I don’t know everything about your mind but your energy and presence are beyond heroic and full of hope. Thank you John and a lil thanks to Hank! Take care of yourself John.
I was just diagnosed with OCD a couple of weeks ago. It took 3 mental health professionals telling me I had it before I could really even entertain the thought (one of them laughed in my face when I asked if it was reasonable to suspect I might have OCD and said "yes. Yes, that is very, very reasonable"), and it still took 2 more before I became reasonably sure that I probably have OCD.
Of course, I can never be certain, though, because my brain screams at me "yeah, but you were probably overselling it and making it seem like it's worse than it really is" or "your just grasping at straws in search of an excuse for being lazy; you're just manipulating them to get the result you want" and refuses to take any of that for what it is: the most brain-dead obvious giveaway that yeah, I've definitely got OCD.
Anyways, my life is a neverending spiral and I've just been doing my best to navigate it without a map, so have once again digressed.
I just watched Turtles All The Way Down, and despite not having much contamination OCD (though, definitely some), I'm not sure I've ever felt so well understood by a piece of media before (and believe me when i say, my internal need to feel understood is a gaping chasm of infinite hunger)!
Like, I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I had to stop myself from bursting into tears while watching it. Starting mere minutes into it.
And I'm really not someone who cries very much. Maybe once a year. And definitely not from movies.
Idk where I was going with this, I'm just a hermit crab with a spiral shell, taking it on tour for some reason.
Thank you for writing the book and ensuring that the movie represented OCD as well as it did. It is, to me, nothing short of an inspired masterpiece that will now be a mandatory training for all new onboarding of friends or family in my life.
And if any of them say anything mean about the movie or Aza, they will be escorted to the nearest trebuchet for immediate offboarding.
I have OCD, I have Pure O. Read the book Pure by Rose Cartwright. It's really instructive on OCD.
I am actually very untidy and Hoarding is common amongst people with OCD. I didn't realise it was OCD, when I got diagnosed by a therapist and got medicated, it was like a snap fingers moment. It was like wow that explains a lot. I'm not so bad.
I just saw this and looked it up and started watching it and, when during the beginning credits it said " based on the book by John Green", I felt like saying "hey, that's my friend!" , which you obviously are not, we have never met in person and probably never will. And it got me thinking. I think it made me feel that way because, rather than being a fan then turning to YouTube to support you and enjoy the content, as fans do, I just stumbled upon your videos on YouTube and kept watching because, well, they are very human and close, and informative and interesting and supportive, etc, basically it feels like a friend talking to you, like having a little catch up with your buddy, to the point that the fact that you have sold millions of books gets relegated to a second plane and you kind of forget about it. Does it make sense? Do I sound crazy? Anyways, thank you amigo. I will continue to watch it now. 🎉
Turtles all the way down is an amazing book/movie. As someone with OCD, I would suggest having your support system check it out, the book especially portrays the inner turmoil, guilt and shame associated with a spiral. It may be triggering to some of us with OCD. Thank you for representing the need to find the last turtle, not just keep a clean space.
As someone with OCD, Turtles All The Way Down was relatable to me and I think about it and reference it with my friends all the time. It’s one of the best books ever written and this video surprised me with the knowledge of you having it, which makes so much sense and makes the book mean so much more.
You know how people say that a work of art can comfort the ones who feel discomforted? Personally, after I read Turtles All The Way Down I felt that kind of comfort. This book was so important for me because I realized, after so long, that I wasn't alone. It comforted my disquieting soul; I have never seen myself more in a character like I've seen myself in Aza.
I thank John Green in my mind everyday for publishing it. It's a book I keep close to my heart still (I even got a tattoo about it to remind me everyday of that important moment when I first read it, to remind me I'm not alone). I don't know where I'd be without it.
I watched that movie on a plane recently. It gave me an unbridled sob fest that can only happen on a plane. Having read the book first I was amazed at how true to the novel the movie was. 5 out of 5 stars.
This might be bad to say, but I mean it as a compliment. I loved that book so much, but I’ve only read it twice. I don’t think I can ever read it again. She had the same ocd that I had, and I didn’t know I had OCD when I read it the first time. It was like reading my own head on pages. It did kind of make me spiral a bit because I thought I was “going crazy” (another dumb obsession) but I don’t think I would have gotten help if I didn’t read it. The second time I read it, my ocd wasn’t as bad and I was able to enjoy it without totally spiraling 😅 but it’s very intense. Also I live where she lived and went to all the places she went so it was very cool to see myself in the book. I could see myself in both the characters. Fun fact, my first copy was signed by you, I bought it at a half price books, but never met you lol. I def wanted to after reading haha. It had just come out and my friend recommended it.
