lovehollywood 2007-06-22

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This book is very interesting. Suffering from a mild form of OCD this book helps when you read it and realize that others suffer as well and I'm not as bad off as some. And that you find ways to live with it and cope, realizing there are triggers. You might never overcome it but it can get better. The case stories help you also as it lists treatments that have been tried and therapy sessions that help.

M. Hopkins 2007-04-04

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

I had this book on my wish list forever, and finally gave up and bought it for myself just recently. Some of the case studies were fascinating, but overall the book was somewhat disappointing, especially considering how long I had looked forward to reading it. Undoubtedly, part of the problem is that the book is now 15 or so years old (it is now 2007), and so what seemed like breathless new insights about the prevalence and nature of OCD at the time now seem very obvious. But also, the material wasn't presented in a very organized way, and I was left with the impression of a lot of redundancy and more philosophy than hard information. All in all, a bit of a let-down.

E. Bukowsky 2006-10-29

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Dr. Judith Rapoport's "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing" is one of the most powerful and poignant books ever written about obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessions are senseless thoughts or images that recur over and over again and compulsions are repetitive behaviors or rituals that a person feels driven to perform endlessly. In severe cases, OCD can become so disabling that the patient drops out of school, quits work, or may even be hospitalized.

What makes this book so riveting are the first-person accounts of the patients themselves, who discuss their day-to-day experiences living with this horrendous condition. In many cases, individuals are so ashamed of their obsessions and compulsions that they go to great lengths to hide them from their friends and relatives. There are puzzled spouses who for years are kept in the dark about what is really bothering their husbands and wives who are acting strangely for no apparent reason.

OCD has been around for a long time, although it has not always been recognized as a biologically based condition that sometimes improves when the patient receives medication and certain types of behavioral and/or cognitive therapy. The condition may appear in small children, adolescents, or even older adults. Its severity ranges from mildly annoying to crippling. The symptoms vary, but some patients feel the need to check things constantly, wash themselves repeatedly until their skin is raw, or hoard useless objects until their homes resemble garbage dumps.

Although there are more treatments available now than there were seventeen years ago when this book was written, OCD is still a common and incurable illness. It is important to recognize the various permutations that OCD takes, since many of us have coworkers, relatives, or friends who are sufferers. These individuals are often so afraid to be labeled "crazy" that they prefer to live in torment rather than seek treatment. Only by shedding light on this disorder can society make strides in encouraging those in distress to ask for help. Judith Rapoport's lucid prose and compassionate approach make "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing" a valuable source of information for anyone who wants a deeper insight into the sad and lonely world of OCD.

D. P. Birkett 2006-09-30

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This is the best written of the books on OCD and it's interesting enough to read through from cover to cover. It hasn't been revised since 1991, so some of the information about medication is out of date and there are no references to WEB sites.
It was directed at the general reader but I'd recommend it to a professional because of its literary merit, while as a self-help book for someone with the condition I'd suggest Foa's "STOP obsessing."
She includes trichotillomania and hoarding but not cutting or indecisions.

CDS 2006-06-17

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This book was written back in 1989, nearly twenty years later its case studies may be a little out of date, and new medications may be availiable than the ones the author advocates. However I found it a very interesting read,as it sheds light on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, from the perspective of the patients, their families, and the psychiatrist treating them (primarily the author herself). One point that I found really interesting is that while the field of psychiatry tends to try to shut out religion, the author freely and fairly studies the parallels between OCD and its manifestations in religious context, primarily Catholicism, where it can be seen as scrupulosity. She gives an examination of what scrupulosity is and what the Church has had to say about it in the past few centuries. She also examines in a more limited way the Jewish perspective, delving into rituals for freeing the individual from these thoughts and actions.