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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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levels of severity in one who has also had head injuries which seems to make it
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.

levels of severity in one who has also had head injuries which seems to make it

by Hollybeth Kulick, Jan 13, 2001 12:00AM
Histroy:I have a friend who is 60, so compulsive when it comes to cleaning and the way something should be done. This condition has gotten worse over the last 15 years. She lives to clean. She will take 2 hours to do what takes me 15 minutes. She has no sense of time. There are no rituals like in most cases. She wears gloves for everything and picks at her fingers. She is allergic to everything including medications. Her need to control every situation is overwhelming. The doctors don't see what I see in her. She is a very good lier and manipulator and says that is post traumatic stress. She can't discribe any events to the doctors or me. She says she is depressed, but keeps so busy that she is exhausted.

She makes up comfabulated stories and takes on the idenity of my profession as hers. She claims to also be a native american, this started in 1991, before this she was a sergaent major in the marines.

I know that there is a lot more going on here, but I need to understand what are the key signs and levels of severity of this disorder?

by Roger Gould, M.D., Jan 13, 2001 12:00AM
From what you have said, your friend is suffering from an extreme form of obsessive-compulsive disorder with other very serious symptoms of depression and a condition called borderline.



The reason that this continues to get worse is because all of the symptoms are meant to keep her away from her own personal "truths" and the realities of her life, and her life choices.  Therefore, when her healthy thinking mind feels and thinks about these things, the symptoms become more necessary, and more intense.  It is a vicious cycle.



The only thing you can do for your friend is to get her in the hands of an experienced psychiatrist.



Hopes this helps.
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