I have severe health anxiety that I’m 90% sure is just ocd. I just read the first chapter of turtles all the way down and felt SO SEEN for the first time ever. That’s just…exactly how it is for me, and it’s so refreshing to see that portrayed accurately in writing. I’m definitely gonna get the book now
Had no idea you have OCD too! I don't remember a life without it. I was diagnosed at 8yo but struggled to grasp it for many years. It's controlled now but still a huge problem for me. Starting TMS is a couple weeks – need my brain mapped next then the sessions start. 🤞
I see your point that OCD for most of us doesn't come with superpowers, but still: HOW can you say you don't have any superpowers when you are such a great writer!!!
I had OCD. By God's grace, I was cured. For me, a big part was that I had to realize it was a spiritual issue and that I was trying to manage my anxieties on my own terms.
2:10:52 I obsessssssss over people possibly contaminating/poisoning the fruits and vegetables sections every time and can’t really buy them without serious distress thanks to this case ! I’m telling you it did a number on me when I was a kid and stayed with me because of the OCD.
Hi, John! I really enjoyed both the book "Turtles All The Way Down" and the movie! I have dealt with chronic anxiety my whole life and eventually developed OCD symptoms, and I cannot stress enough how important it is for me and most certainly for people in similar situations to be able to access stories such as TATWD in a way we feel seen and not alone. Thank you so much for writing this story! I'd also like to recommend a book called "Here One Moment" by Liane Moriarty. It's not majorly about living with OCD symptoms, although there is one character with OCD who I feel like was also an honest portrayal. It's about a fortune teller who enters a plane and starts to predict when people are gonna die and how, so you follow some of those characters who got a prediction around in their lives forward from that moment, and the fortune teller's life backwards from that moment. It's a very grounded in reality narrative with occasional humourous bits and it's a light read as well that gets you emotionally involved, it's pretty cool!
I got diagnosed at 18 with OCD. Then, about 1.5 years ago (10 years later), I saw a new psychologist to get diagnosed again with the same condition to make sure I had it. Only as I type this am I realizing – getting re-tested for OCD just to be sure I wasn’t imagining it was, naturally, the OCD showing off.
I’m bipolar and I’m not sure there’s a single person out thete who thinks positively of it, it’s all just negativity, misconceptions, and stereotypes 🙃
I always saw stuff on tv that said OCD made you really organized so I didn’t think I had it because I wasn’t organized and then I learned that no OCD is not a super cleaning disorder but a disorder that causes you to have intrusive thoughts about how you or someone you love might die or various other bad things that may happen. Then I got diagnosed
Hey, we love you just the way you are. Signed, the wife of an autistic scientist who is first author on many papers and has help developed many (vital) viruses, vaccines and drugs.
No matter how many videos i see about OCD, i never seem to truly relate to it. I am not officially diagnosed due to a few reasons, i’ve learned of OCD a few years back when my symptoms started and have called it that ever since, that way i don’t have to explain to people " oh no i’m touching this lightswitch 5 times with only the right side of my pinkie finger while breathing a certain way and counting to 14 in my head because 1+4 equals 5 and it's safe number because i fear "insert one of my many fears" will happen if i don’t." The videos are almost always about being tidy, washing your hands one more time and all, when OCD can actually impact so much more, it can limit your thoughts, what you eat, what you say, what you don’t say, it really depends on the person and yet we all have on thing in common : it’s an illness. It’s not fun, it’s not useful, it’s something that impacts your thought, and so your actions, all the time.
I definitely know. I have OCD. I have all the symptoms. Like checking my doors multiple times are making myself do the same thing over and over every day, even though I, Really, Don’t Wanna do It, and it’s gets frustrating. I never knew what it really was.
John… you’re one of the most successful authors of the 21st century… I mean your brain clearly has some advantages built in. Plus that summer at Disney.
45 Comments
I don’t know everything about your mind but your energy and presence are beyond heroic and full of hope. Thank you John and a lil thanks to Hank! Take care of yourself John.
I got five minutes into the movie and went "oh no!" and turned it off – because it was so accurate.
I was just diagnosed with OCD a couple of weeks ago. It took 3 mental health professionals telling me I had it before I could really even entertain the thought (one of them laughed in my face when I asked if it was reasonable to suspect I might have OCD and said "yes. Yes, that is very, very reasonable"), and it still took 2 more before I became reasonably sure that I probably have OCD.
Of course, I can never be certain, though, because my brain screams at me "yeah, but you were probably overselling it and making it seem like it's worse than it really is" or "your just grasping at straws in search of an excuse for being lazy; you're just manipulating them to get the result you want" and refuses to take any of that for what it is: the most brain-dead obvious giveaway that yeah, I've definitely got OCD.
