Listen to Fallon's story to find out more about what it is like to have OCD.
My OCD makes me sensitive to illnesses and makes me feel like I can catch them easily. I get obsessed with getting ill.
Symptoms
Symptoms were washing hands, worrying a lot and I would have to have a shower every night so that I could be clean and like with chicken I wouldn't touch or say it because I was scared of getting bird flu.
To me it doesn't seem irrational but I think to other people it might be because it is things that they don't do and they don't think it. But to me it's not!
When it got to its worst I was washing my hands every minute and I just stopped eating chicken altogether. Wouldn't say it, write it or anything. I wouldn't go out of the house at all so I would just stayed inside. I wasn't going to school I was just avoiding going to school in any way that I could.
I really did want to get better I just wanted OCD to just go away over night so that I could be normal. And it really did affect me.
Help
The Maudsley Hospital helped in a big way and my family as well. The treatment I had was cognitive behavioural therapy and it helps you to overcome your fears by doing homework. I had to stand in the supermarket and stand in front of the chickens and try to touch them and it was really embarrassing because everyone would walk past and just give you funny looks.
It was really scary but it did help because you had to face your fear and now I've overcome it.
Future
I think in the future I would like to think that I wouldn't have OCD. I mean it's gone down from severe to mild so after treatment I think it will completely go.
Advice
For people I think that are suffering with it I would definitely say to tell your parents coz they can help you. And think positively as well.
This story may have been edited for editorial and confidentiality reasons only.
