This is what comes to me during my throne time. When I come out I have my wife write it down. Truly, these are my weird thoughts.

WASHINGTON POST TOP 50 NON-FICTION BOOK 'Extremely compelling' - The Guardian 'Searing... funny, eloquent and honest' - Psychologies 'Remarkable... I hope this book finds a wide readership' - Washington Post __________________________________________ As a child, Lily Bailey knew she was bad. By the age of 13, she had killed someone with a thought, spread untold disease, and spied upon her classmates. Only by performing a series of secret routines could she correct her wrongdoing. But it was never enough. She had a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it came with a bizarre twist. This true story is from a startling new voice in non-fiction. It lights up the workings of the mind like Mark Haddon or Matt Haig. Anyone who wants to know about OCD, and how to fight back, should read this book. Immerse yourself in a new world. Reviews Model and journalist Bailey offers an authentic and stunning account of her struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in this beautifully-rendered memoir. - Publishers Weekly I laughed, I cried. I could not put this book down. Intensely moving with flashes of black humour, Because We Are Bad is the compelling account of one young woman's experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. - Rosanna Greenstreet writes for The Guardian Often as chilling as Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, but also full of so much inner and external turbulence that it reminded me at times of The Bourne Identity and Memento.Because We Are Bad is an intense heart-rending roller coaster of a book... - Will Black, Huffpost UK A harrowingly honest memoir of profound psychological struggle. In her courageous book, the author offers compelling insight into the pain and destructive power of OCD as well as the resilience of a young woman determined to beat the odds. - Kirkus Reviews A fascinating read. It's brilliantly written; I felt inside your head - Ray D'Arcy Show, RTE Radio 1 Because We Are Bad is an emotional, challenging read. Lily takes us deep into the heart of the illness but she is also a deft writer, and even the darkest moments are peppered with wit and wry observations. - James Lloyd, OCD-UK Remarkable. She writes with literary poise and a gift for mordant observation and self-deprecating humor that belie her youth. I hope this book finds a wide readership. - Scott Stossel, Washington Post It's a fascinating read... Buy the book! Buy the book! - Jo Good, BBC Radio London

An exploration of the neurological and behavioral mechanisms and processes involved in intrusive thinking. On any given day, unintended, recurrent thoughts intrude on our thinking and affect our behavior in ways that can be adaptive. Such thoughts, however, become intrusive and problematic when they are unwanted, become compulsive, or lead to socially or medically unacceptable behavior. This volume explores what goes on in our brains to create thought intrusions, and how these instrusions lead to maladaptive behavior.

A leading expert on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder explores the hidden epidemic that afflicts millions of Americans. In the first book to fully examine obsessive bad thoughts, Dr. Lee Baer combines the latest research with his own extensive experience in treating this widespread syndrome. Drawing on information ranging from new advances in brain technology to pervasive social taboos, Dr. Baer explores the root causes of bad thoughts, why they can spiral out of control, and how to recognize the crucial difference between harmless and dangerous bad thoughts. An illuminating and accessible guide to the kinds of thoughts that create extreme fear, guilt, and worry, The Imp of the Mind provides concrete solutions to a tormenting and debilitating disorder. Including special sections on the prescription medications that have proven effective, it is "a beautifully written book that can be a great help to people who want to know what to do about obsessions" (Isaac Marks, M.D., author of Living with Fear: Understanding and Coping with Anxiety).

The definitive classic that has helped more than 400,000 people defeat obsessive-compulsive behavior, with all-new material from the author An estimated 5 million Americans suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and live diminished lives in which they are compelled to obsess about something or to repeat a similar task over and over. Traditionally, OCD has been treated with Prozac or similar drugs. The problem with medication, aside from its cost, is that 30 percent of people treated don't respond to it, and when the pills stop, the symptoms invariably return. In Brain Lock, Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D., presents a simple four-step method for overcoming OCD that is so effective, it's now used in academic treatment centers throughout the world. Proven by brain-imaging tests to actually alter the brain's chemistry, this method doesn't rely on psychopharmaceuticals. Instead, patients use cognitive self-therapy and behavior modification to develop new patterns of response to their obsessions. In essence, they use the mind to fix the brain. Using the real-life stories of actual patients, Brain Lock explains this revolutionary method and provides readers with the inspiration and tools to free themselves from their psychic prisons and regain control of their lives.

