What is OCD?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder. The term is often misused in daily conversation - for example, if you hear people talk about being 'a bit OCD', if they like things to be neat and tidy. But reality of this disorder is a lot more complex and serious.
OCD has two main parts: obsessions (unwelcome thoughts, images, urges, worries or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind; and compulsions (repetitive activities that you feel you have to do to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession).
OCD in Art
Yayoi Kusama
The childhood of Yayoi Kusama forever had an influence on her mental health and her art. Born in Matsumoto, Japan in 1929, she was the youngest of four children born into an unhappy, arranged marriage. Her mother was abusive towards Kusama and often sent her to spy on her father. As a result, she suffered with poor mental health, leading to a fear of men and sex and instigating hallucinations. Art became an outlet for this trauma.
n 1973, Kusama was treated for her OCD, which helped her mentally but slowed down her creative process. Soon after, she voluntarily moved into a mental health hospital, where she still lives today.
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