Slough, Buckinghamshire, April 24th

For a while, Mental Health TV discussed doing a podcast. Due to the current situation of lockdown for COVID-19, many video projects have been postponed. It was decided that they would begin a podcast, to be released this month.

To come will be an episode on obsessive compulsive disorder, featuring an interview (done remotely) with somebody who has severe OCD, and also featuring Maire Fisher, writer of, ‘The Enumerations’, which is a book about a young boy who has OCD.

‘The Enumerations’, follows Noah, who has severe OCD. It also portrays the stress put upon the family, the lack of understanding of the condition and the stigma around it. Noah’s own father struggles to understand the condition, whereas his mother has done all of the research. OCD affects Noah’s actions and behaviour, even at school. This leads him to becoming a target for bullies. The book allows you into Noah’s mind, giving a different perspective on life. Somebody who doesn’t understand OCD may benefit from reading this book.

Our other guest who has OCD explains why he struggles to take part in his own hobbies – one being playing games. He describes the rituals he has to do to feel at ease, which include checking in-game menus a certain number of times before he can play, and then checking them again while he is playing them. He also describes having to check everything is ‘right’, and if he is interrupted, he will have to start all over again. Interruptions can include hearing his partner doing something downstairs. This process can take hours, and the need to do this to feel at ease greatly restricts him from getting enjoyment out of things that most people (without obsessive compulsive disorder) would not have a second thought about.

In future episodes, we hope to explore topics such as eating disorders, the pros and cons of medication, and stigma.

The podcast will be released to various streaming sites, including Spotify.

“We hope that our podcast will help to raise awareness on the effect of some of these mental health conditions by having people share their own experiences. Particularly, during this time, we have seen a lot of unhelpful headlines about how we ‘need’ OCD now to help with COVID-19. This shows a complete lack of understanding of a very distressing disorder. ”

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Website: www.mental-health.tv