Customer Reviews

The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing: The Experience and Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book contains well-written descriptions of obsessive-compulsive disorder -- it's informative, clear, and a pleasure to read. And for those of us who either suffer from these disorders or are close to someone who does, it's an eye-opener: you are NOT the only person who's ever had to deal with this problem, and there IS hope for curing it! For all these reasons, I highly recommend the book.
Two cautions, however:
(1) The book gave a good description of the ways of treating OCD as of the date it was written. Since then, however, there have been many new developments, so, if you're specifically interested in treatments, you'll need to look up some more recent books and articles.
(2) "Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder" (OCPD) is a related but different condition, and it's possible that someone who exhibits similar symptoms but doesn't have full-blown OCD suffers from this instead. (My mother has never gone in for compulsive hand-wash! ! ing, but she's rigid, intolerant, controlling, and a pack rat on a truly monumental scale. That's OCPD.) The treatments for the two conditions differ -- drugs are more helpful for OCD than OCPD, for example. As with any mental condition, it's absolutely necessary to have a thorough professional diagnosis; don't just march into your doctor's office demanding Prozac, or stock up on St. John's Wort at your local herbalist's.

This is the first book talking about OCD published in my country (Italy). At that time OCD was almost totally unknown by people and often also by medicine, here. I've been suffering from severe OCD for 15 years and I couldn't trust my eyes! I read the book more and more times and it really helped me to feel less lonely with my desease. I appreciated both the careful scientific planning, coming from a great experience and the cases which are mentioned. I think they show perfectly what a person suffering from OCD feels and how deep is his pain. I gave this book to all my best friends and those who live by me and now I finally know they can understand me a little more. I'd recommend all obsessive-compulsive people to do the same!

P.S. I want to thank sincerly the author Dr.Rapoport and the Italian editor Bollati-Boringhieri who published the book in my country.

This groundbreaking,informative,and entertaining book may not offer solutions to getting over obsessive compulsive disorder (though you may be able to by using the methods the victims in this book used),but it will Definitely let you know that you're not alone,and that other people have these ludicrous rituals and obsessive thoughts. The book is a bit dated (as other readers have noted,Anafranil is now available in the U.S.),but still an essential reading for every victim with OCD (no matter how severe the symptons). The book only costs $6.99,so even if it doesn't help you (I highly doubt this),it's not like you wasted $20. Other compelling OCD books are Getting Control by Lee Baer,and Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz. As a final note:Good luck OCD victims on your recovery.

this book was published in the 80's. unlike what is mentioned in the book, clomiprmine is available now in the USA and it barely mentiones the wonder drug called luvox or fluvoxamine maleate. the book documents other sufferes of OCD. though it offers little in what to do to recover. but its a good read.

Some of the other reviews down this book, saying it is out of date, but it was written in the 1980's. Dr. Rapoport brought relief to millions suffering from OCD. I did not find it depressing at all. She worked with both children and adults. The stories from the patients are both helpful and fascinating. At the time there was only one drug approved for OCD. And she introduced it to millions suffering. Prozac was mentioned in her book but it was not approved for OCD at the time of her publishing.

If you read later books on OCD, Ms. Rapoport is mentioned and is quoted in about 80% of them! She was the first to write a book just about OCD. It was extremely helpful! She had stories about actual patients of hers and the agony they and their families had gone through until the drug Anafranil was approved by the FDA.

Yes, it is now outdated. But it was the first and the best of its time.

I would highly recomend this book to anyone who knows of or is going through Obessive Compulsive Disorder themselves. It is a wonderful tool to try to understand the thoughts and feelings of a person with Obessive Compulsive Disorder.

Rapoport's book has been an eye-opening read. Not only was it informative about OCD patients and rare symptoms, it also was entertaining. Reading the parents' and patients' stories helped the book to flow, while Rapoport was able to weave the doctor's perspective in seamlessly. It could be read by a doctor or by a person on the street and still have the same value.
Although the book doesn't offer ways for dealing with OCD symptoms (other than contacting your doctor), it still lets readers know that there are people out there suffering severely, and most often secretly. For those who know little about OCD, or who want to know more, this is an important book to read. The book isn't inundated with medical terms, and can easily be read by anyone.
It doesn't matter that the book is somewhat dated, because the symptoms of OCD continue to repeat themselves. The material in the book lets the reader compare how awful patients with OCD suffered before Anafranil was available in the US, along with other, new drugs. Rapoport's work with this book has probably spurred more research into OCD and those who suffer from it. Those who had thought they were untreatable are now living normal lives.

Although I don't have OCD, I did enjoy this book. It opened my eyes to a new world that I am glad I don't have to live in. I think this book would be helpful for someone with the disorder, but only to show they are not alone and expose other people's stories to relate to. It only suggests going to a doctor for Anafranil, which shows that the book is outdated, because that is now available in the US and wasn't then. But I would recommend this book to anyone, even if it is just for pleasure reading.

Very easy to read, and puts those who are new to OCD more at ease by letting them know there are millions of OCDers out there by using good writing and even a bit of humor.

He encontrado el libro muy útil, tanto para personas con el trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo como para personas interesadas en estudiar el tema. Es especialmente recomendable para aquellas personas que padecen este trastorno y aún no tienen sobre él ningún tipo de tratamiento o información psicológica.