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The Man Who Couldn't Stop

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The Man Who Couldn't Stop

By: David Adam
Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
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About this listen

In this captivating fusion of science and personal memoir, writer David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind. David has suffered from OCD for twenty years, and The Man Who Couldn’t Stop is his honest attempt to understand the condition. At what point does a harmless idea become a blinding blizzard of unwanted thoughts? Drawing on the latest research on the brain, as well as historical accounts of patients and their treatments, this is an audiobook that will challenge the way you think about what is normal, and what is mental illness.

©2014 David Adam (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd Anxiety Disorders Mental Health Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences Health

Critic reviews

"Superb... A brave and helpful contribution to deepening our understanding of the intricate complexities of mental ill-health." ( The Times)
"Combines a scientific account of OCD from ancient times to the most recent research with passages of tenderly written memoir." ( Telegraph)
All stars
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This book about ocd promises a look into the author’s personal journey and development, which is probably what most people would pick the book up for. Whilst there is some of that, it often wanders into details of medical history that are irrelevant and even tedious. Honestly, how many ocd patients today would even co template a lobotomy ? Why give us the history of the procedure, then?
Came across as unnecessary fluff. Without those parts, this would have been a 4 stars for me. I enjoyed the excellent narration and even the humour with which this otherwise very heavy topic is presented by the author.

“Not really what it says on the label”

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This book brilliantly uses a rich and personal account to educate the listener about OCD - both what it is, and what it is not. It's a really balanced perspective, helpful both to myself as a Trainee Clinical Psychologist and I'd imagine to listeners who themselves are experiencing challenges associated with obsessive and compulsive symptoms.

Lively, informative, and personable

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I loved this book. it is honest, funny, intelligent, shocking, and explains how otherwise completely normal and seemingly healthy people can be hit hard by the genuine pain of OCD, but they're friends and family don't know it.

brilliant.

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I don't have OCD, but I'm interested as a 'third party', and I found this account very valuable to help me understand, as far as one can (OCD does seem so odd to someone who is not affected directly). I do believe that David Adam is a genuine expert on the subject through being a sufferer himself, with insights more worthwhile than those of 'expert psychologists' who try to treat sufferers. He weaves his own story in with his reading of scientific research and his own experience of treatment, to provide a convincing overview of the whole topic. I cannot recommend this book to sufferers, but I would recommend it enthusiastically to anyone in my position, trying to be sympathetic and helpful to a sufferer.

A valuable book

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Adam gives a fantastic account of how OCD has affected him, and relays the experiences of others. Unfortunately, when he steps beyond that things get ropey in places.

It is clear that Adam has benefitted greatly from psychiatric care - a standard multidisciplinary team approach with medication, talk therapy and support. But then he goes on to give out about psychiatry basically not being the magical saviour of everyone with mental illness, ignoring the massive benefit seen by people who otherwise have no chance of improving. He also ignores the failure of treatments in other areas of medicine.

One specific set of criticisms around diagnosis in psychiatry stands out. Adam complains that ‘tick 5 boxes and you’re depressed, 4 and you’re not’, and psychiatry should work more like physical medicine instead of having these arbitrary cutoffs decided by committee. This ignores that hypertension, sepsis, diabetes, cancer and so forth are diagnsosed in exactly the same way. Adam in fact specifically refers to hypertension in exactly that way, but fails to draw the parallel with the psychiatric equivalents.

Overall the book is still an excellent read, especially if unfamiliar with OCD and the related impact this can have.

Great personal account, poor critique

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