The Object That Symbolises My Ordeal With OCD

For most of us, the objects we interact with on a daily basis are easy come, easy go.

The receipt the cashier hands over with our change at the till, the earphones through which we listen to podcasts, the plate that we eat dinner off or the pillow on which we lay our head to sleep. To the lucky ones, none of these items holds any great level of significance but, for some people, they could mean a trigger for intrusive thoughts too tough to handle.

To sufferers of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it can take just one object to turn their whole life upside down, from work to relationships. The smallest thing could send them into a spiral, or be the thing that puts them on the path to one day, hopefully, recovering from this exhausting, debilitating mental health issue that even now, many struggle to understand.

We spoke to seven women and one man who have suffered with the disorder and asked them about the 'thing' that symbolises their ordeal. From the object that first triggered them to the object that helped turn things around, they share their powerful stories.