Sometimes inspiration will come from places that you never would have thought of. I have had a lot of eye-opening moments during my journey with OCD, and one of them came in a place I least expected. A movie.
The Best Movie if You Have OCD
Have you ever watched a movie and been brought to tears because it seemed like it was talking directly about you and your struggles? I have. And this is one I would recommend everyone with OCD watch, and pay attention to. The movie was King Arthur and the Legend of the Sword.
Arthur is a young boy when his father and mother are killed in a plot to take over their kingdom. He escapes death and is found and raised by a group of derelicts and prostitutes. While he knows that these people are not his family, he has very little recollection of his past. However, he has bad dreams almost every night and he gets a glimpse of what happened that day. But he always looks away and wakes up prior to seeing what happens.
Time goes on and Arthur grows up. He eventually finds his way back to the castle and pulls the sword from the stone showing that he is the true king! However, he has problems controlling its power. Every time he activates the sword Excalibur, the power knocks him down.
There is a girl who is helping him learn to control the sword that they call the Mage. She tells him that he is resisting the sword and that he needs to work with it and not against it. Arthur still fails.
With all of the training methods failing, the Mage says the only thing to do is go to the dark lands. Only there, she says, can he learn to deal with the sword.
The dark lands are a place with scary monsters and horrible demons. On this island, Arthur is faced with things he has never had to deal with before. He had to fight things that were bigger, stronger, and faster than him. The only way to win was to get the sword to the top of the mountain, face his fear, and deal with the sword. Let me say that again, he had to face his fears! Does this sound like what we have to do with OCD?
He makes it off the island alive and has better control over Excalibur. However, the Mage says he still can’t use the sword to its full capacity because he never finishes looking at his dream and facing his ultimate fear. He keeps avoiding his biggest fear. She even admits that she looks away when she sees his dream but then she says “I even look away, but that is the difference between a man and a King.”
Finally, after a lot of work and determination, he finishes his dream and faces his fear. It is then, and only, that he can utilize his and the strength of the sword, and be the best person he can be.
Now can you see how this helps people with OCD?
Face your struggles, do not run from them.
In this story, YOU are King Arthur (or Queen Arthur 🙂)…Excalibur is your OCD or mental health issue….the badlands and scary dreams are what you are avoiding.
I am reminded of a great saying that I believe is from David Goggins. “It’s not your fault you have your problems, but it is your responsibility to deal with them.”
I want to draw you to the comment the Mage made where she says Arthur needs to work “with the sword, not against it”. This comment is really key in managing your disorder. You will not be able to function to the best of your ability until you face your fear, and work with your mental health issues and not against them.
This doesn’t mean you roll over and say “well I have depression and will never be happy”. NO!! What it means is you need to follow the evidence based approaches that are relevant to your specific issue. I have OCD. I go to a clinic that specializes in OCD and follow the researched based approaches that have been shown to help OCD.
Believe me, living with mental health issues is not fun. I have to do things that suck, and I have to keep going when it seems like my thoughts are controlling my mind. But through it all, I try to follow the methods that are proven to work.
You need to do this also! In order to work with and use Excalibur, you must face your fears and work with it, not against it!
Stay Strong,
Jonathan