Review (PDF) Triggered: A Memoir Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
***AS FEATURED ON NPR'S TALK OF THE NATION***Imagine the worst thing in the world. Picture it. Construct it, carefully and deliberately in your mind. Be careful not to omit anything. Imagine it happening to you, to the people you love. Imagine the worst thing in the world. Now try not to think about it. This is what it is like for Fletcher Wortmann. In his brilliant memoir, the author takes us on an intimate journey across the psychological landscape of OCD, known as the "doubting disorder," as populated by God, girls, and apocalyptic nightmares. Wortmann unflinchingly reveals the elaborate series of psychological rituals he constructs as "preventative measures" to ward off the end times, as well as his learning to cope with intrusive thoughts through Clockwork Orange-like "trigger" therapy.But even more than this, the author emerges as a preternatural talent as he unfolds a kaleidoscope of culture high and low ranging from his obsessions with David Bowie, X-Men, and Pokemon, to an eclectic education shaped by Shakespeare, Kierkegaard, Catholic mysticism, Christian comic books, and the collegiate dating scene at the "People's Republic of Swarthmore." Triggered is a pitch-perfect memoir; a touching, triumphantly funny, compulsively readable, and ultimately uplifting coming-of-age tale for Generation Anxiety.Fletcher Wortmann on OCD and sex:"If a girl accepts an invitation to help count the tiles on your bedroom ceiling, then she will probably be disappointed when she realizes you were speaking literally."…on OCD and religion:"I have found Catholicism and obsessive compulsive disorder to be deeply sympathetic to one another. One is a repressive construct founded in existential terror, barely restrained by complex, arbitrary ritual behaviors; the other is an anxiety disorder."…on OCD humor:"By the sink, I noticed a perfunctory sign warning readers to wash their hands. It was scrawled with graffiti: NO YOU CAN'T GERMS ARE UNPREVENTABLE AND INESCAPABLE."…on the seductiveness of OCD:"Every so often, everything will work, and you will somehow convince yourself that you are safe, and the disorder will claim credit. I had struck a bargain with the OCD. The transaction was complete. In that moment I became subservient to it."
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (March 27, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312622104
ISBN-13: 978-0312622107
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #384,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #120 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Doctors & Medicine #381 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior #401 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Special Needs
I am absolutely delighted to recommend Fletcher Wortmann's book, Triggered: A Memoir of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I read the book in two evenings. In the book Mr. Wortmann takes us from the time when he was a little boy as his symptoms were beginning to emerge to the present time. The book tells a story of a boy who often is in extreme internal distress and sometimes despair. Fletcher Wortmann and his family spend many years trying to find solutions to the "Problem". A complexity in their situation is that Mr. Wortmann has a less well known type of obsessive compulsive disorder referred to as "Pure O"--Pure Obsession. Intrusive, obsessive and often disturbing thoughts are what characterize this form of the disorder. It is not coupled with the compulsions of handwashing,counting or other rituals. Therefore, it is not as easliy recognized and often is misdiagnosed.This was the experience of The Wortmann family -- It is a story about a son struggling for years in pain often feeling alienated from his peers and the world at large. It is a story about the parental pain of watching a child struggle and not being able to find the solutions to his problems. It is a story that documents the impact of mental health issues of one family member on the entire family and will resonate with any parent who has had to watch their child suffer.This is a poignant, painful story that Fletcher Wortmann tells with intelligence and wit. As Mr. Wortmann takes us through his years of confusion and depair, the reader feels his pain as well. As he develops insights about his disorder and acceptance of the ongoing implications this will have in his life, the reader also feels a sense of accomplishment in overcomming adversity and a sense of triumph and hope for the future.
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