5 fictional characters with Pure O

Pure O is a lesser known version of OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder) which involves purely mental compulsions, as opposed to physical compulsions, such as checking or hand washing. Individuals with Pure O experience intrusive thoughts, urges, emotional sensations and images that conflict with their identity, causing severe distress. This leads to attempts to counteract or avoid obsessions through mental compulsions, such as mentally cancelling thoughts, seeking reassurance from others, as well as avoidance methods, all of which may offer temporal relief, but which ultimately substantiate the OCD. There are many different sub-types, or 'themes' of Pure O, including somatic OCD (a hyper-awareness of bodily functions, existential O (constant, anxiety provoking ruminations on philosophy) and real-event OCD (remembering real events in which you have done something wrong with severe emotional intensity and overthinking/trying to resolve them). It's a condition that is often exasperated by lack of knowledge or representation, considering it so frequently plays upon the idea that a sufferer is 'abnormal', 'bad' or 'deviant' in some way. Therefore here are 5 fictional characters who also suffer from Pure O:

1) Ned Flanders

Ned Flanders is easily the most moral character on The Simpsons. A devout Christian, he tirelessly seeks to do good to others and to be the perfect neighbour. In a rather telling episode entitled "In Marge we trust" Ned is revealed to be potentially suffering from scrupulosity, a form of OCD whereby a person ruminates and feels severe guilt over their inability to maintain high moral standards. Reverend Love joy explains though he was once passionate about being a pastor, his constant calls and visits from a distressed, overly conscientious Ned wore him down to the point where he stopped caring about his job. Throughout the episode Ned complains about thinking that he may be "coveting" his "own wife",  worrying about not being "meek" enough, and even doubt about whether or not he 'swallowed a toothpick.' Ned's consultations with Love joy will be familiar to people who suffer from Pure O, as frequently People with the condition like to "seek assurance" from friends and family that they have not transgressed in some way. No matter what advice Reverend gives, Ned only calls him again, leading to the conclusion that Ned may suffer from OCD.

2) Bojack Horseman

If Pure O sufferers are often those of the highly moral persuasion, it might seem like a bit of a joke putting Bojack Horseman on the list. Of course, as you might have already suspected, BoJack does not suffer from Pure O at any capacity.(Truthfully, someone like Diane Nguyen is much more susceptible to Pure O given her high standards.) However, I have decided to include him on the list because I believe many of Bojack's experiences are relatable to people who suffer from Pure O due to one commonality: dealing with the constant onslaught that you are a bad person who has done bad things. The difference between Bojack and someone with Pure O is that Bojack genuinely is a bit of a shitty person (he potentially killed Sarah Lynn for example), whereas people with Pure O often just think they are worse than they are. Bojack is often shown to care too much and too little about how he has hurt others. It is in these moments of caring 'too much' that BoJack starts to show signs of Pure O. In the episode "stupid piece of shit" we can see that BoJack carefully weighs every decision he makes, believing that every one of them will lead to him doing something wrong.  The ways in which BoJack struggles to process guilt as an emotion is something that many people with OCD will relate very hard to. 

3) Emma

Channel 4's Pure is a a show about a young woman who suffers from Pure O, based off of a novel of the same name. In particular, (as well as suffering from sexually intrusive thoughts) Emma suffers from a form of OCD known as HOCD, or Homosexual Obsessive compulsive disorder. This leads her to have constant anxiety, doubts and worries about whether or not she is secretly gay even though she knows she is a heterosexual. For Emma, it is not that she considers homosexuality to be wrong, or bad, it is that she is uncomfortable of the ambiguity that would come if she were to never fully know what her sexuality is. This leads her down all sorts of ruinous paths (including visiting gay bars and trying to hook up with women she knows she isn't attracted to) in order to figure out if she is a lesbian or straight. The show will be very real for many OCD sufferers, who often spend years thinking that their thoughts and urges etc are a reflection on who they are deep down as a person when this couldn't be further from the truth.

4) Shoya Ishida

Shoya Ishida is the guilt-ridden protagonist of the acclaimed animated movie "a silent voice" The plot follows the story of a deaf girl named Shoko Nishiyama who was excluded and bullied by her classmates as a child, in particular by the young Shoya who even went as far as to remove her hearing aids, causing her ears to bleed. As a teenager Shoya deeply regrets this period of his life, to the point where he leads a very self-hating, limited existence in high-school. Even though Shoya has reflected on his mistakes and is a very different person now, he still feels terrible about how he treated Shoko as a child to the point where he blocks out every new persons face, refuses to look people in the eye and won't allow anyone to get to know him. Eventually he seeks to end his own life, believing that he doesn't deserve to live. The intensity of Shoya's regret is quite extreme, even though the way Shoya treated Shoko was definitely wrong, he has allowed it to consume every single aspect of his life to the point of being suicidal and socially withdrawn. One can see some parallels between Shoya's story and real event OCD, a complicated condition whereby a person recalls actual bad things they have done, but with a severe emotional intensity that is often blown out of proportion. The real event OCD sufferer often feels such intense guilt that it interferes some way with occupational functioning and day to day life, usually because the sufferer believes themselves unworthy to live a normal life, as Shoya does. 

5) Connie

Another character who potentially could suffer from real-event OCD is Connie from Steven Universe. In one episode, Connie finds herself unable to fuse with Steven because she feels so guilty about a recent memory she has where she suddenly attacked a boy from her school, then, flustered, left him without any explanation. This leads Garnet to counsel Connie during the song "Here comes a thought" on the ability to let go of troublesome intrusive "thoughts" and forgive herself to achieve emotional clarity. A lot of people have praised the song for its obvious links to anxiety, however few people acknowledge how the song is the perfect representation of someone who suffers from Pure O (also an anxiety disorder) especially as people with Pure O often suffer from intrusive thoughts and memories of bad things they have done to others.