OCD on TV

So i wanted to do something a little lighter today ( relative to the other posts ) so i wanted to touch on how the media has impacted how the general public looks at OCD, and anxiety disorders. I think it first started with the show Obsessed that came on a few years back. It mostly covered people who had more "classic" OCD cases such as people who had to always be clean, or people who had to tap, but it did showcase a few less known symptoms.

Recently a lot of specials have come on air that discuss phobias and obsessions and anxieties. I recall one on a few weeks ago that discussed someone with Emetophobia which is a fear of vomiting. I actually do have that. I am constantly afraid that i will throw up at the slightest hint of a stomach ache and a lot of my panic attacks at night or driving do involve that fear.

When i was younger, maybe 10 or so, i spent a year sleeping on my parents' floor because it was close to their bathroom and i was terrified of vomiting. It was the first time i ever went to a psychologist as well because it was becoming impossible for me to sleep at night due to this fear.

Well back on track here, TV shows. The plus side to these shows is exposure. People get to see inside lives of people with these disorders and how much it impacts their daily, even hourly, lives and what they have to overcome to simply be "normal". At first watching these i was so happy that FINALLY someone was showing what we put up with. And also, that i wasn't alone. And then they brought in the psychiatrists.

In twelve weeks, they were cured. Seriously? Twelve weeks. Three months. For serious anxiety and obsessive compulsive conditions. They did exposure therapy and OH! All better. I was pissed. First off, I've been dealing with anxiety for 18 years and I'm not better. Not even close.

Second, they didn't even give them medications! Anxiety is a chemical imbalance. No way can those people be that much better without it. It's next to impossible.

And third, do you know how much it would cost for those people to come to your house to do those exposures? Money most of us don't have. I'm talking a couple grand for a consultation and 300 or so for an appointment of 50 minutes.

So the real issue is, do people watching these shows believe people with OCD or anxiety disorders just need twelve weeks of therapy to get better? To live normally? Is that the impression this is sending? Because it's a BATTLE to be "normal". And twelve weeks? Not nearly enough time.