Book review: Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery. By Janet Singer with Seth J. Gillihan.

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing a book written by a woman who I met through blogging and who has inspired me with her advocacy for educating others about OCD.

The book is Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery, by Janet Singer with Seth J. Gillihan.

Janet writes a blog called ocdtalk, where she discusses her experiences as a parent of a son with OCD and their journey to find help. She also keeps readers updated on research being done on OCD. And she is an advocate for Exposure and Response Prevention therapy, the leading therapy for OCD.

In her book, Janet writes about Dan’s journey from being unable to eat, from lying on the floor for days at a time, caught in the snares of OCD, to reaching a diagnosis of “mild” OCD and being able to have a fulfilling life.

Dr. Seth J. Gillihan is an expert in treating patients with OCD and other anxiety disorders. In addition to having a clinical practice, he is a clinical assistant professor of psychology in the Psychiatry Department of the University of Pennsylvania and a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Haverford College.

Gillihan gives readers the “facts” about OCD: what it is, what the symptoms are, what treatments are available, what problems people seeking treatment might face, and more.

The abiding theme of Overcoming OCD is hope. But Janet isn’t feeling much hope when her story begins. Her son Dan has struggled during his first year of college, and Janet visits him to try to help.

She is shocked by his haggard appearance and his obvious anxiety. And she is shocked when they reach the motel where she is staying, and he is unable to climb the concrete steps up to the second floor.

Step by step, slowly, she helps him up the steps. Then he says he’s unable to come into the motel room. She pulls him into the room.

“And so our journey began,” she writes (p. 2).

Janet knew her son had OCD, but she had never seen it manifested in such debilitating ways. Dan couldn’t eat, couldn’t use his cell phone, couldn’t drive, and couldn’t go to certain places. His promising future in animation—a dream that he had had for years—seemed in jeopardy.

Janet and her husband Gary and the rest of their family rallied around Dan and supported him on his road to recovery, which was never linear and never easy.

Dan spent about nine weeks in a residential OCD treatment center, and Janet and her husband struggled with staff who seemed to be leading Dan to a life of lower expectations. The treatment center did give Dan a good foundation in ERP therapy, providing him with tools to fight his OCD.

The family moved to Dan’s college town so that they could be there to support him. He saw a number of doctors and was on a number of medications. Side effects of some of those medications put Dan into a medical crisis and delayed his recovery.

Janet learned to speak up and ask questions of Dan’s caregivers. She did her own research. She interviewed perspective doctors to find the right fit for Dan. She supported Dan in the tenuous dance of being independent but getting the help he needed to fight the OCD.

And she and Gary remained Dan’s cheerleaders and advocates, supporting him unconditionally without enabling him in his OCD.

I read Janet’s blog, so I know that Dan is now doing great, with mild OCD. He graduated from college and has a job that he once dreamed of.

But as I read her book, I felt a taste of the anxiety that Janet and her husband felt as they watched their son sink so low that they never thought he’d come back. I felt the anger at the lack of caring and lack of knowledge that some so-called experts displayed in treating Dan.

I also wanted to reach into the book and tell Dan, It’s going to be OK. I guess that comes from my own experiences with having OCD and having to fight my way to better health.

Janet’s story makes it clear that ERP therapy, sometimes with, sometimes without medication and other therapy, can help those with OCD become more than their OCD. They can live fulfilling lives despite having OCD.

But she shows that one must search for and sometimes fight for good mental health care. Her story makes it clear that there’s still so much education needed of even medical professionals about how to best diagnose and treat OCD.

Gillihan’s explanations are very helpful, especially for those not familiar with OCD.

I really didn’t want to put this book down after I started it. It’s inspirational, absorbing, and just a plain good story.

Parents with children who have OCD would particularly benefit and would be reminded that they are not alone in their journey. The beneficial role that family support can play is well illustrated.

I would also highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about OCD and to those with OCD. I found myself relating to so much of what Dan experienced.

Throughout the journey that Janet and her family took with Dan, family friend and clinical psychologist Mark was a godsend, a person who offered information and hope to the family. In her book, Janet writes, “If you are going to have a mental health crisis in your family, I recommend having a close friend who is an amazing clinical psychologist” (p. 25).

I would add that having a family like Dan’s would help those suffering through a mental health crisis see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery is published by Rowman & Littlefield. 2015. For information about ordering the book, go HERE.

Book review: I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD

I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD. By J.J. Keeler. Paragon House. 2012. 173 pages.

