A 28-year-old man from south London has spoken out about his experience with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), urging others, particularly in the black community, to seek help. Shaun, a model, writer and content creator, spent years battling intrusive thoughts before finally getting a diagnosis and therapy earlier this year.
Shaun described how a thought about sexual assault while with a friend triggered his decision to seek help. He said: 'I became so worried. I begged my friend to leave the house and I wanted to make sure they'd be OK.' After being seen by a mental health team, he later experienced an intrusive thought about suicide, which led him to find a therapist.
OCD affects more than one million people in the UK. The condition involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. Shaun highlighted the stigma within the black community, saying: 'As a young black man, if I was to speak about my mental health to the wrong people, I think a lot of people would worry about me.'
Nick Sireau, chair and co-founder of Orchard OCD, noted that ethnic minorities are under-represented in OCD clinical trials, possibly due to greater stigma. He added that funding for OCD research is 'right at the bottom', with just 89p spent per patient annually in the UK. 'The current treatments for OCD are not very good,' he said, pointing to high doses of antidepressants that can take weeks to work.
The NHS recommends psychological therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), as a main treatment for OCD, which can work 'quite quickly' for many patients. A 2021 study by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found high rates of suicidal thoughts in OCD patients. Sireau stressed the seriousness of the condition, recalling a friend who took his own life because OCD convinced him he was evil.
