I need to write fic about it eventually

fuckoffstraightpeople:

If you’re looking for a TV series featuring a realistic character with OCD, I definitely recommend Whitechapel (a British crime drama series aired on ITV between 2009-2013, in which a team of detectives attempted to solve crimes that replicated historical murders.)

The main character, DI Joseph Chandler, has OCD (a huge change from being the pushed aside background character) and the show explores the problems that it causes him and the dangerous ways he tries to “fix” himself (by getting drunk) and the consequences of these actions.

In addition to showing the struggles of a person with OCD (rather than treating us as a joke) it shows the way that it has helped him and shows that people with OCD can be heroes and excellent detectives and team leaders rather than murderers or punchlines.

As the show progresses, DI Chandler develops good relationships with his team and we are shown a character with a good support system (his DS, Ray Miles, comforts him through panic attacks and reassures him that he isn’t cursed or bad because of his mental illness in an incredibly heartwarming scene that is so important for people with OCD to see.) Whilst at first he is mocked, we eventually see his team becoming supportive of him and adjusting their behaviours to make him comfortable (a member of his team, DC Kent, stays behind without pay to clear out the bins to take the job off Chandler’s hands.) It makes a nice change to see characters working to accommodate a disabled character, rather than expecting the disabled character to “deal with it.”

This show is so important to me as a person with OCD as I can finally see myself as the protagonist, the hero, the life saver and the genius detective rather than the joke or the murderer that “HAS to kill.” It shows us that we are just as brilliant and deserving of respect as abled people.

It also takes into account the severity and difficulty of OCD, rather than playing up to the idea that OCD is a joke or just “overly clean people making a fuss.” It allows people to see that OCD is an incredibly difficult thing to live with and it validates the thoughts and feelings of people with OCD who are so used to being told they’re “not really mentally ill.”

One last thing, I will warn you that the show is very disturbing at times (one of the cases is a copycat of Jack the Ripper, as an indicator of the tone of this show) so I’d definitely recommend being wary when watching and to check the guides for each episode!