Good Morning Britain OCD feature

[Guest OCD-UK RSS]

Following a feature about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder on today's ITV 'Good Morning Britain' programme we share the concerns expressed by many about the way Good Morning Britain portrayed the illness, and may have done significant awareness damage by adding to the misconceptions that OCD is a simple quirk that people choose to be helpful. In fact, the way Good Morning Britain portrayed OCD today is the public perception of OCD that we hoped OCD Awareness Week would challenge and change.

We cannot comment if Michelle Mone who featured in the piece suffers with OCD or not, although she admitted she has never been diagnosed, but what we do want to say is that whilst many people are slightly obsessed or may have compulsive tendencies, which may be what Michelle Mone describes, what the general public often fail to recognise is those tendencies are not clinical OCD because for the vast majority of people it does not lead to anxiety or the 'D' part of OCD, the disorder.

The reality is that OCD is an incredibly debilitating and disabling illness that impacts on every aspect of a personâs life from education, to relationships to careers and sometimes with sad and tragic consequences, so it is disappointing that even when OCD-UK advised the Good Morning Britain last week that what they wanted to film will add to the misconceptions that OCD is a âbit of checking' they still proceeded with their piece.

We want to make our supporters aware that over the next 18-months we intend to focus much of awareness work on trying to bring the D back into OCD within the general publics vernacular when using the OCD term.

Tags:

OCD in the media

Awareness

Awareness Week

View the article on the OCD-UK website

[gingerbreadgirl]

Really disgusted by this Have tweeted Michelle Mone.

[Gemma7]

Just watched the interview clip on the internet and I can't actually believe how bad it was. Michelle Mone is glad that she has ocd! Is she joking?

Also, in the original interview where David Beckham said he had ocd when confronted with what that meant I remember him retracting his statement pretty fast. Leonardo dicaprio has also said that after researching ocd for the aviator he realised he doesn't have ocd. Yet these celebrities are always included.

My favourite bit was the list of compulsions; washing, cleaning and checking. Sorry whats the difference between washing and cleaning?!?!

Such a shame that this was supposed to raise awareness.

[Caramoole]

Really disgusted by this Have tweeted Michelle Mone.

Me too

[taurean]

Focusing on disorder is a great idea.

Many people have some form of obsession - in the paper today a woman had a whole collection of Teesmades - but that was just a rather unusual choice of item to collect, not likely to be anything more nor affect her daily life.

Disorder means what it says on the tin, and it disrupts, causes an anxiety response and can devastate relationships and lives.

[carlleo123]

I've really had enough of the interpretation of ocd in the media. In the newspaper the other day there was a headline about Paul Hollywood stating he has ocd. I read the article to find he couldn't stop cleaning his Aston Martin, if only I had that problem!

[taurean]

I agree. My poor VW has to make do with 3 times a year (though it is fortunate enough to have a nice garage).

[gingerbreadgirl]

article in Daily Mail about it - comments underneath are all along the lines of 'people need to get a life, lighten up...' etc.

The Daily Mail comments really bring the understanding, caring types out of the woodwork!

I think they'd get it if they suffered like we do.

[Gemma7]

I can't stand it when people say we all have ocd on some level! So infuriating!

[Caramoole]

We moan about Mone

But she's far from alone

At wearing the badge "OCD"

"I plump up my cushions,

I line up my books"

"OMG" it's a little bit me!

I love to be tidy

My wardrobe's like Next

My soup is all lined up by flavour

I vac behind sofa's

Recycle my trash

I love my obsessive behaviour

It doesn't cause anguish

I don't feel distress

I just don't mix the Coke cans with beer

I like to be tidy,

Like everything neat

But No......I'm not riddled with fear

I love being a neat freak

I'm proud of this quirk

It's just who I am, it's so me

It sets me apart

From the rest of the crowd

OMG.."I am so OCD"!!!!

:no:

[taurean]

We moan about Mone

But she's far from alone

At wearing the badge "OCD"

"I plump up my cushions,

I line up my books"

"OMG" it's a little bit me!

I love to be tidy

My wardrobe's like Next

My soup is all lined up by flavour

I vac behind sofa's

Recycle my trash

I love my obsessive behaviour

It doesn't cause anguish

I don't feel distress

I just don't mix the Coke cans with beer

I like to be tidy,

Like everything neat

But No......I'm not riddled with fear

I love being a neat freak

I'm proud of this quirk

It's just who I am, it's so me

It sets me apart

From the rest of the crowd

OMG.."I am so OCD"!!!!

:no:

Very good :clap:

[whitebeam]

Really disgusted by this Have tweeted Michelle Mone.

Me too!!

.....and I intend writing to GMB. Ashley do you have a name and address of the appropriate person??

Edited October 15, 2015 by whitebeam

[whitebeam]

Brilliant poem, Caramoole :original:

[whitebeam]

Diagnostic Guidelines

For a definite diagnosis, obsessional symptoms or compulsive acts, or both, must be present on most days for at least 2 successive weeks and be a source of distress or interference with activities. The obsessional symptoms should have the following characteristics: (a) they must be recognized as the individual's own thoughts or impulses: (b) there must be at least one thought or act that is still resisted unsuccessfully, even though others may be present which the sufferer no longer resists; © the thought of carrying out the act must not in itself be pleasurable (simple relief of tension or anxiety is not regarded as pleasure in this sense); (d) the thoughts, images, or impulses must be unpleasantly repetitive.

**Would people agree that the two parts I have italicised (if that is a word) are missing from Lady Mone's description. Would others feel other parts are more appropriate to highlight or should also be highlighted - I wasn't sure about (d).

I thought i would use something like the above to demonstrate to GMB that their OCD Awareness Week article was fundamentally flawed but I wanted to use a more accepted definition than my own would be and would appreciate others views.

Thanks

whitebeam

[Caramoole]

(d) the thoughts, images, or impulses must be unpleasantly repetitive.

I'd add that to d)

[PolarBear]

Haha, nice poem.

[whitebeam]

I'd add that to d)

Thanks, Caramoole. Just off to read your tweet!

[Caramoole]

An open letter on Metro to Ms Mone

http://metro.co.uk/2015/10/14/an-open-letter-to-michelle-mone-who-self-diagnosed-herself-with-ocd-5439055/

[whitebeam]

I don't know if anyone has posted the article from The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/14/good-morning-britain-ocd

[whitebeam]

Even The Daily Star......http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/469903/Michelle-Mone-OCD-mental-illness

Edited October 15, 2015 by whitebeam

[taurean]

Well, out of the weakness has come forth strength. Lots of publicity correcting the misinformation, so plenty of awareness as to how debilitating OCD really is.

[Gemma7]

A lot of the articles are great but unfortunately they just aren't the same as getting a piece on morning TV. Have I heard right that there is going to be a piece on This morning? Hopefully that can redress the balance some more.

Really good open letter :original: