OCD: TO TELL OR NOT TO TELL Barbara, a 33-year-old honors graduate of a prestigious Ivy League university, knew that she was an underachiever, working for a temporary agency. She was intelligent and articulate, but was plagued by intrusive thoughts that told her to check and recheck things. Had she unplugged the appliances? Locked the door? Often, she would leave early for her job, knowing she would have to turn around and come back home once or twice to check. One really bad day, she tucked the coffee machine and the iron in her book bag and took them to work. She felt very ashamed. “If you start doing these things,” Barbara told herself, “you’re going to lose whatever self-respect you have left.” So she developed new strategies for coping with her nagging and nonsensical thoughts: Before she left for work each day, she put the coffee machine on top of the refrigerator, far from any electrical outlet, and said out loud—and very tongue in cheek—“Goodbye, Mr. Coffee!” She had come ...