Touch And Go Joe: An Adolescent's Experience of OCD

129 Pages·2006·0.82 MB·English

by  Joe Wells

Touch and Go Joe
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Touch and Go Joe
An Adolescent’s Experience of OCD
Joe Wells
Illustrated by Joe Wells
Foreword by Isobel Heyman
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
JessicaKingsleyPublishers
116PentonvilleRoad
LondonN19JB,UK
and
400MarketStreet,Suite400
Philadelphia,PA19106,USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright©JoeWells2006
Illustrationscopyright©JoeWells2006
Forewordcopyright©IsobelHeyman2006
Appendix1copyright©AlisonWallis2006
TherightofJoeWellstobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeenassertedbyhimin
accordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedinanymaterialform
(includingphotocopyingorstoringitinanymediumbyelectronicmeansandwhetheror
nottransientlyorincidentallytosomeotheruseofthispublication)withoutthewritten
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Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988orunderthetermsofalicenceissuedbythe
CopyrightLicensingAgencyLtd,90TottenhamCourtRoad,London,EnglandW1T4LP.
Applicationsforthecopyrightowner’swrittenpermissiontoreproduceanypartofthis
publicationshouldbeaddressedtothepublisher.
Warning:Thedoingofanunauthorisedactinrelationtoacopyrightworkmayresultin
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LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Wells,Joe,1989-
TouchandgoJoe:anadolescent'sexperiencesofOCD/JoeWells.--1stpbk.ed.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-1-84310-391-2(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:1-84310-391-5(pbk.:alk.paper)1.Wells,Joe,1989-2.Obsessivecompul-
sivedisorder.3. Compulsivebehavior. I.Title.
RC533.W452006
616.85'227--dc22
2005035983
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
ACIPcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
ISBN13:9781843103912
ISBN10:1843103915
ISBNpdfeBook:1846424895
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainby
AthenaeumPress,Gateshead,TyneandWear
Contents
ForewordbyIsobelHeyman 7
Acknowledgements 9
What'sThisBookAbout? 11
Chapter 1. Worrying 13
Chapter 2. Poisoning of the Mind 18
Chapter 3. Only Human 22
Chapter 4. Guilty Mind 31
Chapter 5. AmI Going Mad? 36
Chapter 6. Learning to Count 41
Chapter 7. Keeping My Secret 45
Chapter 8. Learning to Walk the Walk 49
Chapter 9. OCDAbroad 52
Chapter 10. Getting Help 60
Chapter 11. Convincing Myself of OCD’s
Irrationality 68
Chapter 12. Challenging 72
Chapter 13. Depression and OCD 78
Chapter 14. Citalopram 83
Chapter 15. The Awful Truth 94
Chapter 16. Getting On With It 99
Epilogue. The 30(cid:1)20 Diary 105
Appendix1. DefinitionofOCDandCBT 110
Appendix2. OCDTipsandAdvice 114
FurtherInformation 121
Index 125
For Mum
Foreword
IfeelasifIhavebeenwaitingforthisbook.Childrenandteenagers
with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have been asking for
thisbookforyears.‘Youarenotalone’isamessageyoungpeople
withOCDmostneedtohear.Parents,doctors,therapistsmaysay
this,butateenagerwithOCDwillreallybelieveitwhentheyhear
itfromanotherteenagerwithOCD.JoeWellshaswrittenhisown
verypersonalaccountofhisstrugglewith,andrecoveryfromOCD,
but incorporates all of the important messages for any young
personcopingwiththisillness.
Ateenagerreadingthisbook,whofeelstheyaretheonlyone
dealing with unwelcome, distressing, repetitive thoughts (obses-
sions)andannoying,time-consuming,repetitivebehaviours(com-
pulsions), will learn that these are the characteristic symptoms of
OCD.Theywillalsolearn,fromJoe’saccount,howOCDcancreep
up on you, symptoms gradually appearing over months or years.
ThechildwithOCDoftenfeelsconfused,ashamedandsecretive,
soevenclosefamilymembersmaytakeawhiletobeawareofthe
problem,asinJoe’scase.Abooklikethismaybejustwhatayoung
person with OCD needs, to feel able to confide in someone, and
begintogetthehelptheyneedtorecover.
EspeciallyhelpfulisJoe’saccountofhowOCDsymptomsneed
not include the familiar rituals of handwashing, or checking, but
