Episode 1 Extreme OCD Camp

Six young Brits are on the journey of a lifetime.

They're heading deep into the North American wilderness.

But this is no ordinary trek.

He was having thoughts of beating her up, of punching her in the face.

I just keep seeing it over and over again -

him just lying there lifeless at the bottom.

They've all signed up to a radical treatment programme

for mental illness.

I want to tap the wall with my elbow.

You might have been born with a stupid voice.

I was.

Because all of them have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

It's impossible to describe what turmoil my brain is in.

The lid in case my clothes touched it. The flusher.

This is pathetic. This is not how my life should be.

OCD has robbed them of their independence

and made living normal lives impossible.

They've been unable to get the treatment they need

and they're desperate for help.

My parents have been through so much.

I hate the man I thought I should have been at 22 that I'm not at 22.

He's so pissed off that OCD has robbed him of his life.

So in a last-ditch attempt to reclaim their lives, they'll

spend the next ten days at one of the world's most extreme OCD camps.

22-year old Essex boy, Jack,

is about to do something he hasn't done in almost a decade.

You ready? OK.

Drink from a glass in a public place.

He's undergoing radical treatment

to combat his pathological fear of germs.

-BLEEP

-It's like...

-BLEEP

Jack is out shopping with his mum,

buying essentials for his trip to the States.

-I need...

-Toothbrush.

Toothbrush, toothpaste, soaps, paper bowls, paper plates,

knives and forks.

I don't want that one,

because obviously it's got the black bit on it.

He's petrified of getting sick, so going anywhere without his own

disposable plates and cutlery is unthinkable.

Yep, that's cool. Lovely.

Jack suffers from contamination OCD. He sees germs lurking everywhere...

..even in the relative safety of his own home.

He spends every waking moment avoiding contamination.

I've not eaten something with my hands for over -

I think it was since I was 15.

Mealtimes are the most stressful part of Jack's day.

He has to sterilise everything his food touches.

I can't touch the milk handle, so when my milk would, say,

get poured into my porridge, I'd have to have someone there to

do it, you know, my mum, who lives with me.

She'll be the one that will pour that in.

It's a 20-25 minute, half hour, sometimes,

process before I've even eaten.

It robs a little bit of dignity from you.

The whole time I'm just sitting there thinking,

"This is really pathetic. This is not how my life should be."

In an effort to turn his life around,

Jack's committed to ten days at an extreme OCD camp in the US.

He and five other OCD sufferers are on their way to London

to stay the night before flying to America tomorrow.

Jack's the first to arrive at the hotel.

How's it going, you all right?

Here you go.

Lovely, thank you.

If I could just get your address and signature here.

I've got a pen here.

I've got my own ones, honestly.

OK.

Touching someone else's pen is not an option.

Got it. Do I have to sign this now?

Can I come down and sign this once I take my bags up?

-Yeah, that will be fine.

-Cheers.

22-year-old Josh is next to arrive.

How far have you come from?

We've come from Blackpool, so quite far.

For the best part of ten years, Josh has been plagued by symmetry OCD.

I have to touch everything on my left and right hands.

On my left and right feet, equal amount of times,

everywhere I go, 24/7. It's constant.

It's touch that, touch that, touch that.

You know, you haven't touched it yet. Why haven't you touched it?

It's constant, it's constantly there.

I remember burning myself when I was 13 years old on my left hand,

on an oven at my nan's house. I felt compelled...

..to burn my other two fingers on my right hand.

Quite badly as well.

OCD has caused Josh to drop out of university, and he can't get a job.

He hopes that going to OCD camp will get his life back on track.

I'm hoping that when I go on the camp, it will improve my life,

my social life, and hopefully it might help me to find someone.

Imogen is next to arrive at the hotel.

At 17, she's the youngest member of the group.

I'm feeling nervous.

I don't think it quite feels real yet, but maybe when I meet

everyone it'll be like, "Oh, my God, it's actually happening."

A-Level student Imogen is plagued by thoughts that terrible things

will happen to her family.

She believes the only way to stop these things from happening

is to constantly tap her surroundings.

It really does scare me.

The thought of, "If you don't tap that tree, your mum's going to die."

You know, it's not logical because it's just a tree,

but that fear is so strong that it just feels so real to me.

Next to check in is 21-year-old university student Olivia.

At the moment, I'm feeling about a nine on an anxiety level

because I really, really, really want a shower

because I've been lugging these bags around London and I've been

extremely warm and I'm very, very warm now in this hotel room.

In fact, actually, I might open the window.

Like Jack, Olivia suffers from contamination OCD.

But it's not germs that bother her. It's smells.

If you think of your biggest fear,

some people's biggest fear of getting ill, maybe, or dying,

my biggest fear is anything that smells bad.

When I'm showering, it feels like someone is -

every time I feel like I'm clean -

is throwing a bucket of mud on me and then I have to start again.

Using the toilet is Olivia's biggest nightmare

so she's developed an extraordinary way of coping.

