Monk, the real OCD."Watch your thoughts, for they become words,
Watch your words, for they become actions,
Watch your actions, for they become habits,
Watch your habits, for they become character,
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny"
The Monk series reminds me of Bandung... My housemates and I back in Bandung used to watch Monk while having lunch and dinner EVERYDAY ^_^ Monk is seriously genius and funny! Probably because of the disease that drove him crazy - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. A psychiatric disorder.
On that note, let's talk about OCD and how could it possibly helped Monk going into details of all the investigations being done. Mind you, the 'Holy' book in Psychiatry is DSM-IV which is quite a number to be memorized. But I'll try to simplify them for your convenience okay. I just pray that my memories are not tangled inside my brain, especially during exams. Na'uzubillah~
By definition, well, you can google it if you find mine is not that convincing. It's just that I prefer to create a story every time I hit the medical books so that I could chain all the infos together without losing any.
The essence of OCD are..
1. Obsession : Thoughts - recurrent, intrusive.
2.Compulsion: Behaviour - repetitive, to relieve anxiety in response to obsession.
It is a disorder characterized by recurrent and persistent intrusive thoughts, impulses or images from one's own mind which are unpleasant that makes one anxious because they can't resist. In turn, one shall 'obey' the obsession to neutralize the disturbing thoughts by doing it over and over again up to the point where it could harm the patient. Worse if it affects the functioning either socially or occupational function.
The same happened to Detective Adrian Monk. He can't stand it if the spoons are not symmetrically arranged, the books must be placed in order with definite and accurate measurements, not even an inch of difference. Once, he was trapped and tied along with some other people by a bad guy in a room with an unsymmetrical window blind at the corner. He managed to grab a sharp stuff and untie himself, however, instead of rescuing others, he stormed to the window blind and fixed it real good! I can't imagine being one of the other victims, watching an open door being locked as soon as I think I'll be free. Lawak btol Pakcik Monk ni.
Also, if I were to list all the phobias that he has, I might as well make a book out of it because it reaches over hundred items!!
Come to think of it, I realize that being a detailed person makes Monk a greater detective as to how he can remember exactly all the images at the crime scene, the evidence be it verbal or non verbal and so on. Pure genius.
Anyhow, like Monk, patients with OCD usually have good insight about their sickness. They know that they worry about unreasonable stuffs excessively. They are aware of it and they wish to get rid of all the intruders!
Poor Monk. This could be due to some stressful life events during his childhood. His father was not that "fatherly" you know. Once he got OCD, the course usually varies but like Monk, it is chronic with only around 30% of patients showing significant improvement with treatment.
Another important thing in psychiatry is to manage the patient as a whole. By that I mean considering 3 major aspects which are BIO, PSYCHO, SOCIAL of the patients. For instance, how to treat OCD:
Bio: SSRIs are the first line drugs, preferably in higher doses. Last resort would be ECT.
Psycho: Obsession - behavioural therapy (touching the dirty floor without washing hands), anxious mood (need to bear with the thought of dirty hands) - relaxation techniques.
Social: Social skills? (sukati je :p)
Monk has his own psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Kroger who constantly and patiently listened to Monk's progression each time they met. Psychiatrist memang sangatlah penyabar! Sometimes Dr. Kroger gave him suggestions like trying to mingle with some other people in a normal way.. but it didn't work out, mostly :( Tapi dia terer siasat! :)
So from thought to words to actions to habits to character to destiny.. I guess it's clear enough that we can create a good chain of all those by initially having good thoughts and of course, a good heart ^_^
On that note, let's talk about OCD and how could it possibly helped Monk going into details of all the investigations being done. Mind you, the 'Holy' book in Psychiatry is DSM-IV which is quite a number to be memorized. But I'll try to simplify them for your convenience okay. I just pray that my memories are not tangled inside my brain, especially during exams. Na'uzubillah~
By definition, well, you can google it if you find mine is not that convincing. It's just that I prefer to create a story every time I hit the medical books so that I could chain all the infos together without losing any.
The essence of OCD are..
1. Obsession : Thoughts - recurrent, intrusive.
2.Compulsion: Behaviour - repetitive, to relieve anxiety in response to obsession.
It is a disorder characterized by recurrent and persistent intrusive thoughts, impulses or images from one's own mind which are unpleasant that makes one anxious because they can't resist. In turn, one shall 'obey' the obsession to neutralize the disturbing thoughts by doing it over and over again up to the point where it could harm the patient. Worse if it affects the functioning either socially or occupational function.
The same happened to Detective Adrian Monk. He can't stand it if the spoons are not symmetrically arranged, the books must be placed in order with definite and accurate measurements, not even an inch of difference. Once, he was trapped and tied along with some other people by a bad guy in a room with an unsymmetrical window blind at the corner. He managed to grab a sharp stuff and untie himself, however, instead of rescuing others, he stormed to the window blind and fixed it real good! I can't imagine being one of the other victims, watching an open door being locked as soon as I think I'll be free. Lawak btol Pakcik Monk ni.
Also, if I were to list all the phobias that he has, I might as well make a book out of it because it reaches over hundred items!!
Come to think of it, I realize that being a detailed person makes Monk a greater detective as to how he can remember exactly all the images at the crime scene, the evidence be it verbal or non verbal and so on. Pure genius.
Anyhow, like Monk, patients with OCD usually have good insight about their sickness. They know that they worry about unreasonable stuffs excessively. They are aware of it and they wish to get rid of all the intruders!
Poor Monk. This could be due to some stressful life events during his childhood. His father was not that "fatherly" you know. Once he got OCD, the course usually varies but like Monk, it is chronic with only around 30% of patients showing significant improvement with treatment.
Another important thing in psychiatry is to manage the patient as a whole. By that I mean considering 3 major aspects which are BIO, PSYCHO, SOCIAL of the patients. For instance, how to treat OCD:
Bio: SSRIs are the first line drugs, preferably in higher doses. Last resort would be ECT.
Psycho: Obsession - behavioural therapy (touching the dirty floor without washing hands), anxious mood (need to bear with the thought of dirty hands) - relaxation techniques.
Social: Social skills? (sukati je :p)
Monk has his own psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Kroger who constantly and patiently listened to Monk's progression each time they met. Psychiatrist memang sangatlah penyabar! Sometimes Dr. Kroger gave him suggestions like trying to mingle with some other people in a normal way.. but it didn't work out, mostly :( Tapi dia terer siasat! :)
So from thought to words to actions to habits to character to destiny.. I guess it's clear enough that we can create a good chain of all those by initially having good thoughts and of course, a good heart ^_^
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim~
Say, "I seek refuge in Lord of Mankind",
The King of Mankind,
The God of Mankind,
From the evil whisperings of the evil whisperer,
Who whispers into the hearts of men,
From among jin and men.
[surah An-Nas]
Say, "I seek refuge in Lord of Mankind",
The King of Mankind,
The God of Mankind,
From the evil whisperings of the evil whisperer,
Who whispers into the hearts of men,
From among jin and men.
[surah An-Nas]
*Currently busy doing my Case Write Up (CWU) on Major Depressive Disorder. My patient came in with a slashed wrist, a suicidal attempt, and she's only 20 :'(
1 comment:
i learnt a lot about OCD leya, just from reading about your MONK guy. so socially, how do we treat OCD leya? (haha, i haven't learnt psych yet, just curious)
LOVE it how you put Surah An-Naas to wrapped the whole entry. I somewhat found tranquility behind the surah after reading about this disorder.
jzkk dear.
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