Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Popular Literature

David Adam has had OCD twenty years and he writes about his experience with the disorder with clarity and humor. He also pulls in historical patient accounts and their treatments.

Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home. But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.

This book is for those who are newly diagnosed with OCD and provides guidance for coping with emotions related to the diagnosis itself, informing others of the diagnosis, and seeking effective treatment and support.

Traci Foust describes her life with OCD, which started in her childhood blossomed in adulthood. Traci ultimately concludes their is nothing special about being "normal."

Emily Colas, a young, intelligent, well-educated wife and mother of two had a secret that was getting in the way of certain activities. Like touching people, having a normal relationship with her husband, socialising and eating out. Soon there was no interval in Colas' life when she was not just checking everything around her. This raw, darkly comic series of astonishing vignettes is Emily Colas' touching chronicle of her twisted journey through the obsessive-compulsive disorder that came to dominate her world. In the beginning it was germs and food. By the time she faced the fact that she was really 'losing it', Colas had become a slave to her own 'hobbies', from daily hair cutting to incessant inspections of her children's clothing for bloodstains.

This book reviews the latest research on OCD and OCSDs and provides evidence-based guidance for assessment and treatment. Several different conditions are covered, including hoarding disorder; body dysmorphic disorder; hair pulling, skin picking, and other body-focused repetitive behaviours; Tourette disorder and tics; hypochondriasis; as well as OCD.

Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett's son Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

A music loving teen with OCD does everything she can to find her way back to her mother during the historic race riots in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

This book is geared towards grades 5-12 and tells the story of 14 year old Tara. Tara has had compulsions and obsessions since a child and as she grows they change with her. The story explores her family and friend relationships.

Med Head is the young adult version of James Patterson's "Against Medical Advice." It tells the true story of Cory, who has Tourette syndrome, OCD, and anxiety. Throughout the story he discovers his family's decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment.

Charlie follows the same routine every day: he hops out of bed in the morning, walks the same route to the market, and lines up his stuffed animals just so in the evening. If anything is slightly different, Charlie worries that something bad might happen. But when friends call one morning asking for Charlie's help, he forgets to follow his usual routine. Will something bad happen, as Charlie fears? Or will he learn that change can be good?

Kevin is 8 years old and has to check things and repeat actions over and over. He gets diagnosed with OCD by a counselor who helps him manage his condition.

Eleven-year-old Sarah has to to count things. This frustrates her but she finally talks with her mother and a therapist, who diagnoses Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and gives Sarah techniques for coping with her symptoms.