Everything You Need to Know About OCD

Dr Lynne Drummond is an internationally renowned psychiatrist and researcher, who has been helping people with OCD for over 40 years. In addition to her roles as Honorary Consultant and Visiting Professor, Dr Drummond also works extensively with various charities who offer help to people with OCD and their families, such as Triumph Over OCD and Phobias UK (TOP UK), OCD Action and OCD UK. Everything You Need to Know About OCD is her fourth book. Laura Edwards is a freelance writer with an interest in making science accessible to a wider readership.

• Preface; 1. What Is OCD and Is It Really a Problem?; 2. Who Gets OCD and How Would Anyone Know If They Had It?; 3. Types and Presentation of OCD; 4. Drug Treatment; 5. Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD; 6. Children and Adolescents with OCD; 7. Old Treatments, Modern Developments, New Research, and Potential Treatments for the Future; 8. Other Conditions Which Appear Similar to OCD; 9. What Can Family and Carers Do to Help a Person with OCD; 10. What can you do to help cope with your OCD?; 11. General Principles of Treatment; 12. How to Better Manage Your Symptoms Before and During Treatment; 13. Overcoming Fears of Contamination; 14. Fear of harm to self or others due to failure to act appropriately (fear of harm through an act of omission) and trying to obtain the 'just right' feeling and doubting the memory; 15. Fear of harm to self or others due to your own actions (or thoughts); 16. Overcoming 'Taboo' Obsessive Thoughts; 17. Loss of something (objects or part of 'self'); 18. Overcoming Obsessive-Compulsive Slowness, Perfectionism and Symmetry; 19. Overcoming Obsessive Ruminations (Sometimes known as Pure 'O'); 20. When the treatment doesn't go according to plan or even if it does, what to do next; Glossary; Resources; References.

'As a comedian, I am only too aware about jokes concerning OCD. When I was a psychiatric nurse, I knew that it was no laughing matter. People with OCD are often misunderstood and lack access to appropriate information and services. This book attempts to help by setting out everything about OCD, what may cause it and how it is treated. Using personal stories of people with OCD, it gives advice to families as well as the individual. The final section gives details of how you may help yourself to face up to and overcome OCD. A must-read for anyone whose life has been impacted by this illness.' Jo Brand, comedian