I was asked to read and review I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD, by J.J. Keeler, as part of a TLC Book Tour for the book.

This is a memoir that details Keeler’s experiences with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The title comes from the fact that Keeler’s OCD doesn’t manifest itself in what some may consider stereotypical ways, such as contamination obsessions and compulsive hand washing.

Rather, Keeler suffers from harm obsessions and compulsions.

In the first-person narrative, Keeler writes about the different obsessions that started when she was a child and the checking she does to try to resolve the anxiety.

In a chapter called “The Bomb in My Teddy Bear,” she writes about her obsession that a teddy bear she received as a gift had a bomb inside it. She doesn’t know what to do with the bear because she fears it blowing up and hurting others. And she can’t diffuse the bomb because she doesn’t know how: “I was eight years old and I knew nothing about diffusing bombs. My school system had failed me” (p. 29).

Keeler uses humor to discuss a subject that is obviously very serious to her. Throughout the book, she offers “Random OCD Facts” such as “OCD can interfere with the ability to sleep” (p. 59).

In “A Bump in the Road,” Keeler writes about her hit and run OCD, which leads her to drive miles and hours out of her way to make sure she hasn’t hit someone or to make sure there’s no baby in the abandoned grocery store cart she sees by the roadside.

In “The Belly of a Babe,” she writes about her efforts to keep the world safe for children, removing things from the environment that she thinks might be harmful and keeping a watchful eye even on children she doesn’t know.

Keeler knows that her fears are not rational: “But I couldn’t stop myself from wondering, What if? If we OCDers were all related, that saying would be on our family crest” (p. 143).

Statements like that ring true and had me nodding my head and feeling a kinship with Keeler as I read.

Keeler provides vivid details about what it was like to check for fire, for bombs, and for other harm that might come to not only her family and people she knew, but strangers. She mixes the description with anecdotes about her experiences.

The last chapter of her book suggests that she has gotten professional help for her OCD. Called “Dear Friend,” it offers very helpful advice.

In a section called “Ignore what you need to ignore,” she tells her readers to “listen to science, to doctors, to people who have dedicated their lives to studying mental illness, who have passed tests and received degrees in this field, and to those who have experienced it first hand” (p. 161).

In the section “Find therapy that works for you,” Keeler names cognitive behavior therapy as “one of the most widely used” (p. 163). She urges readers to look for a therapy that works for them if the therapy they’re doing isn’t helping: “It’s your brain and you’re free to fix it any way you want” (p. 163).

This book resonated with me, and I think it would with other sufferers of OCD. It would also be helpful for family members and friends of those with OCD because of the clear picture of obsessions and compulsions it gives.

I enjoyed the humor and the readability of this book. I felt like Keeler was talking to me as I read it.

She did an excellent job in describing what it was like to have the fears of OCD and the increasing anxiety brought on by giving in to compulsions.

I wish she had written more about how her OCD symptoms impacted her relationships, especially with her family as she grew up and her college roommates, friends and husband. I would also like to know when she sought treatment for OCD and what worked for her because I think that information would be helpful to the reader on his or her own journey.

That said, this is still definitely a book I highly recommend.

Note: I received a free copy of this book for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Book Review: Depression: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed

Depression: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. By Lee H. Coleman, PhD, ABPP. New Harbinger Publications Inc. 2012. 166 pages.

Note: I was provided with a free copy of this book by New Harbinger Publications and asked to write a review on my blog if I felt comfortable doing so. The opinions in this post are my own.

Depression: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed is a well-written, engaging book that would not only be of help to the newly diagnosed, but to those who have long been diagnosed with depression.

While I am not newly diagnosed, I found it helpful to review what depression is and what treatments are available. I found good information in the sections on how people can help themselves and how they can ask for help from others.

Lee H. Coleman, PhD, ABPP, writes in a straightforward manner without a lot of jargon. It’s a book that would be accessible to most readers picking up the book to get help with their own depression and for family members and friends of depressed persons.

It is truly a guidebook, because it details the journey from experiencing the first symptoms of depression to lifestyle choices that help in the aftermath of a depressive episode.

Coleman stressed the importance of treatment for depression. In fact, it’s his main point: “If there’s just one message you take away from this book, it should be that depression can and should be treated” (p. 10).

He notes that most people who get treated for their depression get better and do so more quickly than people who don’t get treatment.

He advocates getting the treatment that works best for the depressed person as an individual, stating that less than half of depressed people get a proper diagnosis and treatment.

