FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
What OCD
really looks
like
We watched the latest Star Wars
episode, “The Force Awakens” over the
weekend. In it, the son of Han Solo and
Leia Organa is a character named Kylo
Ren. Ren has lived surrounded by the
dark side under the influence of Supreme
Leader Snoke. Solo, filled with love for
Ren, only wants the relationship with him,
and for his son to find happiness. Ren,
immersed in the darkness for so long, is
at last being given glimpses of the true
“light,” which begins to turn his view of
life upside down. He’s at a turning point—
rise or sink back.
In a pivotal scene, Solo approaches Ren
and explains that Snoke only wants him
for what he can do for him, for what he
can provide—a fact clear to all but Ren.
When Solo expresses his love, Ren
cries, “I’m being torn apart inside. All I
want is for the pain to stop.”
Solo tells him he would do anything to
make that happen for him.
For a brief moment, there’s hope. The
audience knows if Ren will only make the
right choice and reach out to Solo, every-
thing will turn out okay in the end.
Then Snoke sends one final wave of ma-
nipulation to Ren, who, without warning,
plunges his light saber through his father’s
heart. He is no longer torn between two
factions. Ren’s decision is tragic—a fact
visible to all but Ren himself—but at least
for now, his pain has stopped.
This scene may be Hollywood dramatic,
but it looks so much like how major life
decisions look and often turn out for those
suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder (OCD).
When most people think of OCD, they
think of someone who has to line up the
chairs just so, make sure nothing sticks
up out of a drawer, position items in an
exact location, count and recount ... And
in many, those rituals are accurate.
Behind the scenes, deeper down, OCD
doesn’t always only look like this, though.
What OCD really is at its most basic
level, is a problem with the decision-mak-
ing part of the brain. In our research, one
psychologist said, “OCD pits the brain
against the heart.”
Most often the person with OCD knows
deep down who he should be with, where
he should be and what he should be doing.
The problem is the short-circuit in his own
brain tells him what he knows to be true
is actually wrong. The guilt, anxiety and
stress of a situation that might register a
2 or 3 on a scale for the average person,
then registers a 9 or 10 for the person with
OCD. Life changes that people handle
every day are overwhelming to the person
with OCD.
Those with OCD are marked by extreme
difficulty deciding in favor of change,
even when that change would be positive
for them, even when the situation they’re
currently in is unhealthy. The notion of
change creates an anxiety that those with-
out OCD probably can’t imagine.
OCD is characterized, according to the
Mayo Clinic, with unreasonable thoughts
and fears.
Anxiety based on those unreasonable
thoughts can surface as an instant “attack”
which is short-lived—hours maybe—but,
as it was once explained to us, leaves its
victim wondering if they actually might
die from it. The anxiety can also build
over the course of days until it reaches
a slow peak, which then ebbs over days
as well. This is often worse, because
when those with unmanaged OCD are in
the middle of the latter type of anxiety
buildup, they sometimes can’t recognize
it as OCD-driven anxiety at all. They
believe the stress and guilt will kill them
physically and emotionally, and can turn
to tragic decisions Kylo Ren-style just to
make the pain stop.
There are several subsets of OCD, but
two very common types are “Harm OCD”
and “Scrupulosity OCD” according to ex-
perts at the OCD Center of Los Angeles.
Those with Harm OCD are convinced
that their actions or decisions will cause
a devastating amount of pain and suf-
fering to certain others. Examples can
range from beliefs like, “If I don’t wear
this shirt, my dog will die” to other
more subtle situations such as if a family
member feels somewhat distressed over
an OCD sufferer’s choices (say marriage,
divorce, job change, etc.) the sufferer may
reverse that decision entirely to his or
her own detriment, due to overwhelming
stress about that family member’s shock,
rather than understand that in a day or a
week, all would have been well with the
family member anyway.
Guilt is another emotion that goes
completely haywire with OCD. Accord-
ing to the Center, “Scrupulosity is a form
of OCD in which the sufferer’s primary
anxiety is the fear of being guilty of
religious, moral, or ethical failure ... The
individual experiencing Scrupulosity feels
an overwhelming urge to take whatever
compulsive action offers the promise of
relief.”
Further, sufferers will “focus enormous
amounts of time and energy on perfectly
following a few specific rules or doctrines,
while turning a blind eye to others that
may actually be more important.”
And once an OCD scrupulosity sufferer
has committed a sin, as all humans do—
look out.
Toss a real-life person with Snoke ten-
dencies into the mix, and who knows how
to push all the right emotional guilt but-
tons, and bam—the perfect OCD storm.
(Think Snoke to OCD is as dealer is to
drug addiction, and you get the picture.)
We’re writing this editorial because
OCD doesn’t have to be like this. While
there is no “cure” for OCD, subclinical,
mild and moderate OCD are treated in
some amazingly successful ways without
psychotropic medication, say most of the
mental health professionals we found.
With therapists who understand this men-
tal illness, a month of treatment (Mind-
fulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
and Behavioral Therapy) can start to give
hope and turn a life around. Three months
can look miraculous. It’s crucial, if one is
seeking a therapist, to find one who spe-
cializes in OCD and thoroughly “gets” it.
It takes a huge amount of bravery to
face the demons in one’s own mind and
take that first step.
