After reading about Freuds experience with the "Rat Man" I was filled with nothing other than sadness to read about someone living such a tormenting life. Freud explains how a story told to the man by an officer about the treatment of criminals in prison affected the way he began to live his life. The officer told him that the inmates would have rats placed on their back sides and then covered with a pot. The rats had no way of escaping the darkness of the pot other than to eat through the anus of the prisoner. This chilling and gruesome story sent the "rat man" into a life filled with fear. My heart went out to this man because something that shouldn't have really affected him so harshly, did. He began having the ideas of such treatment happen to a woman he deeply admired and his father being harmed as well. He felt if he didn't live his life the "right" way then such treatment would be the punishment for the people he held close to his heart. Ironically we learn that the "rat mans" father was dead, so why was he in such fear of his father being hurt in any way? It was because he was so traumatized his mind began to wander and take over his life as he knew it. He even went as far as talking about getting in trouble for masturbating as a child and it haunting him as well, which I interpreted as the start of his fear of punishment. Things that happened way before hearing the officers story began to resurface and inject even more fear into the "rat mans" life.
This passage really showed me how bad OCD can get hence my title: "OCD at its Worst". I used such a title because even though I'm sure there are much more severe cases of OCD, I found it completely out of "left field" for the "rat man" to feel like he was going to endure the same treatment. He wasn't a criminal and didn't do anything to which he needed to be so harshly punished. But yet, he still led his life walking on egg shells to avoid the worst. I learn more and more about OCD everyday and feel more and more bad for the victims that live their lives trying to tolerate and live with it.
I agree with your title, “OCD at its Worst.” Rat Mans thoughts and rituals began to take over his life in such a crazy way. He was trying so hard to avoid something bad happening to the two people he cared for most. His fear made his OCD worse and harder to tolerate. He simply let his mind get the best of him and allowed his obsessive idea about the rats control his every move. I could not imagine if I had to live in this way. OCD is turning out to be a big learning experience for the both of us.
ReplyDelete