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Mental HealthA Lausanne woman writes to face her OCD
By keeping a diary during her stay as a volunteer in Jamaica, Eva Droux shows us how she lives with her disorders.
Like this woman, Eva Droux walks around her apartment every night, including under the bed, to make sure that she is in no danger while she sleeps.
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Every evening, before going to bed, Eva Droux checks that the six knobs on the stove are on zero, she then puts her hand on each plate to be sure that they are off. She tightens the taps fully so that they don’t run, checks that the fridge door is properly closed, then checks that no one is hiding in a cupboard, even in a cupboard 30 centimeters deep. She unplugs all appliances, makes sure nothing is resting on a radiator. Then check the plates once more. She then checks that no one is hiding in the living room or bedroom, rechecks the cupboards, closes the two locks on the front door, presses the handle three times to be sure it’s closed, checks all the bathroom faucets, see that there’s no one under his bed. And go to sleep.
Eva suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and she has been doing this ritual since she was 19 years old. She is 32 today. This Lausanne psychologist does not only have these “manias”. She also has obsessive ideas and keeps talking to herself in her head. It robs him of his concentration and the slightest choice, even of a sandwich, can give rise to internal conflict.
So when she had the opportunity to go and work as a volunteer in Jamaica, she decided to keep a diary. For her, to see how she lived with her OCD. But once that was done, relatives advised her to publish it, which she managed to do.
Writing, self-help
On reading “Mental Fanfare”, of course we discover the OCD of the young woman, we understand the conflicts that agitate her brain, the difficulty of making choices. But that’s not the focus of the book. We discover an experience abroad, an experience of freedom, that everyone might have had. “Because ultimately being in Jamaica has allowed me to live a lot more lightly. I wanted to live in the present moment and I didn’t feel like writing regarding my troubles anymore.
Still, writing daily was for her a form of self-therapy, which allowed her to take a step back. She hopes that those like her who suffer from such ailments can find some comfort in reading this book, even though she knows that every life journey is different. At least they might feel that they are not alone in facing this kind of situation. This is also what this world health daywhich takes place on October 10.
Today, several years following her experience in Jamaica, Eva is doing better. “I still do my evening ritual, with the plates and all the rest, but instead of spending 45 minutes there, it’s only 5. I’m in therapy which does me a lot of good, even if it’s more complicated with the brass band in my head”. Those around him also better understand his particularities, his difficulties in choosing, “because I speak much more freely regarding my OCD”.
She continues to write and has received some feedback on her book, thanks. “Someone even wrote to me: ‘I can understand you, I sometimes recognized myself in the book. To be honest, I wish I had a friend like you in high school, put it simply. Although I don’t know why he specified in high school,” she laughs.
“Mental Fanfare”, by Éva Droux, Ed. Amalthea, 125 pages.