His rallying cry is to keep on seeking a treatment that works: “If you were diagnosed and treated properly but your depression still didn’t remit, don’t despair! Depression can be tenacious, and what works for one person might not work for another. You’ve got options, and there are different kinds of treatment you can pursue . . . (p. 11).

He doesn’t advocate any one treatment, but he speaks of his own experience in using different treatments with patients and also refers to scientific studies that have been done on the treatments.

Those he discusses include psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, psychodynamic therapy, mindfulness-based treatments and medication.

The book also discusses what depressed people can do to help manage their symptoms while they are in the midst of treatment. I found this chapter to be particularly unique and helpful. The author makes it clear that “these strategies are ideas for symptom management, not symptom removal” (p. 71).

He provides ideas on how to manage low energy and fatigue, the loss of interest and social isolation, sad moods, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite, guilt and problems with concentrating and making decisions.

This commonsense approach to symptom management would be helpful to the depressed person who is not yet seeing results in therapy and/or from medication.

He does an excellent job in describing what a new patient should expect from therapy. This would be particularly helpful for those who have never experienced therapy and for those who may have had a bad experience with therapy and still have some concerns about it.

Coleman underscores the seriousness of depression by devoting a chapter to managing suicidal thoughts, with a section for the depressed person and a section for the depressed person’s family and friends. He includes sections on decreasing the risk of suicide, increasing protective factors, and how to let others know help is needed.

He includes an amazing chapter on resources. It’s one of the most detailed resource lists that I’ve seen in such a book, and I plan to keep it handy for my own research and guidance.

The book includes the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for readers to take and show their physicians to have the number and pattern of symptoms checked.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for the newly diagnosed. And I also recommend it to those who have been diagnosed but want to read more deeply about what treatments are available and things they can do for themselves to manage their symptoms and decrease the chances of a relapse or recurrence.

Jeff Goins' new eBook now available

Jeff Goins’ eBook “You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One), which I reviewed here, is now available on Amazon. He is officially releasing the book on Monday.

You can follow this link to the book’s page on Amazon.

The book’s website is also now live.

And Goins’ blog is available here.

Happy reading!

Book Review: "You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One)," by Jeff Goins

“You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One).” By Jeff Goins. eBook. 2012. 101 pages.

Jeff Goins, the writer of a very popular writing blog, has just published a new eBook that will rejuvenate even the most jaded, cynical writer.

Even if you’re not a writer, this book invites you to consider the choices you’re making and whether those choices are leading to the life you want.

The central theme of “You Are a Writer” is summed up in a seemingly simple statement a friend told Goins one day when they were talking about their dreams: “You are a writer. You just need to write.”

Thus began a journey of growth as a writer and an understanding of how he wanted to live his life.

Goins makes a strong point that you don’t need anyone’s permission to think of yourself as a writer, to call yourself a writer, to be a writer.

If you want to be a writer, then write.

And that’s what Goins did. He began getting up at 5 a.m. and wrote before going to work. In the evening after work, he wrote some more. He wrote on lunch breaks and during spare moments. He stayed up late writing and wrote on the weekend too.

He started doing what he referred to as showing up as a writer, and his life changed: “I found my dream not by searching for it, but by submitting to what I had always hoped was true: I was, in fact, a writer. All I had to do was write.”

Goins began having more success with his writing, and he uses a good portion of his book to lead writers through the steps of building a platform—which is more about relationships than marketing, in his view—and creating channels for his writing.

He also gives advice on submitting work for publication and building a writing career.

Goins places his writing in the context of the good his ideas and words—the ideas and words of all writers—can do for the world: “Until you acknowledge this—that you are a writer—you are depriving the world of a gift it longs for. One that stands the test of time. One that could leave a legacy.”

Goins doesn’t give technical writing advice. His interest, and what he succeeds in doing, is in helping writers realize that they don’t have to wait for the writing life to come to them. They can do things to build their own success.

It occurred to me as I read this book that Goins’ philosophy extends to more than writing. Wanting to leave a legacy and wanting to do meaningful work are not desires limited to writers.

Anyone who wants to take a step beyond just wanting to make a difference and actually acting to make a difference will gain insight from this book.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all writers and to anyone who wants to be inspired to live a better life.

Prepare to not only be inspired when you read this book. Prepare to get to work. Because you will want to.

This book should be available soon. I will post a link to it as soon as I have it.

Note: I received a free advance copy of this eBook for agreeing to review it on my blog. The opinions expressed in this review are mine.

  What books have you read that were particularly inspiring to you?

