My newest obsession

I’m obsessed with Obsessed, a new TV reality show on A&E about people suffering from OCD (Ironic, huh?). I don’t want to seem unsympathetic or cruel, but just like a fiery crash on the highway, you just have to slow down and watch. And before the PC police get their panties in a bind, I don’t mean to compare these people’s very serious compulsions to a car accident. It’s just that the repetitive physical movement coupled with the emotional intensity motivating them is hypnotizing. Even I can admit I’m anal about certain things - dirty dishes in the sink, clean bathroom, turning lights off - but I certainly don’t have an anxiety attack if I see a dirty whisk or stray hair on the toilet seat.

The best part of the show is when the patient starts treatment. The phrase “face your fears” has becoming a cultural cliché. Yet this is the guiding principle behind exposure therapy, which in itself is a rather unfortunate name (I picture a nasty old guy in a long trench coat flashing people on the subway). One woman was obsessed with the idea of murdering people. She believed that if she got too close to a gun or a knife (or any weapon), she’d just pick it up and start slashing. I actually don’t see the problem. I used to get that “slasher feeling” at Broadway chorus calls all the time. Being forced to sit in a tiny room full of obnoxious chorus boys, narcissistic wannabes and screaming queens definitely could motivate anyone to mass murder. Anyway, this particular patient became so terrified of snapping and setting off on a bloody rampage that she became a social recluse - "Law and Order" take note, good idea for an episode. For her “first exposure,” the therapist laid out an array of huge knives. The patient was then forced to hold the blade against the therapist’s throat while listening to a tape recording of herself reading a passage about murdering people. The horror and fear on the patient’s face was riveting. And that therapist must have a huge pair of ‘nads to let that knife blade touch her neck. That’s what I call must-see TV!