A recent episode of NPR’s new podcast, Invisibilia shed light on a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that’s rarely talked about: One that involves intrusive thoughts about harming others.
The show’s hosts, Alix Spiegel and Lulu Miller interviewed an unidentified man who, after watching the violent Brazilian drama, City Of God, developed obsessive thoughts about killing his wife, explaining:
[In the movie] the gangs would go, and they’d fight amongst each other and kill each other. And there was a lot of pretty graphic violence. And about midway through the movie, I started getting just inundated with violent thoughts. What if I were to brutally stab someone or shoot someone or harm my wife?
Those who suffer from “harm OCD” are plagued by these types of thoughts and images, but they experience a great deal of stress, anxiety and discomfort as a result. The thoughts are no indication of a person’s true character or desires, according to Dr. Bruce Hyman of the OCD Resource Center of Florida. They occur “completely out of context” of the history and the character of the person experiencing them, he said.
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Other common obsessions and compulsions have nothing to do with cleanliness. These fixations and behaviors include violence/harm, sexual deviancy, hoarding, magical thinking, religious beliefs, symmetry/orderliness and checking locks and appliances.
OCD cannot be cured, but it can be treated very effectively.
Hyman emphasized that OCD, while incurable, is an extremely treatable disorder. Popular treatment options include exposure and response therapy, mindfulness-based therapies and medication. Exposure and response is usually the first line of behavioral treatment — it helps the OCD patient to overcome intrusive thoughts by exposing them to the triggering item, such as a knife or a dirty doorknob. Mindfulness, said Hyman, can be a very powerful complementary intervention.
“Mindfulness is really teaching an impassive non-response to the obsessive thoughts, and learning to be open and accepting of this horrific thought, despite the disturbance it causes,” said Hyman. “Mindfulness approaches can have tremendous benefits when combined with exposure and response prevention.”
