OCD+ME=5

ABOUT the film:  OCD+me=5 received national attention when the creator, 23-year-old Kendra Mattozzi, was selected as the winner of the video/film contest by the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) and honored during OCD Awareness Week 2011. The film was her senior project when she was a student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Growing up, Mattozzi learned to manage her compulsive behaviors with support from family, friends and therapy. But she often hid her constant counting, checking and arranging, too. In this short film she reveals her obsessions and compulsions. It stars her talking about her OCD, but jarring edits show the viewer how sporadic and stressful the disorder can be.

WATCH the film (3:26 min) on YouTube.

DISCUSS the film:  After you watch the film, return here to join in the discussion at the bottom of this page.

REVIEW by Julie:  This film gives us a peek into Kendra's life with OCD. She discusses germs, sponges ("gross!"), adding up numbers in her head, compulsions to "take that turn!" while driving (lest something terrible might happen), and "the 5 second rule".

The film truly gives an unadulterated look at the wild and racing thoughts that everyone with OCD experiences when coming into contact with those things about which we obsess. What I like best about this film is how the storyteller makes all her animations bouncy and rapid and vibrant. I think it truly represents how I would see my obsessions if I were to picture them as animations.

This film packs a lot into its 2:25 minutes. It is definitely one not to be missed. 

DISCUSS the film (in comments section below):

• How do you feel about this humorous presentation about OCD?
• If you have OCD, how well do you think it captures your experiences of OCD?
• Kendra tells us about assumptions -- myths and stereotypes -- that other people make about her OCD. What assumptions have you heard? What assumptions bother you the most?