Title: Coming Clean
Description: Hayley Leitch was just four when she felt the need to jump into her father's fishpond. Small for her age and unable to swim, Hayley almost drowned, but she couldn't stop herself. One compulsion followed another until soon Hayley was performing exhausting rituals and was plagued by intrusive thoughts every day. As she grew, Hayley became obsessed with germs. She washed her hands with bleach and scrubbed her house for hours on end. After Hayley cleaned her house for 18 hours solid on the eve of her wedding, her husband Robin pleaded with his wife to seek help. He suspected post-natal depression but he was wrong: Hayley was suffering with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The illness had blighted her life and almost driven her to suicide. In Coming Clean, Hayley describes her daily battle with this much misunderstood illness. Her story is honest and heart-breaking -- Hayley knows she will never by 'cured' of OCD but explains how she eventually sought professional help. It not only saved her life, it brought her illness under control.
Subjects: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Biography
People: Hayley Leitch