Maidstone man speaks out over OCD

Andrew Hider has lived with the disorder almost all his life.   Kristen Hawthorne reports.

Transcript

00:00About 1 in every 50 people suffer from OCD at some point in their lives.

00:04That adds up to over 1 million people in the UK.

00:08OCD stands for obsessive compulsive disorder

00:11and it's a mental health condition that can show itself in a number of ways.

00:15OCD affects people as it can have a massively detrimental effect on their self-esteem.

00:21I think people that recognise and identify with OCD have the stigma attached that OCD

00:28is about cleanliness, it's about turning your light switch on and off four or five times a day

00:33or you're not going to be safe, whereas actually it comes down to compulsive and obsessive thinking.

00:39Andrew, who runs an OCD support group in Maidstone with his wife,

00:43has been living with OCD from the age of eight.

00:47I think it's sort of often slown me down with things, you know,

00:50I've taken longer to do things and, you know, people have wondered why I'm so slow.

00:57You know, and that's why, because you can't, you know, how I've got, you can't really see it,

01:03you know, it's all going on in there.

01:07After having dealt with OCD for over 60 years,

01:10Andrew has observed various changes in how the condition is understood.

01:14As it's become more known, you're starting to get this thing,

01:18it's not so much a deep stigma but it's trivialised.

01:23You know, it's okay to have a laugh at things, you know, it's not,

01:27you know, you don't get offended by it but it just isn't taken seriously

01:31because people just say, oh, I've got a little bit of OCD and,

01:35you know, and you've either really got it or you haven't got it.

01:38Andrew's OCD began when he was just a child.

01:41Throughout his life, however, he has managed to cope in a lot of different ways.

01:45Currently, he enjoys writing poetry and spending time cooking.

01:49He also finds that being with his son's guinea pigs,

01:52as well as going on walks with his wife, help to distract him a lot.

01:56He does, however, say that more awareness needs to be raised

01:59to help support those in need.

02:01The activities he do keeps his mind occupied and I say, look,

02:06he tries to talk to me and I'm thinking, but don't keep repeating it

02:10because you don't need to do that, it's fine.

02:14If your thoughts or compulsions start causing you to become overwhelmed

02:18or distressed, it is important to ask for help,

02:21reach out to your GP and to remember you're not alone.

02:25Kristen Hawthorne, KMTV.