AssetID: 54621343
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Will Poulter opens up about OCD battle
Caption: Will Poulter opens up about OCD battle. The 32-year-old star has explained that he was first diagnosed with the condition when he was a teenager. He told the Happy Place podcast: ”OCD is something I was diagnosed with in my early teens, and when I reflect on it, I think I had intrusive thoughts which is one of the subsets of OCD if you like, and undiagnosed OCD when I was aware of my imaginary best friend, for example.” "It just had a different and typically imaginative spin on it for a child. I can remember having this voice in my head, telling me if I didn't walk on certain paving stones on the way up to my mum and dad's house, something terrible was going to happen to them.” He explained that he was able to look back at such memories more objectively following his diagnosis. ”I was really lucky. I got access to therapy in my early teens. I was probably 14 when I first started experiencing obsessive compulsive thoughts and the ruminations and intrusive thoughts.” "Until it was diagnosed and until I received that therapy, I just thought I was totally alone with this condition, or not even condition at that time, this way of thinking, with this defunct brain. I was so scared.” "And that I think is the scariest thing about any mental health issues and you can never underestimate how alone someone can feel in their state.” He went on to describe the condition as "cruel" and added that hearing other celebrities discussing their own mental health helped him appreciate his own way of thinking. Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: Will Poulter,Actor,OCD,Obsessive compulsive disorder,Happy Place,Podcast,Intrusive thoughts,Diagnosed,Mental health,Therapy
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