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Host Of Worries
With Obsessions
JOHN WILKENS
Special to The Jewish News
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Summers could do to sign off
"See you next time on
Double Dare!" — before his
hands started pawing at his slime-
stained clothes.
People on the set of the popular
kids' game show would call out, "Gee,
Marc, at least wait until you get to the
dressing room."
They had no idea.
Ever since he was about 8 years old,
Summers has been obsessed with
orderliness. When his friends were out
riding bikes or playing football on
Sunday afternoons, he was inside,
pulling every book off the shelves,
dusting it and putting it back.
The clothes in his closet had to be
hung two fingers apart — no more,
no less. Before he left the room, he
had to touch the wall just so.
Otherwise, he thought, tragedy might
strike his family.
In college, he was the resident neat
freak. Dormmates would sneak into
his room and mess up the fringe on
the rug. Or throw a piece of paper
into the empty trash can and then
wait outside to see how many minutes-
would pass before Summers cleaned
out the receptacle.
He knew he was different, but like
many of those similarly afflicted, he
did his best to hide it. A high-achiev-
er, he played sports and acted in the
theater and got good grades.
For as long as he could remember, -
he dreamed of being host of his own
television show. He knocked on the
door — for several years he was a
warm-up comic for sitcoms and vari-
ety shows — but couldn't get it.
Just when he was about to give up
the dream, he heard about a new kids'
show on Nickelodeon, something
called "Double Dare." He went, but
didn't understand the premise.
"Why would kids want to do that?"
he asked when they told him about
the shaving cream and the chocolate
pudding and the green slime used in
games and obstacle courses.
"Because it's fun," the show's pro-
ducers said.
In between shudders, Summers
auditioned and got the part.
And was left to figure out a way for
his dream and his nightmare to coex-
ist.
John Wilkens writes for Copley News
Service
.
The doctors have a name for it:
obsessive-compulsive disorder, or
OCD.
It affects about 6 million people in
America — 5 million adults and 1
million kids. Researchers believe it is
caused by an imbalance of serotonin,
a chemical in the brain.
Those who have it usually are
obsessed with fears of contamination
or intruders or serious illness. They
fixate on certain numbers, or on the , –/
need to be clean or orderly. Symmetry'
becomes monumentally important.
These obsessions, in turn, may
trigger compulsions. Some sufferers
feel a need to wash their hands over
and over. Some have to check and re-
check and keep checking whether the
front door is locked. Others hoard
everything.
Summers would take a shower at
the studio, then another one when he
got home. Long, hot, scouring
showers. Only then would he feel in
control again. Summers eventually left
"Double Dare" and its twin, "Family
Double Dare," and became host of a
celebrity talk show called "Biggers and
Summers." One day, about 18
months ago, the producers planned a
segment on people with OCD.
On the show, he talked to Dr. Eric
Hollander, a psychiatrist from New
York who specializes in OCD.
Hollander gave his card to Summers -/
and told him that he sounded like
someone who could be helped with
drugs.
The turning point came one morn-
ing at about 2. Summers was at
home, straightening the fringe on
some decorative carpets. Over and
over. His wife, Alice, woke up and
confronted him: "What is this
about?"
And Summers admitted: "I can't
control it anymore."
He called Hollander, who pre-
scribed therapy and medication.
Gradually, Summers is improving.
He's also part of a new national
OCD educational program called
"Kids Like Me."
"Kids Like Me" aims to alert chil-
dren, parents, teachers and others to
the signs of OCD, so they can get
help early. The campaign includes
television spots, brochures, a chil-
dren's book, a toll-free information
line at (800) 639 7462 and a Web site
(http://www.ocdresource.cona ).
"Six million people have it,"
Summers said. "If we can de-
stigmatize it, take the fear away, peo-
ple can get help. They can get better."
-
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N