Comments on Hollyoaks OCD storyline

During the end of 2005 and early 2006 ch4 soap, Hollyoaks ran an ongoing OCD storyline. What do you think of the way Cameron's OCD was portrayed?

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Fiona

I think the storyline highlighted some aspects of OCD very well but it didn't show the various different forms it can take; before I got OCD I thought that it was just a disease concerned with dirt etc, because the only place I'd really heard anything about it was on HollyOakes. I think in some ways the storyline was enlightening but it could have been more sensitive to the different forms of OCD.

 

Kat

Of what I watched of hollyoaks, I thought it was really simplistic and didn't demonstrate the types of ocd, such as Pure 'o' and made it out to be the common germs, handwashing etc and i think thats bad as everyone just associates ocd with that. I think Pure 'o' should be better recognised as then people can identify what they have.

 

Nicole

Ever since I was diagnosed with OCD five years ago I didn't really understand what made me do weird things I would always try and hide it from friends and family which always made me even more depressed. Ever since I watched Hollyoaks it made me feel that I should tell my mum and dad considering it was getting out of hand the most scary part was having the courage to tell them I was afraid they would think im weird but now I have told them I feel a lot more better now im getting help.

 

Jessica

I think they do portray it very well especially with the reactions of his friends thinking he is dangerous as that does happen but I do hope they make it clear its an illness more than they have.

 

Alan

I've been watching Hollyoaks since i heard about the OCD storyline and only just being told thats what i've had all my life i thought i'd watch it (my fiancee is a huge fan). I think that they have done a brilliant job on bringing to light something that has been pretty much a taboo the last few years and only now is it being shown to the public in all of its nasty little aspects and the way it affects so many people all over the world, its been handled very sensitivly, i find the way that his flat mates treated him was spot on, but i like the way that it wasn't only Cameron that was hugely affected it was everyone around him which really hit home to me how much my OCD has affected the people around me when i've been really low. I hope that they don't just leave the fact that he has OCD in the past and to never mention it again that they could just bring it up in his daily life every now and again to remind people that it just doesn't go away no matter how hard we a ll hope that it would. But i wish to thank everyone who's been involved in bringing something so hard to express to such a wide audience.

 

Gabi

Before I was diagnosed with an OCD, like many others, I wouldn't admit I had a problem, but after watching cameron on Hollyoaks it is a true likeness, I am pleased that a programme has brought so much light on the condition, and i am no longer afraid of admitting it.

 

Anon

I find it hard to watch Hollyoaks anymore and im fed up of people joking that i have "the same as cameron on Hollyoaks" the episodes I have watched I do find very good and I think that it is giving viewers alot of information and they are actually able to view a persons life who has ocd, something I havent done, I find it quite enlightening how alike we are, the same thoughts and such alike.

 

Tamsin

Personally, I feel that (from what I have seen)Hollyoaks' portrayal of OCD is the most realistic, informative and well-rounded I have seen on TV! As an existing character, it seems to me that they were spot-on in their choice of Cameron for a sufferer (his history, particularly academic, certainly ring true for me). Also, the fact that the viewer has already got to know him as a pretty average, likeable guy, will, no doubt, help to encourage empathy for the character, and consequently, hopefully, empathy and understanding towards real-life sufferers.

 

Tess

I think the actor portrays OCD very well. Though I don't have the same symptons as Cameron, I do recognise his thought processes. In the episode when he was trying to tell himself not to clean the dishes, that the housemates would do it later, I really related to that. And the way they portray the anxiety he goes through is perfect. It upsets me sometimes watching it as it's so accurate! Especially the other's prejudice towards him.

 

Anna

I think that having the storyline for Hollyoaks in the first place was a huge step in the right direction. It has helped my friends understand the condition that bit more.

I think it was very well written and approached with the care it needs to be.

 

Amy

I think they've handled the situation extremely well with sensitivity and compassion. They've covered all the issues surrounding awareness of the condition, fantastic inspirtation, Well done!

 

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