[bronzesquid]

To give some background: I've been in Cognitive Behavioral therapy for 7 years. I've been through a few different psychiatrists and psychologists, but I have one of the "better" psychologists in the area. I was diagnosed with BDD, OCD and social anxiety. My ocd started out with a body obsession, then seemed to continually move through different things. After a while I started to take notice to how my identity and existence was split into two, when I was really one entity. My "ocd" was me and I am not really separate from that. Despite describing it as some different voice or drive in my consciousness, "OCD" is really just a description of people who have similar behaviors and thoughts. I've come to the point where I can step back and see how completely mad some of my thougts and obsessions are, while others seem more like ambition than anything else. The best things in this world created by humans are through consistent hard work and perfection. Some would say to the point of "obsession". I feel like I can't approach creativity in the right way anymore; or more directly put like I'm not right in trying to pursue a certain thought or sequence of thoughts. I've read about some writers in the past (Emily Dickinson for example) who are likely candidates for OCD. Had they spent their time trying to address OCD with therapists instead of perfecting their craft would they be as good as they were as writers? I sometimes read about modern writers who have OCD and have agreed with therapy...sometimes they begin to only write and care about OCD. It seems the whole therapy process pulls a person into some kind of whirlpool where they no longer trust their own thoughts and desires and instead waste their time continually with trying to "quell" ocd. Their writing becomes banal and constricted in subject; and it brings me to the insanity inherent in psychology. If we continually try to make every person "normal" and "happy" what then happens to the great humans who fall to the darkest depths and travel into the deepest parts of our emotional consciousness? I feel like the brainwashing process has gone on long enough in my life, but i'm left with a permanent scar from "therapy". I hate this feeling of revenge, but I can't ignore it. Its always their and my therapist's words reside in my mind as a ghost I cannot get rid of. I feel like I've been robbed of my poetic justification as a human. I apologize for the long winded post, but there must be some honest souls out there who resonate with my state...the labeling of "disorder" must invoke ire in the personhood of others here.

[Psychotics]

Your right. OCD is a great thing. The last thing we should do is get rid of it.

[Ubermensch]

IMO psychology's aim shouldn't really be to make people "normal," but to help individuals become what they want to become. From my understanding of things, a person can't be diagnosed with a disorder unless this disorder interferes with some aspect of that person's life in an unwanted way. For example, someone may in fact be a sexual sadist, but if this "disorder" or "behavior" doesn't negatively impact that person's life, then it can't be classified as a "disorder." Besides that, if it isn't causing a negative impact, then there is no reason to try to change. So in your particular situation, I'm guessing that OCD does in some way negatively impact your life. Your dilemma however is that essentially the "cure" is causing you to lose your ability to focus creatively. If this is in fact the case, then it seems that your choice of whether or not to continue pursuing treatment for OCD depends on what you value more. Your art or you ability to function optimally. Weigh the pros and cons of treatment and decide from there.

[bronzesquid]

Originally Posted by Psychotics

You're right. OCD is a great thing. The last thing we should do is get rid of it.

Clearly "OCD" (however you define that) is detrimental to many people and can create havoc in many people's lives. What I am discussing though is that "OCD" and actions/thoughts labeled obsessions might have in fact been beneficial to mankind. It seems many of mankind's greatest minds exhibited obsessive tendencies and there has been correlation between those labeled with "OCD" and intelligence. Some people's suffering can make the world a "better" place.

Originally Posted by Ubermensch

IMO psychology's aim shouldn't really be to make people "normal," but to help individuals become what they want to become. From my understanding of things, a person can't be diagnosed with a disorder unless this disorder interferes with some aspect of that person's life in an unwanted way. For example, someone may in fact be a sexual sadist, but if this "disorder" or "behavior" doesn't negatively impact that person's life, then it can't be classified as a "disorder." Besides that, if it isn't causing a negative impact, then there is no reason to try to change. So in your particular situation, I'm guessing that OCD does in some way negatively impact your life. Your dilemma however is that essentially the "cure" is causing you to lose your ability to focus creatively. If this is in fact the case, then it seems that your choice of whether or not to continue pursuing treatment for OCD depends on what you value more. Your art or your ability to function optimally. Weigh the pros and cons of treatment and decide from there.

These sorts of statements make me question the kind of labeling that occurs within psychology and psychiatry and its impact upon patients.

I've found after the past 5 months that the most satisfaction I have garnered so far in life has come about from breaking out of the mental mold of "illness" and "disorder" that comes with scientific labeling and therapy techniques. I believe that for many OCD patients, the box of therapy and labeling can trap them in a cycle and identity that can limit their perspective. Not to say that the techniques and interaction between patient and therapist cannot help them (clearly they can), but there are drawbacks and unavoidable consequences of identity changes due to "diagnosis".

Anyhow, that seems to be how I have been able to break away from lack of fulfillment within my life. You have to first recognize the loop between patient, therapist and "goals" to break out of it.