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Contaminated, My Journey Out of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Everyday for 14 years Gerry Radano sat alone on her living room couch riveted in fear and suffering repeated panic attacks. Everyday, Gerry sprayed an entire can of Lysol on everything she touched, changed her clothes six to eight times a day, and washed her hands over 200 times to avoid the germs that she was convinced were contaminating her. Everyday for 14 years, Gerry woke up with the same prayer, "Please God, let me die today." Gerry suffered with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a neurological brain disease that affects 1 in 40 people, or nearly seven million Americans. OCD may have taken her mind but it did not take her spirit. Contaminated describes the extraordinary journey Radano made to take back her life and triumph over a disease her doctors had pronounced incurable
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2007
15 people want to read
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March 30, 2011
I stumbled across this book while browsing the library and since I have a weakness for memoirs dealing with any kind of mental illness I decided to give it a chance.
Sadly, I was disappointed in the way the book portrayed therapy, hospitals and the miracle brain surgery she underwent - Gamma Knife Surgery - which isn't actually used to treat OCD. I find it a little odd that every therapist she visited, with the exception of one, was cold, unfeeling and could not help her at all. Every hospital is portrayed as a false hope, either filthy or unable to help her for more than three weeks before sinking back into the disorder. Since I am studying to become a Psychiatrist this strikes me as an incredibly unrealistic portrayals of therapists and hospitals.
In the end the messages seems to be, "With the help of God and an incredibly expensive brain surgery that only 32 people have ever heard, which is totally real, by the way, I manged to overcome OCD. Hospitals will only give you false hopes and you'll have to search 12 years for a competent therapist and medication only makes you fat."
The book is a quick read and not the worst I've ever read, but I suggest taking it all in with a rather large grain of salt.
Sadly, I was disappointed in the way the book portrayed therapy, hospitals and the miracle brain surgery she underwent - Gamma Knife Surgery - which isn't actually used to treat OCD. I find it a little odd that every therapist she visited, with the exception of one, was cold, unfeeling and could not help her at all. Every hospital is portrayed as a false hope, either filthy or unable to help her for more than three weeks before sinking back into the disorder. Since I am studying to become a Psychiatrist this strikes me as an incredibly unrealistic portrayals of therapists and hospitals.
In the end the messages seems to be, "With the help of God and an incredibly expensive brain surgery that only 32 people have ever heard, which is totally real, by the way, I manged to overcome OCD. Hospitals will only give you false hopes and you'll have to search 12 years for a competent therapist and medication only makes you fat."
The book is a quick read and not the worst I've ever read, but I suggest taking it all in with a rather large grain of salt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review