The Insidious Deception of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Hampton Psychotherapy

Imagine that there’s a Homeowner who believes his roof is leaking.

He becomes so preoccupied with this concern (despite a rational lack of evidence for it) that he calls a roofing Repairman.

After the Repairman finishes inspecting every shingle of the roof, he tells the irrational Homeowner:

“I’ve inspected every shingle and there is no leak in your roof”.

The Homeowner finally calms down — thanks to the Repairman’s reassurance.

That night, as the Homeowner lays in bed feeling relieved, a new thought pops into his head:

“Yeah — he looked at the shingles, but he didn’t look under the shingles!”

The Homeowner immediately begins to panic again.

The next day, the Homeowner requests that the Repairman comes back and inspects the underbelly of each single.

The Repairman subsequently returns.

After his inspection, he reports back to the Homeowner:

“Sir, I’ve now looked at the surface of each shingle and the underbelly of each shingle. There is absolutely no leak in your roof!”

The Homeowner takes a deep breath and finally calms down.

That night in bed, just before the Homeowner falls asleep, another thought pops into his renewed consciousness:

“Yeah, he checked the shingles, but he didn’t check the insulation under the shingles!”

The Repairman is summoned back for another inspection, in order to check the insulation underneath the shingles.

The Repairman (who is now growing irritated) reports:

“Sir, I’ve checked the shingles, I’ve checked under the shingles, I’ve checked the insulation — You don’t have a leak!”

The man exhales with a deep breath and finally seems at peace.

That night, while feeling totally serene in his bed:

“Yeah, he checked the shingles and the insulation, but he didn’t check the foundation the roof is built on! — Oh my God!”