“Toby” had tried standard hypnotherapy, mental-health treatment, fellowship groups – you name it.
A management consultant whose girlfriend 'Carol' wanted to move in with him, he was keen to take the next step in his relationship – but had never told her of his condition involving fastidiousness, alignments, symmetry and “no-go zones” in his home.
At work he reopened letters after sealing them, whilst saving paper copies of all emails, then adding these to bags of paperwork dating back to his teenage years.
More distressingly, he couldn’t stop retracing an overseas childhood holiday where he “might have raped” a girl, and felt he should be brought to bear for the consequences. Although living in fear of prosecution and imprisonment, he had drawn the conclusion that it was time to come clean and “pay his debt to society”.