Real account of growing up with untreated GAD and OCD.

 Growing up in a comfortable, middle class home, Athena had no idea of the horrifying disease she had either inherited or somehow acquired. This"error in her genetic programming" would affect every aspect of her development for years to come. She had to perform bothersome and energy-draining tasks. "Touch the floor with your glasses," the voice told her. "You need to get that bad thought out of your head or someone will die. Check that doorknob 25 times, (the counting became unbearable) walk that hallway 5 more times so you can get it right because every time you walk a few steps, that thought enters your mind, and you MUST walk down that hallway without any bad thoughts!" Into a corner of her room she would huddle like a fetus in the womb, as she sobbed and begged, "Why did this happen to me? Why do I have to obey this inscrutable taskmaster that makes me repeat and backtrack all my waking motions? Why can't I go through a day like others? Then, when I am in public, I have to hide this. I have to hide the embarrassing and bizarre behavior that practically rules my life. How am I supposed to stop this? Perhaps, I could stop it if I was strong enough.