‘‘This is OCD,’ the psychiatrist said. For the first time in my life, someone had validated the concerns I had’

Having lived with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since the age of 11, David Monaghan sought to shatter stereotypes and educate the general public about the disorder by writing a play

David Monaghan from Kimmage, Dublin, lives with OCD. Photo: Steve Humphreys

‘It started when I was young, about seven. I washed my hands again and again until the skin on my knuckles cracked and bled.”

This is how Daniel Lanigan, the main character in a play I co-wrote based on my experience with OCD, describes first encountering their symptoms.