybody’s got something that they have to navigate in life. [Our family has learned how to navigate this.] . . .
My theory is, at least with my son, from what I’ve seen . . . his OCD really flares up when he gets some certain level of either tired or [experiences] cognitive dissonance (like when something goes against what his core beliefs are or whatever, when he runs into something that is counter than what he thought). His brain has to sort of shut down for awhile for him to sort of process certain things you know. I don’t know how to describe that any other way except for- sometimes I think his brain needs to like take a break and sort of regroup and then figure out how to process information that runs counter to what he's always thought or you know believed or been taught through one medium or another. . . . So we’ve really got to keep track of sleep schedules and stuff like that. . . .
What’s constantly in the back of their heads [the heads of people with OCD], 'Well, what if I don’t wash my hands 99 times and then the dog dies?' That was part of the therapy, learning how to quiet the what-ifs. . . . Rationally you know that’s probably not going to happen. Even a kid who is somewhat rational will think 'Well, that’s not going to happen.' But OCD is 'what-if.' . . . [In terms of obsessions, my son will clean or play a certain album relentlessly. Therefore,] I try to introduce a new medium pretty quick, you know like, 'Hey buddy, let’s go for a ride," a change of venue. And instead of putting on the stereo in the car when we’re driving, we talk- we try to talk, you know we try get to the root of this situation. Or [I'll say] 'You’ve listened to the stereo long enough. I need you to read for awhile. Or I need you to help me with these chores.' Get his mind away from that for awhile. Or I'll say, 'Hey, listen, I don’t care if you listen to music but really you’ve played that tune enough, you’re wearing me out.' I try not to make him the bad guy in the situation, like I'll say 'I can’t handle that song any more." And sometimes it’s the truth. . . .
He’s just different and once you realize that- I hate the terms mental disabilities and mental illness because it insinuates he’s broken when he’s not. He just processes different. . . . When I was diagnosed with depression in the early to mid 1990s they may as well of said you’re crazy because if you told anybody that’s how you were going to get treated. Now they’re better at diagnosing that kind of stuff and I think that they’re finding that normal is not nearly as normal as they thought. And it’s that way people are different. People process things differently. I think that they're starting to realize that."