The Man Who Couldn't Stop

A Sunday Times Bestseller Have you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building, or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this captivating fusion of science, history and personal memoir, writer David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind, and how they drive millions of us towards obsessions and compulsions. David has suffered from OCD for twenty years, and The Man Who Couldn't Stop is his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiences. What might lead an Ethiopian schoolgirl to eat a wall of her house, piece by piece; or a pair of brothers to die beneath an avalanche of household junk that they had compulsively hoarded? At what point does a harmless idea, a snowflake in a clear summer sky, become a blinding blizzard of unwanted thoughts? Drawing on the latest research on the brain, as well as historical accounts of patients and their treatments, this is a book that will challenge the way you think about what is normal, and what is mental illness. Told with fierce clarity, humour and urgent lyricism, this extraordinary book is both the haunting story of a personal nightmare, and a fascinating doorway into the darkest corners of our minds.

About the author

Dr David Adam is an award-winning journalist who covers science, environment, technology, medicine and the impact they have on people, culture and society. In 2019, after nearly two decades as a staff writer and editor at Nature and The Guardian, David set up as a freelancer. The Man Who Couldn't Stop is his first book.

Summary

An intimate look at the power of intrusive thoughts, how our brains can turn against us and what it means to live with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Report

Clear-sighted and eminently accessible . . . a fundamentally important book that will bring a breath of fresh understanding to sufferers - as well as mental-health professionals, and family and friends of anyone who exhibits symptoms of OCD. I urge anyone to buy it. It will make you think again The Sunday Times

Product details

• Authors: David Adam
• Publisher: Picador Uk
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 12.02.2015
• EAN: 9781447277682
• ISBN: 978-1-4472-7768-2
• No. of pages: 336
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 200 mm x 23 mm
• Series: Picador
• Subjects: Guides > Health; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Society; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Applied psychology; Erinnerungen (div.) s.a. Einzelperson, Zwangsstörung, Popular psychology, Psychology: emotions, Coping with anxiety & phobias, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Medical (incl. Patients), Autobiography: science, technology & medicine, Autobiography: science, technology and medicine, Coping with / advice about anxiety and phobias, Coping with / advice about mental health issues