Those who are suffering also need to
know there are some “Han Solos” out
there in the world, and that while a choice
to pursue healthiness and happiness rather
than guilt and sickness is a tough one, it’s
worth the leap.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
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Finding those
energy gluttons
By Sandra Ghormley and Susie
Snyder of OTEC
Special to The Baker County Press
Are you concerned that your electric
bill seems unusually high? Chances
are you follow this thought by con-
templating the weather over the past
few days, but conclude it seems to be
warmer, and absolutely nothing comes
to mind that you or your family has
done differently to cause a jump in the
bill. So, what changed? During or
directly following the coldest periods
or when the weather changes from
warm to cool each year, Oregon Trail
Electric Cooperative (OTEC) receives
numerous calls from members con-
cerned that their usage has increased.
Fortunately, OTEC has several
resources to help members investigate
the energy gluttons and resolve high
bill concerns.
When you call the office, OTEC’s
Member Representatives will suggest
you consider several factors. The first
is to look carefully at your OTEC bill
to determine the dates of the billing
period, which is typically 30 days
following the time of usage. Was the
weather colder when the actual billing
period occurred? Second, look at the
number of days in the billing period.
Was it longer than 30 days so the bill
covered a longer period? Answers to
these questions could explain in-
creases. If not, OTEC can offer you
a customized graph showing hourly
or daily usage for the billing period in
question, or over a series of months.
Peak electric usage for the billing
period can also be displayed as well
as high and low temperatures to give
you a good feel for what was happen-
ing inside and outside the home. The
great news is you can access these
graphs yourself at any time or day by
going online to your account at www.
otecc.com.
Other questions OTEC staff may
ask will be directed toward the
number and types of electric equip-
ment and appliances used during the
billing period. Questions like, what
is the primary heating in the home?
Was it used more than usual dur-
ing the billing period? What type of
water heating is being used? Did you
have extra guests in the home or was
there an unusual amount of washing,
dishwashing, showering, etc. taking
place during the time in question? Was
the electric range or dryer used more
frequently than usual? Is your electric
equipment working properly? Did you
add any electric equipment during this
period? A second freezer, a hot tub,
an electric BBQ, etc.? Did you plug
in your vehicle(s) at night because it
was so cold? If so, was it on a timer
to keep usage down? Do you have
heated water troughs or bowls for your
animals, or heaters in the barn to keep
them from freezing? Is there any heat
tape on any of the plumbing? Hence,
often the answer to the high usage is
recalling how the electric equipment
was being used during the billing
period.
Phantom power is another factor to
consider. No, chances are your home
is not haunted, but keep in mind that
anything plugged in to a wall socket
or hard-wired is going to use a small
amount of electricity regardless that
it is not actively being used. A heater
may continue to draw electricity even
when functioning at the lowest setting
if not shut off entirely. Many wall
heaters do
not have
on/off
switches,
but instead
only a low
setting;
hence, the
heat comes
on when
it gets
cold. It is
important
to consider
all the con-
sequences
before
shutting
down a
Submitted Photos
heating
Sandra Ghormley is a
system
20-year veteran of the
as house
electrical utility indus-
pipes could try. In 2013, she joined
freeze
OTEC as the Director
causing an
of Member and Pro-
even great- gram Services.
er problem
Susie Snyder is a
than the
15-year employee
electric
of OTEC, has a B.A.
bill. Shut-
in Business and is
ting off
a NWPPA certified
power at
Home Energy Auditor/
the meter
Inspector. She has
or at your
been helping OTEC
breaker
members find ways to
conserve energy for
panel is a
sure way to over 6 years.
eliminate
power usage, however, should be done
with caution. Phantom power, as the
name suggests, can be elusive, but
does add to your electric bill. Never-
theless, if answering these questions
still does not spark answers, OTEC
has one more way to help you; contact
our Energy Services team.
OTEC’s Energy Program Represen-
tatives (EPR) are certified, trained and
experienced in home energy audits.
They will review all the answers you
provided the office and may ask many
more questions before making an
appointment to visit with you in the
home. Sometimes finding an answer
requires delving deep into usage
behaviors inside the home, looking
for the less obvious energy hogs.
Each household’s power consump-
tion behaviors are unique regardless
the square footage of a home. For
example, heating and cooling systems
may be identical to a neighbors’, but
one may set the thermostat lower
then another or may keep doors and
windows open longer all of which af-
fects usage. One household may use
the shower more often or longer or set
the water heater controls to a higher
temperature.
An OTEC EPR will spend time
going around inside and outside your
home asking a lot of questions to help
you find new ways to conserve and
at the same time working with you to
locate possible reasons for the high
usage. In our experience, high bill
investigations rarely result in the same
conclusions because the differences
in usage, both highs and lows, relate
entirely to individual lifestyles and
behaviors in the home, and we know
that no two are ever alike.
Remember this, regardless the type
of heating system, lighting or electric
appliances you choose, wattage and
duration of usage are the two critical
factors that affect your electric bill.
And, if that unusually high electric bill
happens, OTEC is a phone call away
to help you catch and stop the energy
gluttons in your home. After all, we
want to put our energy to work for
you, but only in the smartest way.
Walden.House.gov
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown
503.378.3111
Governor.Oregon.gov
State Rep. Cliff Bentz
503.986.1460
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli
541.490.6528
Baker County
Commissioners Bill Harvey;
Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns
541.523.8200
Copyright © 2014 -2016
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