Raising Awareness of OCD

Local mental health charity Cam-mind and a group of young Cambridge film-makers have been doing their bit to raise awareness of the condition Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) during national OCD Week (6–13th February)

Cam-mind is running an information stand at the Grafton Centre on Friday (12 February), handing out leaflets and other information to city shoppers. The charity, which is based at 100 Chesterton Road, in Cambridge, runs a support group for people with OCD and their families.

The event also gave shoppers the chance to watch the DVD Spotless, made by the group of local young filmmakers Spark in the Dark (see Notes below). Spotless, a film about OCD in young adults, was shown at the national OCD conference in London organised by the charity OCD Action on 6 February.

OCD is a condition characterised by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions and affects an estimated 1.8 Million people in the UK. People are often afraid to seek help for OCD. On average there is an estimated 12 year delay between onset and getting treatment.

However, help is available and one of the aims of OCD week is to encourage people with the condition to access advice, information and support.

Further information about the condition is available from the OCD Action helpline on 0845 390 6232 or from their website — www.ocdaction.org.uk.

For more details of the local support group please contact Aly Anderson at Cam-mind on 01223 311320.

For further information, please call Aly Anderson at Cam-mind 01223 311320.

Notes to editors

Cam-mind is the longest established mental health charity in Cambridge and provides a range of recovery-focused services to local people experiencing mental health problems.

Spotless is a film about OCD in young adults, produced by a group of young film makers Spark in the Dark (see separate note below).

The screenplay was devised in consultation with the national charity OCD Action. The story revolves around Mike in his first term at university, staying in halls of residence. He suffers from OCD, and his condition isolates him from his fellow students.

He is befriended by Charlie, a larger than life character, who struggles to make real contact with people despite being the life and soul of the party. Charlie drags Mike off to a party, but his attempts at socializing him go horribly wrong. Mike tears up his student room in total frustration at his condition, and Charlie goes to find him, the film ends with the two discovering the start of a friendship, and making a real contact for the first time.

The screenplay was devised in consultation with OCD Action. It will be shown as part of the OCD Action week at the conference on February 6th. It will also be used as a resource for student union campaigns at Higher Education level, covering mental health issues. It will also be used as a resource for familiarizing learning support assistants working in HE with the effects of OCD on young adults.

Spark In The Dark is a group of young filmmakers who have been making films together ever since primary school. We have over thirty productions to our names, which have been screened at film festivals such as Raindance, Leeds, Cambridge, Bradford and London. In recent years we have worked with funding bodies such as Media Box and The National Lottery to make films around issues of concern to us. Our 2006 film Buried was shortlisted for the First Light Awards (2006) and the BBC Blast Awards in 2007. Our latest funded film Wrecked recently won the 2008 Unicef Young Filmmaker’s Award at Showcomotion. We have just finished our latest film Spotless, based on research into OCD with OCD Action and Cam-Mind. The film was funded by the National Lottery — Awards for All. Our group is dedicated, making films continuously — meeting weekly to plan, film and shoot films. This site is an opportunity to showcase some of our films and receive feedback, and give encouragement to other filmmakers. (See www.sparkinthedarkproductions.co.uk for further information.)