“Accomodating” or “Taking Advantage Of?”

Many illnesses have support groups and even official organizations that help sufferers and families understand and cope with that illness.  You know, like The Arthritis Foundation and the Diabetic Association.

One of the strangest guides to an illness that I have ever encountered is: “What you need to know about OCD.” Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is not only a serious and debilitating mental illness, but it is commonly misdiagnosed.  To complicate matters, there is also an OCD personality disorder, which is not categorized as a major mental illness, but still can cause a lot of frustration and grief for sufferers and the people with whom they interact. The above-mentioned online guide lists this tip for family members with a compulsion for cleanliness:

“• Helping with the behavior: You do things for your family member that lets them do OCD behaviors. Example: buying large amounts of cleaning products for them.” It sounds to me like they are recommending: “Buy an OCD with a cleaning compulsion a lot of cleaning products and let them stay home.” This is not treatment.  It sounds a lot like abuse. Get these poor people into treatment.  There are medicines that help with OCD.

Me?  Recommend medications? Of course — I have specialty training in psychopharmacology.  I believe in using prescription drugs when appropriate.  And if there is anything else to do, I will do that also. My psychiatric patients suffer more than anybody can imagine.  If I were one of them I would want a lot more than a pill.  I would want anything and everything that can help.  Preferably fast and all at one, to destroy the illness like a cannonball shot at a tissue paper. This is what I always try to do.