Book Review: Oxford Messed Up, by Andrea Kayne Kaufman

Oxford Messed Up. By Andrea Kayne Kaufman. Grant Place Press, 2011. 324 pages.

The Cadence Group recently asked me to read and review a novel, Oxford Messed Up, by Andrea Kayne Kaufman.

I was happy to read the book, because one of the main characters, Gloria Zimmerman, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, and I was curious to see how that would be portrayed.

The novel is about two people who consider themselves messed up. Though very different from each other in background and personality, each shares a love of Van Morrison’s music.

His music serves as a background and almost as a character, as the two help each other to transcend their demons.

Gloria Zimmerman is a Yale graduate and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where she is studying feminist poetry and serving as a research assistant with an expert in the genre.

Gloria has suffered from OCD since she was in seventh grade. Although she has been prescribed Luvox, she doesn’t take the medicine on a regular basis.

Gloria’s OCD, which she calls Oliver, revolves around contamination. She is terrified of germs and goes to great lengths to avoid them or to rid herself and environment of them.

She cleans the bathroom every day, scrubbing already clean surfaces again and again. She avoids people as much as possible, and finds herself happiest when she’s in the sealed environment of a rare book room in the library.

Gloria keeps a huge supply of cleaning products, antibacterial wipes and, her favorite, hand sanitizer.

As a result of all her cleaning, Gloria’s hands are red and raw, immediately noticeable to others, a visible sign of her inner suffering.

One of the only ways she can comfort herself is by listening to the poetry of Morrison’s music.

Henry is also an Oxford student. He is studying music, but not the music he loves, Morrison’s. He is an academic mess, avoiding the library, research and writing. He has no confidence in himself as a scholar.

Henry is a recovering drug addict, and has the track marks on his arms as a reminder. He has other secrets, too, which keep him from having motivation to do much more than listen to his Morrison records.

When Gloria arrives at Oxford, she discovers that she will be sharing a bathroom, or a loo, with Henry. Oliver is disgusted by this and by Henry’s messiness and “his dirty, feces, germ-infested hands.”

But Gloria and Henry become friends, on Gloria’s terms. She allows herself to interact with Henry but keeps herself distant and doesn’t confide her troubles to him.

They spend hours together talking and sharing their love of the music and poetry of Morrison and others.

In anger after Gloria rebuffs his offer to take her to a Morrison concert, Henry urinates in their shared bathtub. Gloria responds by flying into a rage and then having a meltdown.

This is a turning point in the story, because it brings Gloria and Henry together in a more honest way. They agree that he will be her coach in cognitive behavioral therapy, specifically exposure and response prevention, and she will be his dissertation coach, helping him pull together a new topic based on Morrison’s fatalistic optimism.

Though they have many setbacks and face new issues as they reveal more of themselves to each other, Gloria and Henry are able to transcend the problems that they have and begin to enjoy and find happiness in life.

The novel moves along quickly, with short chapters and lots of different scenes. The viewpoint switches from character to character, each chapter told from the point of view of Gloria or Henry or, in a few chapters, other characters.

The writing is concise and evocative.

Kaufman does a fine job in describing what it’s like to suffer from OCD. For example, her description of the process by which Gloria cleans the bathroom, and the way she rubs her hands together with hand sanitizer while chanting to herself, will resonate with people who have OCD.

Henry is a tortured but loveable character. It’s a little hard to believe that Gloria, steeped in years of OCD, would so immediately be drawn to someone like Henry, but their relationship develops believably.

The book takes place over about five months, and that’s the only real quibble I have with it. Gloria takes Luvox regularly and works on her cognitive behavioral therapy for just two months. Yet, she has almost a complete recovery from OCD. In fact, I think most readers of the novel would say she was cured.

During the two months, Gloria also gets professional help at Oxford, but her quick recovery is still unbelievable.

This may give readers who suffer from OCD and those who don’t the impression that OCD can be easily overcome in just two months, while in reality, it can take longer to reach a place where OCD does not control a sufferer’s life.

I love how the story intertwines with Morrison’s music and women’s poetry. There are many metaphorical layers in the story that enrich it.

Study questions are included at the end of the novel, and these could be helpful for a book club or a class.

Anyone who likes a good love story and who delights in seeing characters overcome great obstacles will enjoy this novel. The book could inspire readers who happen to have OCD and inform others about the disorder.

For more information about Kaufman and about how to purchase the book, go to her website at http://andreakaynekaufman.com/. The book is available as a hardcover, paperback and as an e-book.