Q&A: OCD
OCD
Question
In one of the comments on your latest column you wrote that you suffered from OCD.
I wanted to ask whether you were actually diagnosed, or whether that was just an example to illustrate the point you wanted to make there?
(I already raised this question there in the comments, but since there was no response, I thought maybe you hadn’t seen it, so I’m posting it again here.)
I’m asking because it’s not clear to me how a logical and rational person like you could have thoughts with an OCD-like character.
As someone who was also diagnosed and suffered from those kinds of stuck thoughts, I always felt that this couldn’t happen to people with straight thinking and healthy logic, and perhaps that says something about me. That’s why I’m asking.
Thank you.
Answer
I didn’t write that anywhere, and I have never suffered from OCD.
Discussion on Answer
That wasn’t the Rabbi, but someone who used his name in a comment to illustrate the falsehood involved in impersonation of various kinds.
I went to look and was astonished. I thought maybe I had forgotten to add the word “if.” But now I remember that Nehemiah is right. Someone there pulled a stunt (legitimately, for the sake of the discussion there) and used my name to demonstrate impersonation.
That was me—I was trying to demonstrate some claim. Sorry about the incident…
Why is impersonation legitimate here? I impersonated someone here once and got slammed for it.
So is impersonation allowed?
Here the impersonation was meant to make a point relevant to the issue itself. Even so, it created confusion, and it’s not recommended to do that.
You wrote it here, Rabbi: