Customer Reviews

Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals: The Hidden Epidemic of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a licensed psychologist and a patient with obsessive compulsive symptoms. For over five years I have voraciously consumed the available literature to get help for myself and my clients. This book is a must have. Nothing I have read has been better.

Dr. Osborn's magic is in letting himself shine through as a fellow sufferer who is a deeply compassionate practitioner. His case studies show many of the subtle faces of OCD and give us insight into the suffering this disorder can bring.

A real highlight of the book is when he lets his group therapy patients speak to us through their ten strategies for coping with OCD.

This is a six star book.

I have read several book on OCD that dealt mainly with checking rituals. However, I've suffered from obsessive thoughts all my life. I was never able to find a book that satisfied my desire to learn how to deal with these thoughts in a way that made sense to me. Until now! This books has provided me with many suggestions on dealing with unwanted thoughts. Suggestions that have helped. The book deals so much with the experiences of Dr. Osborn's patients, that I felt like I was part of a therapy group. It felt so good hearing the stories of others. I highly suggest this book for anyone fighting those unwanted thoughts.

This is a beautifully written piece of work. Osborn not only explains OCD but he knows it! I myself suffer from OCD and if it weren't for this book I would still be stumbling around in the dark thinking I was crazy. This book is truly unique in the sense that Osborn's own suffering of OCD allows him to truly delve into the heart of the problem and explain it, unlike some others who inadequately attempt to review and explain the disorder without bringing to light the full extent to which it is suffered by millions of people worldwide. Osborn's compassion and understanding of the subject makes this book a must have, not only for all OCD sufferers but all who wish to understand the chemical disorder of Obsessive-Ccompulsive Disorder. A truly awesome book. I recommend it to anyone looking for enlightenment on the subject.

Since I have 2 kids with OCD, I try to read everything available about this disorder. This is easily my favorite book on the subject - I read it from start to finish in a day. I got my children's psychologist to look at it and he now recommends it to all of his patients with OCD. One chapter, Making Sense of Senseless Symptoms, explains this disorder better than anyone else has to me. My daughter has had her friends read it to understand what she has to deal with and why.

This book is fabulously informative and written in such a kind manner, you'd want the author for your own therapist. It is especially good for those who have just realized they have OCD.

I'm not one quarter through this book and I just had to take this time to recommend it to all OCD sufferers, like myself. Being reluctant to read any books on OCD (I once picked up "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing", but it only made me feel worse), I'm so glad I decided to buy this one. At first I didn't think I was going to read anything more than what I already knew, but I was wrong. It is informative, professional, compassionate, and candid. There's no holding back in this book-Osborn truly tells it like it is. He details one case from each category of OCD-filth, lust, harm, and blasphemy boldly, not withholding details due to the embarrassing nature of OCD.

Osborn speaks not only as a medical professional, but as a sufferer himself, so I guess that's why he is able to make me feel understood for the first time ever. Maybe it will help you, too. Pick it up, it's worth it!

This book is great for history and sharing insights, but to imply in any way shape or form that talk therapy has no place in treating OCD is absurd!!! Also - too much emphasis on faith. Not there for me. I am a sufferer of OCD and have been most of my life. This book certainly helped me feel not alone, but I am a very strong believer in the curative powers of a supportive therapist. Self-help only works within the confines of good therapy. PERIOD. Try the book "STOP OBSESSING!" by Foa. Now talk about a great book with lots of strategies to help manage/control the OCD. I recommend that one with 10 stars!!! Sorry - I seem to be one of few who doesn't think that Tormenting Thoughts is the be all and end all.

This book is as close to a personal appointment with the best psychiatrist that one could have. It is a wonderful support resource for anyone already making the journey toward improved mental health, and a terrific introduction for anyone struggling with the important, break-through decision to seek out some help and relief. The text is highly readable, information-packed and practical. The tone is friendly and compassionate. Many readers, with distinct, but also neurologically-based, mental health disorders, for example, bipolar disorder, will also gain from reading this book. Particularly welcome is the author's emphasis on the key role of faith in managing neurobiological illnesses.

Dr. Ian Osborn knows OCD literally inside out. He should; after all, he has it!

There are many self-help books available on the subject of OCD, and many are helpful. But I have never read one which rang quite so true. There are no cute and easy to remember steps here; simply an understanding of the experience and dynamics of OCD which will leave those who struggle with the disorder feeling understood as never before. Many fine physicians have quite a bit of expertise on the subject of OCD. But Dr. Osborn is something more than an expert. He is a seasoned warrior, who knows the enemy with an intimacy which can only come of first-hand experience. If you have OCD, or love someone who has it, and read only one book on the subject, let this be the one. If you have OCD, you will meet yourself in its pages, and know yourself better for having read it. If you love someone with OCD, reading this book may be your best opportunity of learning what this invisible enemy is like without developing it yourself.

This is probably the best book on the subject. It tells you everything you wanted to know about OCD and related issues, including some rarely-discussed topics (e.g., the link to one's personality). The author ultimately places OCD in the biological realm and lists the latest evidence, along with the explanation of the brain areas involved. Unfortunately, nothing about OCD is simple or straightforward; but there exist effective treatments and plausible, scientifically tested causes.