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Write a short fictional piece about a character that overcomes a destructive behavior of some sort. The behavior could be any vice that you could think of. The narrative must include clearly conveyed reasoning as to why the character decided to drop the vice and what they did in order to successfully overcome it. It should be riveting and intense. Try to avoid writing in the first-person point of view. You are encouraged to include the character's "epiphany" as the climax of the piece.
Cover image for post Beating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, by sandflea68
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sandflea68 in Fiction
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Beating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Leaving her bedroom, Amanda nervously glanced back to make sure the bed was made, and the clothes were put away and off the floor. She knocked three times on the hallway wall, ducked into the bathroom and washed her hands, scrubbing them four times. Anxiously, she grabbed her purse to recheck that she had her lipstick, her hairbrush and her keys. In the kitchen, she counted out 73 cornflakes, added 1 teaspoon of sugar and ¼ cup of milk to her bowl which she had washed and dried three times. Before leaving her house, she checked to make sure the refrigerator door was closed, the light switch was off and the burglar alarm was turned on. Three times!

She couldn’t get the thought out of her mind of her boyfriend taking off his socks and exposing the bottom of his feet last night. She shivered violently when she thought of it.

She climbed into her car, making sure the mirrors and seats were adjusted correctly. It took her at least four trials. She felt anxiety creeping in as she pulled into traffic, craning her neck again and again to make sure that she was not going to be hit by another vehicle. She thought of what she must do if an accident occurred. She must get out of car, (don’t touch him, he’s not clean) let him see her driver’s license (don’t let him hold it), copy his license plate number, check it to make sure it’s correct (4 times) and write his driver’s license down on her own pad of paper (don’t use his paper). Thinking of what complicated maneuvers were awaiting her made her tremble in dread. Maybe she should take the back roads or turn right instead of left. Maybe then it wouldn’t happen. Thoughts of harming the other driver entered her head but she pushed them in the back of her mind, over and over. After all, nothing had happened yet but she kept obsessing that maybe it would. She knew that she needed to know for certain that it would not occur. If she couldn’t suppress her thoughts, it would increase their frequency and feed back into her obsession.

“I have to get over this,” Amanda thought. She contacted a therapist who informed her that over 80% of OCD sufferers could overcome their compulsions. He informed her that the only way to beat OCD is by experiencing and psychologically processing triggered anxiety(exposure) until it resolves on its own without trying to neutralize it with any safety seeking action(response or ritual prevention).

Amanda was thrilled to discover that she could do something to help herself.

She began to expose herself to her fears instead of avoiding them and gradually realized that she was recovering. She smiled as she realized that there was hope for her and that her responses were changing.

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