Obsessions, like phobias, are irrational and uncontrollable. They seem to be more common than was recently thought; between one and three per cent of the population seeks treatment.

Obsessions appear as recurring thoughts or ideas which are frightening or distressing. Usually they are accompanied by ritual behaviour which is called compulsive as you cannot stop yourself.

Most people experience mild obsessions or preoccupations which may be accompanied by urges to count or check, pointing to some form of anxiety

Although there is no immediate cure for the unpleasant feelings that you may have, there are a number of different treatments which can help you to overcome your phobia or obsession, however, it is not possible to predict how long treatment will take as everyone’s problems are different.

(Taken in part from the Mind Understanding’ series of publications)

Little is known about self mutilation, a frightening yet common act of abuse. Often called “attention seeking” and “manipulative”, it could be better described as the expression of an inner scream.

Self-inflicted injury involving cutting, burning, scratching or gouging could be viewed as a symbolic way of expressing deep distress, a non-verbal form of communication in which the feelings are externalised through the body where they can be dealt with in a more visible way. Yet because of its very visibility, self-injury is often treated with mistrust and fear.

No accurate statistics are available about the numbers of people who self-harm since few people are willing to admit to having caused their injuries themselves. Staff feel helpless when faced with self inflicted wounds and this may cause them to blame, rather than support, the person involved. When time and resources are limited and no one really knows how best to help, it’s easier to make judgements and use labels than to spend time looking for possible causes of distress.

Taken in part from the Mind ‘understanding’ series of publications

We may develop cravings for certain foods, lose our appetite or eat more for comfort. But it usually RESOLVES once the problem is overcome.

However for some people life may become centered around food. Whether denying it to themselves, eating or thinking about it, food becomes like an addiction and starts dominating their lives- everyone’s experience is different.

Eating distress is viewed on the one hand as a serious psychological problem – needing psychiatric treatment, whilst on the other, the media simply sees it as “slimmers disease”, but it isn’t as simple as this and may well have many different causes as well as the effects.

Compulsive eating usually occurs when the person is feeling distressed, anxious or angry A specific food can act as a ‘trigger’ – chocolate or high sugar items. But this is not always the case.

A large majority of people-especially women, at some point in their lives are unhappy with their size or are pressured by society to question how they are and the way they look. Recent estimates suggest eating distress is affecting more and more people (an estimated 60,000 to 200,000 in the UK alone).

Generally those experiencing eating distress are high achievers and perfectionists. Yet they may have low esteem and self worth.

(Taken in part from the Mind ‘understanding’ series of leaflets)