Publisher's Synopsis
Pure O: The Invisible Side of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder follows Chrissie Hodges, a typical eight year old whose life changed drastically with the onset of symptoms from Pure OCD.
Overwhelmed with confusion about her obsessions, Chrissie developed a delusion that God was punishing her with bad thoughts and behaviors because she had done something sinful.
Outwardly, Chrissie was an image of perfection. She was smart, popular, athletic, and devoutly religious. On the inside, she was riddled with fear of offending God, terrified of the tortuous fear of vomiting and sexual obsessions, and consumed with mental rituals she kept hidden from the world. The shame of believing she let God down and the terrifying content of her obsessions kept her from telling anyone what she was experiencing for 12 years.
At age 20, unable to maintain the façade of a normal life under the weight of a deep depression, Chrissie attempted suicide. Barely escaping death, Chrissie found the strength and hope to choose life over death. Her journey surviving a self-inflicted wound, treatment in a psychiatric hospital, and working toward recovery with Pure OCD was almost as difficult as the 12 years combined in the silence of the disorder.
