It’s a Matter of Trust

Filmmaker Callner reveals his struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder and offers “practical, common-sense, and spiritual tools” for dealing with it in this helpful memoir-cum-how-to guide. Stress and anxiety due to a sex addiction triggered Callner’s OCD in 1982 and led to him being hospitalized when he was in his 20s. As he describes examples of his OCD behavior, from elaborate hygiene rituals to number obsessions, Callner shares how he learned that he could live without succumbing to his compulsions. He reiterates that OCD is a “fear-based” disorder and that “progress not perfection” is key to handling it. Underscoring his optimistic and nonjudgmental tone, each chapter begins with an affirmational quote and ends with a sentence or two of takeaways for readers, such as “You are stronger than you think” and “You do the best you can given the conditions you are under.” While there are nuggets of insight and wisdom, the chapters aren’t arranged in a logical sequence and a few ideas, such as a higher power providing help, are repeated too often. Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile read for OCD or anxiety sufferers, their loved ones, or anyone interested in the disorder. [em](BookLife) [/em]