Candyfreak: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Patient?
...ll choose you. Almond even admits to arranging his candy on his bed before eating it. This is where compulsions come into play. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors a person performs to counteract the anxiety and distress produced by the obsessive thoughts. Some common compulsions are washing, repeating, checking, touching, counting and yes, ordering or arranging. In order to get his point across, the narrator uses exaggeration to “wow” the reader. In the beginning, he claims “the author has eaten a piece of candy every single day of his life.” If evaluated, this statement seems nearly impossible. No mother would give her newborn a piece of candy every single day! So, from this we know we can not always trust what the narrator claims. Then, on page 6, he says “the author has between three and seven pounds of candy…. Perhaps you think I’m exaggerating for effect. I am not exaggerating for effect.” Now the narrator wants us to believe him. He tells lies and then tells the truth. What are we to believe? As part of OCD, patients may experience intrusive sexual thoughts or urges. This is apparent with Mr. Almond right off the bat. He first mentions these sexual thoughts early on: “If you give a teenage boy a candy bar with a ruler on the back of the package, he will measure his dick.” Some would question the appropriateness of this statement. Is it really necessary? Also, on page 13, he expresses his desires to “lick or chew or suck… Cameron Diaz’s eyeballs.” This may relate to candy in that you can “lick, chew or suck” candy. On page 68, he thinks of “Ben eating J-Lo’s ass in a bloody cannibal feast.” Now we know this guy is a freak! Who would possess this predilection of insane sexual fantasies? How does these feelings relate to his infatuation with candy? OCD also causes distress, the term psychologists’ use for stress overload. In Candyfreak, we learn Steve Almond and his father both use candy as a form of antidepressant. Research on OCD suggests genes do play a role in the development of this disorder in some cases. So quite possibly, Steve Almond inherited this disorder from his father. However, research also concluded that it’s the general nature of OCD that is i...