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  • SUNDAY APRIL 2 2006 1:00 PM

Beckham Admits Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Submitted by lilyk

Edited by lilyk

Beckham Admits Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

British soccer great Daivd Beckham, 30, has admitted during a yet-to-be-televised British network interview that he battles daily life with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

"I've got this obsessive compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs. I'll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there's one too many then I'll put it in another cupboard somewhere.

"I'll go into a hotel room and before I can relax, I have to move all the leaflets and all the books and put them in a drawer. Everything has to be perfect." Asked if he wanted to stop his obsessive behaviour, he said: "I would like to. I've tried and can't stop."


Beckham’s lovely wife Victoria, aka Posh Spice, calls him “weirdo” for his disordered behavior.

"He's got that obsessive compulsive thing where everything has to match. If you open our fridge, it's all co-ordinated down either side. We've got three fridges - food in one, salad in another and drinks in the third. In the drinks one, everything is symmetrical. If there's three cans, he'll throw one away because it has to be an even number."


Beckham notes that he has kept the disorder a secret from his Real Madrid teammates, although his former club, Manchester United, were aware of his need to rearrange his locker repeatedly and have objects or sequences occur in even numbers. Beckham even states that he enjoys being tattooed because he likes the pain of the needle.

It is estimated that roughly 2 million people will suffer from some form of OCD in their lifetime with symptoms described as mild to severe, often exacerbated by other disorders. The World Health Organization listed the disorder in their top ten debilitating illnesses.

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Comments
lilyk

lilyk

I'm lost
December 2004

APR 03, 2006 05:03 PM

Let's try this again...

LinkIsMyHero

LinkIsMyHero

USA
February 2005

APR 03, 2006 05:13 PM

Reminds me of my panic attacks. I have to fixate on small points of light or dots or small things, or I start to freak out. At least my panic attacks end. When I'm having one, though, it feels like I've always been having a panic attack, and it will never end. I guess that's how Mr. B must feel a lot of the time.

As for his wife calling him a "weirdo"... most people don't "get" psychological disorders or take them seriously. Even worse when someone from the medical profession doesn't understand. (Don't get me started.)

Treatment for this kind of thing takes a lot of time and effort. I don't know if Mr. Beckham is willing to change his lifestyle to try to treat his disorder. I know that my panic attacks are relatively manageable, but they give me problems if I'm trying to talk to someone or do work at a job. I don't know how manageable David Beckham's problem is, but I do hope he'll seek some kind of treatment.

MStar33

MStar33

Evans, CO
January 2005

APR 03, 2006 05:38 PM

OCD is a pretty hard thing to deal with because it totally dominates everything. I don't see why he's keeping it a secret from his team though. OCD has nothing to do with how you play soccer or the type of person you are

desidia

desidia

Reunion
September 2002

APR 03, 2006 05:49 PM

thats awesome. i like him better now... not that i like him at all, but yeah... OCD is sexxy.

ZombieStomp

ZombieStomp

Carrboro, NC
July 2005

APR 03, 2006 05:59 PM

Strange, I think, how the symmetry thing doesn't apply to his tattoos. I don't have any, but I'd want them to be somewhat symmetrical if I had any, and I don't have ocd or aything.

EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

APR 03, 2006 06:02 PM

Clearly there is no greater hero than David Beckham.

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