Newscaster Jeff Bell on Living With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

[The Straight Story]

Newscaster Jeff Bell on Living With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

SACRAMENTO, CA - Radio listeners in Northern California know Jeff Bell as the calm and authoritative voice behind the news, but there is another side to this veteran journalist that's caused him years of anguish, exhaustion and embarrassment. Two years ago, Bell revealed his struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD.

Bell appeared on Monday's Live Online at 11 a.m. with News10's Sharon Ito.

Bell wrote about his crippling disorder two years ago in his memoir, Rewind, Replay, Repeat, and he's followed that up with a new book that's just been released, When In Doubt, Make Belief: An OCD-Inspired Approach to Living With Uncertainty.

Bell wrote, "I am one of the millions of Americans battling obsessive compulsive disorder, a biochemical brain disorder marked by intrusive recurring thoughts and nonsensical rituals aimed at dislodging these thoughts."

Bell said he's compulsively picked up twigs off the sidewalk, obsessed that a branch might jam someone's bicycle tire and cause an injury. Or he might compulsively wash his hands, obsessed that he's passing on germs to someone and causing an illness.

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67735&catid=2

[donco6]

1. My nephew has this.

He's compulsive about a lot of things, but the biggest one is locking the door. He'll lock it, check it, lock it again, check it, rattle the doorknob, check it, lock it - probably about 10 or 15 times and then he'll reluctantly leave it. It's just sad to watch.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. Saw that on the cable show "Obsessed". The guy kept checking the door knobs.

His wife would check it for him just so they could leave the house timely. He'd watch her and make her do it a few times. Same thing with the car door.

we had a discussion about this disorder...when does wondering if you left the iron on or door unlocked cross into obsession?

[donco6]

3. I don't know, but it's really more terrible than people realize.

I can't even get angry at him, even though it can be frustrating. It's just so sad. He knows he does it . . . and he apologizes for it up and down. But it doesn't stop it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. Watch 'Obsession' if you get a chance. Episode after episode of folks

checking door knobs, stepping on lines, cleaning obsessively, tapping fork between bites. Each episode includes therapy sessions for the person.l

[BlooInBloo]

5. Heh. I went to philosophy school with an ocd guy. Wasn't any big deal...

he wasn't especially ashamed by it (possibly due to a general alpha-ness of philosophy people). We razzed him for it sometimes - but he gave back as well and as often as he received. No big deal, all around.

I'm quite sure lots of other people's experiences are not nearly so benign, of course.


EDIT: The best one was when I said something funny, and made him spit up his beer all over. He then spent the next 3 hours off and on cleaning up. And re-cleaning up. And re-cleaning up. He and the rest of us would lol every time. We were all ocd with the laughing that night, I suppose.

[Wheezy]

6. My daughter has OCD. It's a very difficult disease to understand.

In my next book, my main character has OCD in honor of my daughter, who is a strong teen still fighting OCD every day. It's not a book about OCD, it's a paranormal thriller about a teenage girl who happens to have it. I think it's important to expose people to the disease and show how people cope with it and try to live as normally as possible (especially when caught in paranormal thrillers). :)

[The Straight Story]

7. I write as well

Please let me know how I can get a hold of your works, never hurts to help out fellow DU'ers :)

Would love to see your writing - unless it is a post where you are kicking my butt or something of course ;)

[Gwereeya]

8. The Range Ritual

You stand in front of the stove before leaving home, eye each burner knob and the oven knob, and point to each one in turn, saying, "Off, off, off, off, off." I haven't done that in almost two decades, but OCD---at least in my case---is a morphing condition, and, at present, I am numerically obsessed.