Providing clinicians and patients with the latest developments in research, this new edition is a succinct and practical introduction to the diagnosis, evaluation and management of OCD and other related disorders. Part of the Oxford Psychiatry Library series, this pocketbook includes individual chapters on the phenomenology, pathogenesis, pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy of OCD and other related disorders, and features fully updated content and research. The book also includes a helpful resources chapter, and an Appendix with summaries of the major rating scales used to assess patients with OCD, which will be of use to both clinicians and patients. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Obsessive-compulsive-related disorders (OCRDs) are anxiety disorders characterized by obsessions and compulsions, and varying degrees of anxiety and depression. OCRDs are considered to be one of the most disabling of psychiatric disorders and they present a tremendous economic and social burden, both for the affected individual, their family, and for society at large. In contrast to other psychiatric conditions of a comparable or lesser prevalence and patient burden, relatively little is understood about the aetiology, and cognitive effects of OCRDs.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the developme

Traditionally, impulsive and compulsive behaviors have been categorized as fundamentally distinct. However, patients often exhibit both of these behaviors. This common comorbidity has sparked renewed interest in the factors contributing to the disorders in which these behaviors are prominent. Impulsivity and Compulsivity applies a provocative spectrum model to this psychopathology. The spectrum model is consistent with a dimensional model for psychopathology and considers the dynamic interaction of biopsychosocial forces in the development of impulsive and compulsive disorders. In this important work on impulsive/compulsive psychopathology, leading researchers and clinicians share their expertise on the phenomenological, biological, psychodynamic, and treatment aspects of these disorders. Differential diagnosis, comorbidity of the impulsive-compulsive spectrum of disorders, and assessment by the seven-factor model of temperament and character are discussed. Chapters are also dedicated to the antianxiety function of impulsivity and compulsivity, defense mechanisms in impulsive disorders versus obsessive-compulsive disorders, and the unique aspects of psychotherapy with impulsive and compulsive patients. Clinical researchers and clinicians will be enlightened by this exceptional work. The information provided is supplemented with clinical vignettes, and the final chapter provides a synthetic summary that offers a unified, dynamic approach to impulsive and compulsive behavior.

An argument for a Copernican revolution in our consideration of mental features—a shift in which the world-brain problem supersedes the mind-body problem. Philosophers have long debated the mind-body problem—whether to attribute such mental features as consciousness to mind or to body. Meanwhile, neuroscientists search for empirical answers, seeking neural correlates for consciousness, self, and free will. In this book, Georg Northoff does not propose new solutions to the mind-body problem; instead, he questions the problem itself, arguing that it is an empirically, ontologically, and conceptually implausible way to address the existence and reality of mental features. We are better off, he contends, by addressing consciousness and other mental features in terms of the relationship between world and brain; philosophers should consider the world-brain problem rather than the mind-body problem. This calls for a Copernican shift in vantage point—from within the mind or brain to beyond the brain—in our consideration of mental features. Northoff, a neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and philosopher, explains that empirical evidence suggests that the brain's spontaneous activity and its spatiotemporal structure are central to aligning and integrating the brain within the world. This spatiotemporal structure allows the brain to extend beyond itself into body and world, creating the “world-brain relation” that is central to mental features. Northoff makes his argument in empirical, ontological, and epistemic-methodological terms. He discusses current models of the brain and applies these models to recent data on neuronal features underlying consciousness and proposes the world-brain relation as the ontological predisposition for consciousness.