Customer Reviews

Overcoming Compulsive Checking: Free Your Mind from OCD

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Being a person who suffers from a mild case of OCD rituals (for example: checking electrical appliances and stoves, turning lights off or on before leaving the house, checking letters for curse words that I haven't written but I somehow believe are there, obsessions with certain numbers and/or patterns of numbers), I utilized this book in the context of self-help after it was suggested to me by an acquaintance. This text will be helpful to those who suffer from the following manifestations of OCD: fear of making mistakes, contamination obsessions/washing compulsions, harm obsessions/repeating compulsions, sexual obsessions/compulsive confessing and reassurance seeking, blasphemous obsessions/praying and confessing compulsions, obsessions of losing or discarding something important/hoarding, obsessions about symmetry and orderliness/arranging and ordering compulsions (these examples are taken directly from Chapter 1 of this book).

The double-edged sword of perfectionism can also be a complicating factor in cases of OCD, in that it can lead one to obsessive/compulsive rereading and rewriting (which was necessary for me to complete this review). I believe that OCD is also connected to a self-image problem, as in low self-esteem/self-hatred; an individual who believes he is "not good enough" is more likely to be afflicted with OCD. Of course, theories like these can be subjective, and I live in New York City where, as a stand up comic I know put it, "everyone's in therapy and no-one's getting better". That being said, I do have a friend who had to leave her job on at least one occasion to go home and make sure she'd turned the faucet off; she sought help via cognitive behavioral therapy, which according to the latest research in that area, can be effective for those suffering from severe OCD. Apparently a number of those with OCD also have a fear of being gay; it is referred to as "gay OCD" or "HOCD" (this area is not dealt with in "Overcoming Compulsive Checking"). Chapter 4 of this text advises: "Face, Embrace and Erase the Fear" which, as a potential solution, makes the most sense to me. In the end it all comes down to facing fear. Once the fears are faced (as Juliet was finally able to do in Federico Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits"), their power over an individual diminishes greatly. Of course, this takes focus--easier said that done. In closing, in the final chapter of this book (Chapter 8) the author, Paul Munford, correctly states "OCD is not a psychotic disorder". And so it is not necessarily debilitating.

Stephen C. Bird, author of "Hideous Exuberance: A Satire"

This book is just how to do Cognitive Behavior Therapy. If you have already tried it, or it has not worked for you in the past, this book may not be for you. Very informative, if that is what you are looking for. Says it may not work for the most severe cases of OCD (anything worse than moderate OCD), which is what my boyfriend has.

Few clinicians understand the nature and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder as thoroughly as Dr. Munford. He has written a book that is thoughtful, sensitive, and pragmatic and will certainly help anyone who follows his straightforward and proven strategies to overcome compulsive checking. I recommend his book to those who suffer with compulsive checking as well as to clinicians who are looking for ways to help their clients overcome this debilitating problem.