Why Does Everything Have to be Perfect?: Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (A Dell mental health guide)

Schackman, Lynn; Masline, Shelagh Ryan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440234638 ISBN 13: 9780440234630

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1999

Bad thoughts that won't go away...repetitive actions...feelings of guilt and shame...

Are you overwhelmed by a need to "get it right"? Do continual "what-ifs" prevent you from making decisions? Do you check again and again to see if the door is locked? Are your thoughts and habits causing you anxiety, guilt, or shame?

If so, you're not alone. You may be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, a very specific and largely biochemical problem that affects over 5 million Americans. Now this compassionate, informative guide helps you break the tyranny of obsession and compulsions, providing the latest facts on why OCD occurs, its symptoms, and the breakthrough treatments that can dramatically improve the lives of OCD sufferers. Find out about:

How to determine if you have OCD--and whether your problem is severe enough to warrant professional help
How diet, stress, and other lifestyle conditions can trigger the symptoms of OCD
The two most highly effective forms of treatment--and how to decide what's best for you
The latest news in alternative therapies, including yoga, biofeedback, and herbal therapy, plus cutting-edge research that promises freedom from the chains of OCD forever

Review:

Lynn Schackman, M.D., has been a practicing psychiatrist for twelve years, specializing in anxiety disorders. She graduated from Yale University and Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and did her psychiatry training at the New York Hospital Payne Whitney Clinic. She is a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College and a clinical affiliate at the New York Hospital, and has been an investigator in research on obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder. She maintains a private practice in New York City.

Shelagh Ryan Masline is a writer and editor who specializes in health and lifestyle topics. Her recent titles include: The Johns Hopkins Family Medical Guide to Back Pain; Aromatherapy: Healing with Essential Oils; and Prescription and Non-Prescription Medications for Children: What Parents Need to Know.

Roger Granet, M.D., F.A.P.A., series editor for the Dell Mental Health Guides, has practiced psychiatry for twenty years. He is clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, lecturer in psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, consulting psychiatrist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, attending psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Division, and director of consultation-liaison psychiatry at Morristown Memorial Hospital. He also maintains a private practice in Morristown, New Jersey.

From the Back Cover:

ARE YOU OVERWHELMED BY A NEED TO "GET IT RIGHT"?

Do continual "what-ifs" prevent you from making decisions? Do you check again and again to see if the door is locked? Are your thoughts and habits causing you anxiety, guilt, or shame? If so, you're not alone. You may be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, a very specific and largely biochemical problem that affects over 5 million Americans. Now this compassionate, informative guide helps you break the tyranny of obsession and compulsions, providing the latest facts on why OCD occurs, its symptoms, and the breakthrough treatments that can dramatically improve the lives of OCD sufferers. Find out about:
-- How to determine if you have OCD -- and whether your problem is severe enough to warrant professional help
-- How diet, stress, and other lifestyle conditions can trigger the symptoms of OCD
-- The two most highly effective forms of treatment -- and how to decide what's best for you
-- The latest news in alternative therapies, including yoga, biofeedback, and herbal therapy, plus cutting-edge research that promises freedom from the chains of OCD forever