411 dal, db. Mb ob, Mk Alb is At aft Aft ar Health dll ■ ■ •• ■ •••••,•1•1 ■ 1141111....AM Host Of Worries With Obsessions JOHN WILKENS Special to The Jewish News T H E - E l_ ometimes it was all Marc PG premier rental retirement community 1 Wishes All Of Our Residents, Family and Friends 1 A HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 0 01 / 248-352-0208 24111 Civic Center Drive • Southfield, Michigan 48034 NA.:M o Dir J‘76 %te I - te:1 I p KNIk, %WINS. IMP& w iv go go lir it 1st vip ■ 0111=1.1=11=m4P ■ ah gi• lg. I. IF YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR FITNESS Let us help you be the best you can be with 1 on 1 training at our club. A patient friendly program designed just for you to help you reach your realistic fitness goals. Change your life by changing your lifestyle. Muscle therapy and nutritional consulting available. Call us today for a FREE consultation. • Nutritional Counseling 9/26 1997 198 • Muscle/Massage Therapy PETER INTERNATIONAL PHYSIQUE CHAMPION •TV Celebrity Anchor ? 1 )r h oil g drra em n's s Fitness NIELSEN'S • • Free Consultation Personal Training Club 4119 Orchard Lake Rd. (at Pontiac Tr.), West Bloomfield (248) 855-0345 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." - - N