Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

In 2004 Leonardo DiCaprio had the opportunity to play the role of the aviation pioneer Howard Hughes in the Academy Award winning movie "The Aviator". The movie begins with Hughes getting bathed by his mother at a very young age where the audience is able to see how his mother potentially set off his disorder. She is seen bathing him and warning him of disease stating, "you are not safe". Howard Hughes suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) which is portrayed amazingly by Leonardo DiCaprio throughout this film. Even with this disease Hughes managed to stay extremely successful in aviation, business and production of movies, in fact today his legacy lives on and continues to thrive on the international stage through the satellite communications industry.

In chapter 14 in our text we were able to learn a bit on OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). OCD is defined as a disorder in which intruding thoughts that occur again and again (obsessions, such as a fear that germs are on one's hands) are followed by some repetitive, ritualistic behavior (compulsions, such as repeated hand washing). I found it extremely interesting when reading about OCD in our text because of how much of this disorder was in the movie of The Aviator and how even in the definition of the disorder there was scenes from the movie. Hughes washed his hands so much one time that he drew blood from the excessive and vigorous scrubbing of his hands. According to the text the rituals occur due to a feeling of relief from the anxiety and the intruding thoughts.