Anyways, my life is a neverending spiral and I've just been doing my best to navigate it without a map, so have once again digressed.
I just watched Turtles All The Way Down, and despite not having much contamination OCD (though, definitely some), I'm not sure I've ever felt so well understood by a piece of media before (and believe me when i say, my internal need to feel understood is a gaping chasm of infinite hunger)!
Like, I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I had to stop myself from bursting into tears while watching it. Starting mere minutes into it.
And I'm really not someone who cries very much. Maybe once a year. And definitely not from movies.
Idk where I was going with this, I'm just a hermit crab with a spiral shell, taking it on tour for some reason.
Thank you for writing the book and ensuring that the movie represented OCD as well as it did. It is, to me, nothing short of an inspired masterpiece that will now be a mandatory training for all new onboarding of friends or family in my life.
And if any of them say anything mean about the movie or Aza, they will be escorted to the nearest trebuchet for immediate offboarding.
John, can one recover from OCD?
Embrace your superpowers❤
I have OCD, I have Pure O. Read the book Pure by Rose Cartwright. It's really instructive on OCD.
I am actually very untidy and Hoarding is common amongst people with OCD. I didn't realise it was OCD, when I got diagnosed by a therapist and got medicated, it was like a snap fingers moment. It was like wow that explains a lot. I'm not so bad.
Your opinion on meds??
OCD ≠ OCPD
Your description sounds almost exactly like someone who describes adhd.
@johnschannel1007 @vlogbrothers feels like something John Green needs to see
I just saw this and looked it up and started watching it and, when during the beginning credits it said " based on the book by John Green", I felt like saying "hey, that's my friend!" , which you obviously are not, we have never met in person and probably never will. And it got me thinking. I think it made me feel that way because, rather than being a fan then turning to YouTube to support you and enjoy the content, as fans do, I just stumbled upon your videos on YouTube and kept watching because, well, they are very human and close, and informative and interesting and supportive, etc, basically it feels like a friend talking to you, like having a little catch up with your buddy, to the point that the fact that you have sold millions of books gets relegated to a second plane and you kind of forget about it. Does it make sense? Do I sound crazy? Anyways, thank you amigo. I will continue to watch it now. 🎉
Turtles all the way down is an amazing book/movie. As someone with OCD, I would suggest having your support system check it out, the book especially portrays the inner turmoil, guilt and shame associated with a spiral. It may be triggering to some of us with OCD. Thank you for representing the need to find the last turtle, not just keep a clean space.
Completely out of topic…
But John's a Wimbledon AFC fan???
Good taste in football team…
As someone with OCD, Turtles All The Way Down was relatable to me and I think about it and reference it with my friends all the time. It’s one of the best books ever written and this video surprised me with the knowledge of you having it, which makes so much sense and makes the book mean so much more.
Watching the Scrubs portrayal of OCD…….. the monologue from Michael J Fox kills me everytime I see it (positive)
Bible truth
You know how people say that a work of art can comfort the ones who feel discomforted? Personally, after I read Turtles All The Way Down I felt that kind of comfort. This book was so important for me because I realized, after so long, that I wasn't alone. It comforted my disquieting soul; I have never seen myself more in a character like I've seen myself in Aza.
I thank John Green in my mind everyday for publishing it. It's a book I keep close to my heart still (I even got a tattoo about it to remind me everyday of that important moment when I first read it, to remind me I'm not alone). I don't know where I'd be without it.
It is the best presentation of it I've ever seen.
I want to hug you, John.
I watched that movie on a plane recently. It gave me an unbridled sob fest that can only happen on a plane. Having read the book first I was amazed at how true to the novel the movie was. 5 out of 5 stars.
I have OCD. It is hell.
This might be bad to say, but I mean it as a compliment. I loved that book so much, but I’ve only read it twice. I don’t think I can ever read it again. She had the same ocd that I had, and I didn’t know I had OCD when I read it the first time. It was like reading my own head on pages. It did kind of make me spiral a bit because I thought I was “going crazy” (another dumb obsession) but I don’t think I would have gotten help if I didn’t read it. The second time I read it, my ocd wasn’t as bad and I was able to enjoy it without totally spiraling 😅 but it’s very intense. Also I live where she lived and went to all the places she went so it was very cool to see myself in the book. I could see myself in both the characters. Fun fact, my first copy was signed by you, I bought it at a half price books, but never met you lol. I def wanted to after reading haha. It had just come out and my friend recommended it.
Ahh the idiot savant trope.