can include more hidden, but equally distressing, rituals such as
counting,orrepeating.OtheraspectsofOCD–intrusivereligious,
sexual or agressive thoughts – are often hightly distressing to a
7
8 TOUCH AND GO JOE
teenager,yetallareidentifiedasbeingwell-recognisedsymptoms
ofOCD.Anyteenagerreadingthissectionwillfeelhugelyrelieved
to know thatthesethoughtsare common in OCD, and not some
strangemanifestationof theirowncondition.
JoeemphasisesthatOCDisnotjustannoying,itcaninterfere
with many of the pleasurable aspects of life. He explains how it
affected his enjoyment of holidays or ability to see his friends,
themesfamiliar to most teenagers with OCD. One of theaims of
this book is to help increase awareness and recognition of OCD.
Joe gives a moving account of the frustrations he and his family
experienced trying to get the correct diagnosis. Perhaps if such a
book had existed when Joe first needed to see a doctor, the
symptomsofOCDwouldhavebeenrecognisedearlier!Thisbook
willbeavaluableresourceforyoungpeoplewithOCDandtheir
families, as well as teachers and other people who work closely
withchildren.Healthprofessionals,eventhosefamiliarwithOCD,
willbeenlightenedandmovedbythispersonalaccount.
Joe’s account, whilst highlighting some of the fear, exaspera-
tionanddistressheexperienced,alsoemphasiseshowrecoveryis
possible. There are clear accounts of the effective treatments.
Talkingtherapiesareoftenperceivedasmysteriousandsecret,but
Joeopensupthetherapyroomandexplainsjusthowpracticaland
sensible good cognitive behaviour therapy should be. He also
dispelsmanyofthemythsandworriesassociatedwithmedication
for OCD, describing how drugs used carefully, with monitoring,
canreallyhelptherecoveryprocessforsomepeople.
Perhaps most importantly, Joe emphasises that OCD should
never be allowed to take over. Anybody with OCD is still them-
selves,andevenwhilstintheprocessofrecovery,itisimportantto
‘get on with life’. So for Joe it is certainly no longer Touch and
Go….itisGoJoeGo!…
…andthatishismessageforeveryonecopingwithOCD.
DrIsobelHeyman
ConsultantPsychiatristNational&SpecialistService
forYoungPeoplewithOCD,MaudsleyHospital,London
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my family who were a massive help to me throughout the
courseofOCDandextrathankstomymum,withoutwhomIcouldnever
havegotthisbookinprint:thankyoufornaggingmetokeeponwriting
andfornegotiatingthemoreboringaspectsofgettingabookpublished.
ToAlisonWalliswhoalsohelpedmethroughOCD.Tomyrockandroll
idolswhosemusicwillalwayskeepmyspiritshigh.ToStephenJonesfor
taking the time to read my proposal and helping me to get this book
throughtopublication.ToSallyFlynnforproofreadingatshortnotice.To
allmyfriends,toomanytoname,butyouknowwhoyouare:IknowIcan
alwaysrelyonyouforhelpandsupport.AndfinallytoOCD:thejoke’s
onyou,asintheendyouonlymademestronger.
I would also like to thank everyone who gave their permission in
orderforthequotestobeusedinthisbook.
Extract from Owl Babies written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by
PatrickBenson.Text©1992MartinWaddell.Reproducedbypermission
ofWalkerBooksLtd,London.
Extract from Worried Arthur by Joan Stimson, copyright © Ladybird
BooksLtd1994,reproducedbypermissionofLadybirdBooksLtd.
‘Count To Six And Die’ © 2002 Chrysalis Music Inc Lyrics used by
permission ‘CountToSixAnd Die’Words and MusicbyBrianWarner
andJohnLowery©2000,SongsOfGolgotha/EMIBlackwoodMusic
Inc/GuitarHackMusic,USA.ReproducedbypermissionofEMIMusic
Publishing Ltd, London WC2H 0QY (EMI control 50% on behalf of
BrianWarner).
Extractfrom101ExperimentsinthePhilosophyof EverydayLifewrittenby
RogerPol-Droit,reproducedbypermissionof FaberandFaberLtd.
‘Wind UpToy’LyricsbyAlice Cooper,VicPepe,BobPfeiferand Jack
Ponti©1991LittleElvisMusic,FifemanInc,EzraMusicCorpandJack
PontiMusic,USA.(20%)Warner/ChappellNorthAmerica,LondonW6
8BS.ReproducedbypermissionofInternationalMusicPublicationsLtd.
AllRightsReserved.WordsandmusicbyAliceCooperandBobPfeifer©
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