Beckham battles OCD !!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: msn.co.uk
April 3, 2006 Author: Ross Chainey




......."OCD has two main features - obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are usually thoughts of an unpleasant nature, such as fears around contamination, causing harm, inappropriate sexual thoughts, hypochondria, 'unlucky' numbers and concern with order, arrangement or symmetry. Another obsession is the inability to discard useless possessions, commonly referred to as 'hoarding'. Compulsions can be defined as repetitious, purposeful actions that the individual feels compelled to engage in according to their own strict rules or in a stereotyped manner. Typically, the individual experiences a sense of resistance to the act but this is overridden by the need to perform the action."

He's well known for his pristine appearance, but England captain David Beckham has now revealed that he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a debilitating illness which triggers repetitive behaviour and is thought to affect one in 60 people in the UK.

Over the last few years, whether you follow the beautiful game or not, you would have been forgiven for thinking that this is David Beckham's world, we're just living in it. But in one of his recent interviews, the captain of the England football team has admitted that he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

In the interview, to be broadcast on ITV1 before the World Cup in Germany this summer, Beckham - nicknamed 'Goldenballs' by his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria - discusses how he has tried to break a cycle of repetitive behaviour, but has been unable to stop.

Beckham, 30, tells interviewer Tim Lovejoy how he constantly cleans and arranges items such as soft drinks, clothes and magazines into straight lines to make "everything perfect".

Beckham said: "I've got this Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs. I'll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there's one too many then I'll put it in another cupboard somewhere.

"I'll go into a hotel room and before I can relax, I have to move all the leaflets and all the books and put them in a drawer. Everything has to be perfect." When asked if he would like to stop the obsessive behaviour, Beckham said: "I would like to. I've tried to and can't stop."

The declaration backs up Mrs Beckham's earlier claim that he is obsessive and that she thinks her husband is a "weirdo". In a separate interview, she said: "He's got that obsessive compulsive thing where everything has to match. If you open our fridge, it's all co-ordinated down either side. We've got three fridges - food in one, salad in another and drinks in the third. In the drinks one, everything is symmetrical. If there's three cans, he'll throw one away because it has to be an even number."

In the interview Beckham also confessed that he enjoys the pain of tattoos and that he's been asked by his wife to stop getting them. Beckham said: "It sounds weird but I actually enjoy the pain. But I wouldn't just go and have something done that doesn't mean anything. It's either to do with my family or something I believe protects my family or myself. Victoria's not keen on me having any more but they are addictive."

While Beckham's current teammates at Spanish club Real Madrid were not aware of his problem, the players he shared a dressing-room with at Manchester United would deliberately move his belongings as a practical joke. Beckham said: "At United, the lads all knew about it. I used to be in my room. There used to be a knock on the door and Scholsie [Paul Scholes], Buttie [Nicky Butt] and Giggsie [Ryan Giggs] and Gaz [Gary Neville] and Phil [Phil Neville] would come in the room and sit down.

"I thought they were just coming in for a chat but they'd go out of the room and I'd think, 'something's different here'. Then all the magazines would be all wonky. They'd have been in my wardrobe and all my trousers and my shoes would be all over the place."

Beckham's admission isn't the first time a famous person has confessed to suffering from either mild or severe forms of the illness. Fellow former England player Paul Gascoigne is obsessed with cleanliness, while American actor Billy Bob Thornton admitted that he has to count up to a certain number (like "constantly doing mathematics in your head... It's exhausting"), and former All Saints singer Natalie Appleton displayed her symptoms on the ITV reality show 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'.

Evolutionist Charles Darwin also suffered from OCD, as did Florence Nightingale; and the recent film, 'The Aviator', showed how billionaire entrepreneur Howard Hughes spent his final days mentally and physically incarcerated by his own elaborate cleaning rituals.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?


According to OCD-UK, OCD is listed among the top 10 most debilitating illnesses by the World Health Organisation and is thought to affect 2-3% of the UK population.


Sufferers are plagued by persistent, recurring and unwanted thoughts about feared situations, or obsessions, which they often attempt to fight with mental or physical rituals such as excessive repetition of actions, counting or checking, such as repeatedly having to check that they've locked the front door.


Most individuals have come into contact with the phenomenon of obsessional thinking or succumbed to the need to perform odd behaviour patterns in order to avert a real or imagined danger, but the key difference which separates these from proper OCD is when the obsessions or compulsions impact to a significant level upon a person’s everyday life.


Cars, sex, gambling, drugs and football may be compelling obsessions - but these interests are never part of clinical OCD. People with OCD suffer from more mundane compulsions, such as repeated and stereotyped checking, counting, ordering or cleaning.


OCD affects males and females equally. Its mean age of onset is around 20 years old, but studies have shown that it takes up to 7-8 years for someone to present themselves to the psychiatric services.


OCD is often referred to as the "secret illness" because many sufferers hide their symptoms and are unwilling to be diagnosed.


OCD has two main features - obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are usually thoughts of an unpleasant nature, such as fears around contamination, causing harm, inappropriate sexual thoughts, hypochondria, 'unlucky' numbers and concern with order, arrangement or symmetry. Another obsession is the inability to discard useless possessions, commonly referred to as 'hoarding'. Compulsions can be defined as repetitious, purposeful actions that the individual feels compelled to engage in according to their own strict rules or in a stereotyped manner. Typically, the individual experiences a sense of resistance to the act but this is overridden by the need to perform the action.