I have severe health anxiety that I’m 90% sure is just ocd. I just read the first chapter of turtles all the way down and felt SO SEEN for the first time ever. That’s just…exactly how it is for me, and it’s so refreshing to see that portrayed accurately in writing. I’m definitely gonna get the book now
Had no idea you have OCD too! I don't remember a life without it. I was diagnosed at 8yo but struggled to grasp it for many years. It's controlled now but still a huge problem for me. Starting TMS is a couple weeks – need my brain mapped next then the sessions start. 🤞
I was diagnosed at 6 yo but i will improve it meds make more difficulty in life but i will not take meds and improve every day best of luck to all
I see your point that OCD for most of us doesn't come with superpowers, but still: HOW can you say you don't have any superpowers when you are such a great writer!!!
All my thoughts and feelings are public knowledge.
i'm a fellow brother in the society of ocd peoplez.
I mean your ability to write and to understand the complex dynamics of human relationships better than most might be considered a super power
I had OCD. By God's grace, I was cured. For me, a big part was that I had to realize it was a spiritual issue and that I was trying to manage my anxieties on my own terms.
Fellow OCD person myself; my personal fave portrayal of OCD in media has always been Dr Kevin Casey off of Scrubs (played by Michael J Fox!)
2:10:52 I obsessssssss over people possibly contaminating/poisoning the fruits and vegetables sections every time and can’t really buy them without serious distress thanks to this case ! I’m telling you it did a number on me when I was a kid and stayed with me because of the OCD.
Hi, John! I really enjoyed both the book "Turtles All The Way Down" and the movie! I have dealt with chronic anxiety my whole life and eventually developed OCD symptoms, and I cannot stress enough how important it is for me and most certainly for people in similar situations to be able to access stories such as TATWD in a way we feel seen and not alone. Thank you so much for writing this story!
I'd also like to recommend a book called "Here One Moment" by Liane Moriarty. It's not majorly about living with OCD symptoms, although there is one character with OCD who I feel like was also an honest portrayal. It's about a fortune teller who enters a plane and starts to predict when people are gonna die and how, so you follow some of those characters who got a prediction around in their lives forward from that moment, and the fortune teller's life backwards from that moment. It's a very grounded in reality narrative with occasional humourous bits and it's a light read as well that gets you emotionally involved, it's pretty cool!
😂😂 That explains why I’ve been a freak this whole time” as an OCD sufferer, I needed that laugh.
I got diagnosed at 18 with OCD. Then, about 1.5 years ago (10 years later), I saw a new psychologist to get diagnosed again with the same condition to make sure I had it. Only as I type this am I realizing – getting re-tested for OCD just to be sure I wasn’t imagining it was, naturally, the OCD showing off.
I’m bipolar and I’m not sure there’s a single person out thete who thinks positively of it, it’s all just negativity, misconceptions, and stereotypes 🙃
I always saw stuff on tv that said OCD made you really organized so I didn’t think I had it because I wasn’t organized and then I learned that no OCD is not a super cleaning disorder but a disorder that causes you to have intrusive thoughts about how you or someone you love might die or various other bad things that may happen. Then I got diagnosed
Hey, we love you just the way you are. Signed, the wife of an autistic scientist who is first author on many papers and has help developed many (vital) viruses, vaccines and drugs.
Is there a DVD or Blue Ray of Turtles All the Way Down? I was at the book tour. I have listened to the audiobook. I still haven't seen the movie.
No matter how many videos i see about OCD, i never seem to truly relate to it. I am not officially diagnosed due to a few reasons, i’ve learned of OCD a few years back when my symptoms started and have called it that ever since, that way i don’t have to explain to people " oh no i’m touching this lightswitch 5 times with only the right side of my pinkie finger while breathing a certain way and counting to 14 in my head because 1+4 equals 5 and it's safe number because i fear "insert one of my many fears" will happen if i don’t." The videos are almost always about being tidy, washing your hands one more time and all, when OCD can actually impact so much more, it can limit your thoughts, what you eat, what you say, what you don’t say, it really depends on the person and yet we all have on thing in common : it’s an illness. It’s not fun, it’s not useful, it’s something that impacts your thought, and so your actions, all the time.
I definitely know. I have OCD. I have all the symptoms. Like checking my doors multiple times are making myself do the same thing over and over every day, even though I, Really, Don’t Wanna do It, and it’s gets frustrating. I never knew what it really was.
Pretty cool imo that one of your biggest triggers of OCD was/is bacteria, but you just went and wrote a whole book about TB!
i’m a teenage girl who most likely has ocd and i appreciate all that you do
John… you’re one of the most successful authors of the 21st century… I mean your brain clearly has some advantages built in. Plus that summer at Disney.