Most people know Charles Darwin studied and wrote about evolution, but may not realize he had OCD.
There is no doubt that many men and women OCD sufferers never made it into the pages of a history book—but here are five individuals who did.
OCD Through Five Centuries
Martin Luther (1483-1546). Luther, a leader in Europe’s Protestant Reformation, apparently had obsessive thoughts related to the wrath of God. A student of Luther’s, Philip Melanchthon, suggests that he calmed the anxiety through prayer. It seems that stress either triggered or worsened Luther’s symptoms since they were severer after the death of a dear friend.
John Bunyan (1628-1688). The author of Pilgrim’s Progress reportedly had intrusive sacrilegious thoughts. For instance, Bunyan feared that instead of speaking words of praise, he would blurt out sinful and blasphemous thoughts about God. He wrote about his anxieties in an autobiography called Grace abounding to the chief of sinners (1666).
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). A friend of Johnson’s said that Johnson had compulsive “odd movements.” Before going through a doorway, Johnson would twist or whirl about and make ritualized hand gestures, then leap across the door’s threshold. When out for a walk he touched each post along the way, and went back to touch any he missed. Johnson did not step on cracks between the paving stones.
Despite his OCD, Johnson was a highly productive man. For example, he is given credit for putting together the first English language dictionary. He prayed to God that he would stop being bothered by doubts and “vain terrors.”
Charles Darwin (1809-1882). We know Darwin had obsessive thoughts since he wrote about them. They were sometimes a “horrid spectacle,” and he would try to block them out by firmly closing his eyes—which did not work. Darwin was most bothered during the night, when his mind was unoccupied by activity. He worried that his kids would have his illness, and had a mantra he repeated to himself countless times, “I have worked as hard as I could, and no man can do more than this.”
Howard Hughes (1905-1978). If you saw the movie The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio, you know something of Howard Hughes. Besides being a pilot, he produced and directed films, and was an engineer, industrialist, and a philanthropist. Though he became immensely wealthy, he lived his last days trapped by a severe contamination anxiety and complicated cleaning rituals.
Source: OCD-UK
Photo credit: www.CGPGrey.com
