OCD in movies

So, as a better example, take Jack Nicholson's portrayal of a man suffering from OCD in As Good As It Gets.  First off, I like the title a lot.  OCD is a chronic brain disorder.  Anyone who suffers from it will never be "cured".  It isn't like a broken leg or an infection that a doctor can cure.  But with good medical treatment you can reduce the compulsions and greatly improve your quality of life.  But there comes a point where you say, "this is as good as it gets."

I am not a fan of Jack Nicholson the actor, but I think his portrayal of a man suffering from OCD was right on.  He suffered from the most common kind of OCD -- cleaning compulsions, or an irrational worry about germs in the everyday environment.  They didn't try to add on other compulsions that don't belong with this type of OCD (as they did in Monk).  The movie stuck with the cleaning compulsions and portrayed it very accurately.   The fact is, the fears are very irrational, and likely make absolutely no sense to anyone except the person battling the disorder.  Also, the obsessions and compulsions are going to be unique to the individual.  There is no across-the-board behavior for those suffering from this kind of OCD.  They portrayed Nicholson's character very uniquely.  For example, he could eat at a restaurant, but he had to bring his own silverware and sit at the same table.  He could leave his apartment, but he needed a fresh pair of gloves each time to navigate door handles, etc. . .     The movie also demonstrated ( but not overtly) the way that behavioral therapy is used in treating the disorder.  When Nicholson's neighbor was forced to move in with him, his anxiety and thus his compulsions increased, but the longer the situation continued and he chose to push through the anxiety because he wanted to impress the waitress (Helen Hunt), the less the situation caused him anxiety.  Increased exposure to what triggers the compulsions, and staying with the exposure despite the overwhelming anxiety, is the core of behavioral therapy.  In the case of this movie, it is my personal opinion that Nicholson's character was successful because he chose to put himself through the difficult situation with his neighbor because he was in love.  No one forced him.  And that is why it was successful.  

OCD in TV and Movies

This is not only my first time blogging, it is my first time writing about the personal and private hell that has been my battle with OCD for the past sixteen years.  I have never written about OCD because it isn't a "positive, upbeat, made-me-a-better-person" kind of illness.  It is hard, it is a daily battle, and thought no one would ever want to read about something so hard to explain and depressing.  But now I am seeing more and more references to OCD in popular culture -- some accurate and some incredibly inaccurate, and so I decided to start writing about it.  My aim is more to inform about the reality of the illness versus the perception rather than just to inform.

so rather than jump right into the deeply personal stuff, I thought I'd make my first blog about how OCD is portrayed in TV and movies.  I'll start with the television show "Monk".  I only watched the first season of this show.  I stopped watching because I was frustrated with the way that they were portraying a very complex brain disorder that is OCD on that show.  Some aspects of the character Monk were correct and true to the experience of OCD, but the show added on many more quirks and characteristics in order to make the character more comical -- and less true.  The fact that the show makes Monk out to be a comical but love-able weirdo is not helping people understand the fact that OCD is just as real and as debilitating an illness as diabetes.  Without going into a detailed analysis of what is right and what is wrong about the show, I can say that the fact the Mr. Monk's compulsions are so obvious to the viewer is the very reason why he doesn't accurately portray someone suffering from OCD.  Most sufferers of OCD are very adept at hiding their obsessions and compulsions and they suffer the disorder in private, never letting on to those around them how difficult "normal" life is for them.

Next up, Jack Nicholson's portrayal of a man suffering from OCD in "As Good As It Gets".