Ten Turtles on Tuesday

Dear Diary,

We’re getting close to WildWorld. We just passed the old gas station on the right and the little store with the red and green roof. I counted the whole way—5 of us, 5 taps on my leg, 2 kids playing in a sprinkler, 6 cars on the side of the road.  Seems like I count more than ever. I can’t help it.  Nobody else in the car counts stuff—I can tell. They sing songs and think about whatever they want. When Mom taps the steering wheel it’s for fun, to the beat of the song, not because she has to. I wish I could be like that, so carefree.

Sometimes I ask Mom if she notices how many houses are on the block, or how many people are on the sidewalk, but she never does. So I count secretly to myself…because I know it’s weird.

Do you ever feel like you have to do something over and over? Maybe you count.. Maybe you wash your hands, or check to make sure something is right. Maybe you clean, or perform certain actions with your body, or ask for reassurances. Maybe you do a combination of these things, or something completely different.
 
Meet Sarah. Sarah feels like she has to count or something bad might happen, like her mom might die. That’s a heavy burden to carry! She counts things in order to make herself feel better, but it ends up making her feel worse. Sarah has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD for short. With the help of her family and her therapist, Sarah learns that she can take charge of her OCD. Eventually, she is able to handle her anxious thoughts and compulsions and get out of the OCD game. 

Includes an extensive Reader's Note by Michael Tompkins, PhD.