OCD on TV

[Stephen]

My my - OCD seems to be 'coming out of the woodwork' all the time now (or is it because I am more aware of it so I notice it more?).

Last night's Casualty had an OCD sufferer again, as did an episode some weeks ago. However I am not so sure yesterday's was such a good portrayal.

The sufferer yesterday was a suspect in a murder enquiry, and the OCD was recognised by a police doctor who noticed him pacing/counting in the holding cell and doing strange things with the water jug and glass (and thinking he had been poisoned) in the interview room. Fortunately he was freed due to lack of evidence and in fact he was innocent. However there was also a minor incident with the fact he was caught with some photos he had stored away of a woman he seemed to have been sort of 'stalking' and again it seems that this may have been an inappropriate interpreatation of the 'obsessive' side of OCD. Unfortunate in my opinion. Also the story developed into him driving away a truck full of highly toxic chemicals while under the influence of the chemicals themselves - unlikely that he would even attempt this I would have thought even if it was to 'save the farm' in the storyline.

The earlier episode featured a younger lad who had been washing things in bleach and got poisoned by it. This was possibly a more realistic scenario?

I hope other Casualty fans might make some comments.

All the best

Stephen

[Northern Star]

Hiya Stephen,

I missed the crucial bit of this last night because I was helping dish up tea but I have to say I did get an inkling that he might have OCD even though I missed the bit with the police doctor. I didn't like the portrayal of it much though because of the 'stalking' issue and that didn't really cast OCD in a fair light I don't think.

The earlier episode featured a younger lad who had been washing things in bleach and got poisoned by it. This was possibly a more realistic scenario?

I thought this was a great depiction of OCD. It was quite extreme OCD that the boy had (I think) but it showed the distress caused and his rituals very well, such as having to have the glass washed with bleach before he could use it to take his pills.