ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Laura sits down with filmmaker Tamara Orlova to talk about her upcoming film Purely Obsessional; a project shining a light on Pure O OCD, one of the most misunderstood and under-represented forms of the disorder. Tamara shares her journey from journalism into screenwriting, why she chose film as the medium to tell this story, and how a fox became the unexpected symbol for OCD intrusive thoughts.
The conversation gets personal as Tamara opens up about caregiver burnout, and how exhaustion from caregiving became the tipping point that triggered her own Pure O symptoms, long before she understood what OCD really was. She reflects on media misrepresentations of OCD, what she wants people to know about living with Pure O, and how making this film has helped her, and others, feel less alone.
A must-listen for anyone touched by Pure O, caregivers navigating burnout, or anyone curious about how OCD really gets portrayed on screen.
If you want to find out more about Tamara's work, follow her at https://www.instagram.com/tamaraoaikon/ or go to her website https://purelyobsessional.com/
Topics covered: Pure O OCD, caregiver burnout, filmmaking and mental health storytelling, OCD symbolism in film, media representation of OCD, journey to OCD diagnosis
Podcast by:
Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist
and
Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist
Edited by Christian Nickson
Time Stamps:
01:25 Hello and introduction to Tamara
02:09 Brain Spam
03:25 Who Tamara is and her journey to film writing
06:30 Journalism vs Screenplay
08:26 Purely Obsessional, where it came from
11:42 Representing Pure O on film
13:21 Using a fox to symbolise OCD
14:45 Finding others with OCD
16:30 Helping people with OCD to feel less alone
17:12 What Tamara wants people to know about Pure O
19:09 Orchard OCD observations from Tamara
22:30 Media representations of OCD
25:10 How Tamara realised it was OCD
28:00 Advice for anyone with OCD
28:42 When the film is happening and where to follow to support the project
30:20 Goodbyes
Tamara's Website:
www.purelyobsessional.com
Get in Touch:
Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:
Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod
For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd
Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing
Content Warnings:
We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to.
Disclaimer:
This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.
