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Title details for Leaving the OCD Circus by Kirsten Pagacz - Available

Leaving the OCD Circus

by Kirsten Pagacz
Jeff Bell
ebook
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It's like the meanest, wildest monkey running around my head, constantly looking for ways to bite me. That was how Kirsten Pagacz described her OCD to her therapist on their first session when she was well into her 30s—she'd been following orders from this mean taskmaster for 20 years, without understanding why.Initially the tapping and counting and cleaning and ordering brought her comfort and structure, two things lacking in her family life. But it never lasted; the loathsome self-talk only intensified, and the rituals she had to perform got more bizarre. By high school she was anorexic and a substance abuser—common "shadow syndromes" of OCD. By adulthood, she could barely hide her problems and held on to jobs and friends through sheer grit. Help finally came in the form of a miraculously well-timed public service announcement on NPR about OCD—at last her illness had an identity.Leaving the OCD Circus reveals the story of Pagacz's traumatic childhood and the escalation of her disorder—demonstrating how OCD works to misshape a life from a very young age—and explains the various tools she used for healing including meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga, exposure therapy, and medication. Pieces of her art scattered throughout the book add depth and humor to her stories.

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Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser

Kindle Book

  • Release date: October 1, 2016

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9781633410152
  • File size: 4449 KB
  • Release date: October 1, 2016

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9781633410152
  • File size: 4449 KB
  • Release date: October 1, 2016
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Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Psychology Self-Improvement Nonfiction

Languages

English

It's like the meanest, wildest monkey running around my head, constantly looking for ways to bite me. That was how Kirsten Pagacz described her OCD to her therapist on their first session when she was well into her 30s—she'd been following orders from this mean taskmaster for 20 years, without understanding why.Initially the tapping and counting and cleaning and ordering brought her comfort and structure, two things lacking in her family life. But it never lasted; the loathsome self-talk only intensified, and the rituals she had to perform got more bizarre. By high school she was anorexic and a substance abuser—common "shadow syndromes" of OCD. By adulthood, she could barely hide her problems and held on to jobs and friends through sheer grit. Help finally came in the form of a miraculously well-timed public service announcement on NPR about OCD—at last her illness had an identity.Leaving the OCD Circus reveals the story of Pagacz's traumatic childhood and the escalation of her disorder—demonstrating how OCD works to misshape a life from a very young age—and explains the various tools she used for healing including meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, yoga, exposure therapy, and medication. Pieces of her art scattered throughout the book add depth and humor to her stories.

Expand title description text
Psychology Self-Improvement Nonfiction