Lockdown saved my life, says woman with OCD

A 22-year-old woman with OCD says the Covid-19 lockdown saved her life.

Alys-Mai, from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, has lived with the condition since she was 17, but said symptoms started three years before that.

She said it led her to some dark places, but lockdown "saved my life because everything was under control. I was just in my room, I didn't see anyone outside".

Between 1 and 2% of the UK population has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), according to charity OCD action.

Alys-Mai noticed "something inside me wasn't quite right" when she was 14.

"I believe there was some kind of imbalance in me that switched in my brain and that made my anxiety go to another level," she told Cymru Fyw.

"This was based on compulsions and events and activities to make me feel better.

"The only way I could settle this anxiety was these compulsions."

She said she heard voices in her head saying "touch this or this is going to happen, this was the only thing going on in my brain for years".

"If I didn't complete the compulsion then my day was ruined."

Alys-Mai understood the condition would likely be part of her life forever, but said she now understands how to deal with it.

She emphasized how important it was to normalise the conversation about the condition because of how "difficult" it is to explain.

"I know that a lot of people think that OCD is a quirky thing, in terms of cleaning, but there is also the element of compulsions," she said.

"OCD is a really big thing and it's really hard to tackle it yourself because there are so many elements."

Martha Ifan, from Carmarthen, also has OCD and has written a play called 12 to raise awareness.

"I thought it was very important to write about OCD because I thought it was a subject that is often misrepresented," she said.

She added it was "a condition that is misunderstood by many people so I wanted to write an honest portrait of the condition".

She wrote the play initially for the Urdd Eisteddfod competition and developed it into an hour-long performance.

"The idea was to raise awareness of OCD and create an honest picture of the condition... and once I had the idea I couldn't stop writing," said Martha.

"One of my main intentions was to break down a taboo and to facilitate the conversation about mental health.

"It is a wonderful experience that something good has come from a condition that is very difficult to live with and the most important thing for me is to start a conversation and spread a much wider picture of the condition.

"The main aim is that people leave the theatre having learned something and that there is a conversation about the condition and that people come to understand how the condition can affect individuals."

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours
• OCD can affect men, women and children. People can start having symptoms from as early as six years old, but it often begins around puberty and early adulthood
• OCD can be distressing and significantly interfere with your life, but treatment can help you keep it under control

Source: NHS website