With medication and behavioral therapy, his life, as he puts it, has been turned around. Next Dr. Goodwin is joined by Dr. Lorrin Koran , professor of psychiatry at Stanford University and head of the OCD clinic there, and by Janis McClure , the head of the Obsessive-Compulsive foundation of Jacksonville, Florida. Ms. McClure began suffering from OCD at the age of six. Dr. Koran discusses the difference between obsessions and compulsions. Fears of violence to loved ones are common.
Compulsions are repetitive behaviors, such as counting, hoarding, washing, and arranging.
In response to Dr. Goodwin's question, Dr. Koran explains how OCD differs from an obsessive personality disorder. OCD's obsessions are confined to certain areas while a personality disorder affects nearly all aspects of a person's life. Ms. McClure tells how her OCD at first came and went, but grew more constant and severe as she grew older, until in her mid-20s it became debilitating. Caretakers tend not to have an impact. There is a discussion of the links between OCD and other mental illnesses such as depression.