Dr Alex George has revealed his battle with a serious mental health condition in an emotional social media post. The 34-year-old medic and Love Island personality received the diagnosis just days ago, describing it as 'a lot to take in'.
"I wanted to share a little update with you on where l am at," he told his 2.1 million followers on Instagram. "I was diagnosed with OCD a few days ago. It's not a surprise to me, but it still oddly comes as a shock.
"To be honest, OCD has probably caused me more distress than anything else. But, I already feel better having clarity and I can now begin to work on it to get better."
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition featuring three primary elements: obsessions, emotions, and compulsions. Obsessive thoughts are frequently intrusive and distressing, sparking anxiety and a powerful impulse to respond.
Acting on this impulse might briefly reduce the anxiety, but the obsessions and uncomfortable feelings quickly return, forming a vicious circle. Whilst compulsions can vary across different people, Dr Alex revealed he experiences what's commonly known as 'pure O' OCD.
Rather than displaying physical compulsions, like excessive cleaning or counting behaviours, he will spend countless hours fixating on a single thought, sometimes after being triggered by real-world events. Consequently, obsessive mental rumination becomes his primary compulsive response.
In a separate Instagram post on the subject, he said: "But effectively in the OCD cycle, it's a trigger, then ruminating for ages. Hours, literally hours. I can be having a good day, and then I'll read something, or I'll get an intrusive thought into my mind, and then boom - like that.
"I'm locked into it. Thought-checking, fact-checking, memories, reviewing what happened, trying to make sense of it. And these are generally things that you are looping over and over again.
"It's not a natural process of reflection, like we all reflect on things. It is being stuck with things for years. I ruminate over things that happened 10 years ago that I've thought about 10 thousand times, that I've discussed at length with people that I seek reassurance for. And it never ends. And OCD is such a horrible thing."
Last Christmas, Dr Alex disclosed that his obsessive thoughts nearly pushed him to his breaking point. Despite his medical expertise, he said he couldn't recognise he was experiencing OCD until someone else highlighted it to him.
"It's kind of eye-opening," he continued. "Life-changing to realise that I've got real event OCD. That I am in this cycle that needs to be broken and I have been doing it for a long time.
"It's probably might have been my teenage years since I've done this and ADHD plays into it with hyper-fixation." In the video's caption, he added: "I am not a psychiatrist or therapist so I am just trying to share my experience, so if this video speaks to you please seek professional input."
Research suggests that roughly one in every 50 people will encounter OCD during their lifetime, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The precise trigger often remains unclear, though pressure, hereditary factors, and neurological alterations are frequently cited as potential influences.
Guidance from the NHS explains: "Almost everyone has unpleasant or unwanted thoughts at some point, such as thinking they may have forgotten to lock the door of the house, or even sudden unwelcome violent or offensive mental images.
"But if you have a persistent, unpleasant thought that dominates your thinking to the extent it interrupts other thoughts, you may have an obsession."