I would make sure I took photos of sort of the seat, maybe

the lid in case my clothes touched it, and the flusher and the floor.

Any kind of mark on the floor I will take a photo of, and then

afterwards, if I was still anxious about it, I could look at the

photo and I could be reassured or I could show someone the photo and

they could reassure me that there's nothing wrong with that mark.

I'd just like to be able to make my own judgments,

make my own calls on things, and just go about day to day life

without it controlling me, without controlling every move.

The group are about to meet each other for the very first time.

For most of them, it will be the first time they've met anyone else with OCD.

-Hello, hello, hello.

-Hi.

How are you doing, you all right? I'm Jack.

Olivia, nice to meet you.

-Can we hug it out?

-Yes, we can hug, that's OK.

-Hey.

-Hi. How are you?

-Grab a seat.

Hi, how're you doing, you all right? I'm Jack.

-Hi.

-Grab a seat.

-Hi! Nice to meet you, I'm Olivia.

-I'm Andrew.

-How old are you?

-23.

-23. It's getting older.

-Yeah.

-I'm 21.

-22.

I'm one year older. So yeah, one up each time.

My OCD does primarily revolve around avoiding the number 13.

Andrew repeats the most simple actions over and over again

to be certain that he never does anything 13 times.

That'll probably do now.

Andrew sees the number 13 all around him.

Every hour it comes to 13 minutes past, so you know,

between ten past and 20 past every hour, I cannot do anything.

Ideally, I'll just sit completely like a statue.

If I so much as touch my lip with my tongue,

I'll have to do that again when it gets to 20 past.

As well as OCD, Andrew has Asperger's,

which makes social situations very difficult for him.

I just wish I could chat more.

I'd like to be able to express myself a bit more

instead of being in a shell.

We're just talking about tattoos.

Oh, right. I've not got any.

18-year old Megan from Nottingham arrives next.

-Hiya. How're you doing?

-Nice to meet you. I'm good.

She's constantly plagued by thoughts that people

she loves are going to be harmed.

-How're you feeling?

-I'm excited.

-Are you?

-How're you feeling? I'm nervous.

-I was kind of like regretting it a little bit before.

-Do you think?

This morning, I was a bit like, "Oh, God, what have I done?"

-Olivia, nice to meet you. Hi.

-Sorry, man, I'm not a hand-shaker.

It's all right, no worries.

I'm Andrew. Josh. Andrew. Nice to meet you, pal.

-How're you doing, you all right?

-I'm not too bad, yeah.

I'm a little bit nervous but as it goes...

Welcome to a strange, surreal dinner.

-Yes, yes. A little bit.

-How far have you come from?

-Blackpool.

-Yes!

-You're all Northerners!

-Are you the only Southerner?

I'm the only Southerner at the moment, yeah.

-It feels slightly racist.

-The last to arrive is Imogen.

-Hi.

-I'm Olivia.

-Hello.

-How're you doing? Where do you come from?

-Hertfordshire.

-Southerner!

Thank you.

As the group start to get to know one another,

the conversation moves onto OCD.

I'll like pick up a glass of water

and I'll have to do it with my left hand and my right hand.

-Is that why you shake with two hands?

-Yeah.

I thought you were just extra friendly. I was like, "Oh, lovely."

I think, obviously, the nature of the beast is that

a hell of a lot of it isn't what you can see.

Other people, like my best friends don't know,

until I tell them. It's mainly intrusive thoughts,

so it's always thoughts about bad things happening to my family

and friends, it's always about preventing harm.

Thoughts soon turn to OCD camp.

The trek sounds really scary and it'll scare me

but it was just meeting everyone and what everyone was going to be like.

I really don't like surprises.

What is everyone's goals for the week?

Besides my routines, you know, I just want to

increase my independence and make some more friends.

I would be extremely happy if there was just one minute of the day

where I wouldn't have to do my things.

I would love, like you Josh, to have a minute out of the day where

I'm not carrying out some compulsion in my head.

I'm not really expecting like a miracle cure or anything

but if something changes or maybe this'll help in some way,

it would just be brilliant, really.

Tomorrow is the start of their journey together -

one that could change their lives for ever.

It's departure day.

It's nothing.

Ready? Let's go!

The group are about to leave the safety of their home turf

and fly over 5,000 miles to the USA.

For Josh, even the journey is a source of anxiety.

It's a fear of not being able to get out of the seat

when you're not allowed to.

That's the only thing I don't like, not having that control.

And Josh isn't the only one with problems.

Welcome to the toilet.

Obviously, right now, I'm not going to use it myself

because that is disgusting.

If I needed to use the toilet and the seat's down, which

for the majority of the time it is, I'll just use my foot to lift it up.

Again, to flush it, obviously I'll use my foot.

They're heading to Seattle on America's North West coast.

For the next ten days, they'll undergo intense therapy,

deep in the Washington wilderness.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Therapist Pete Weiss and psychologist Dr Travis Osborne are OCD experts

and have been running their OCD camp for five years.

Pete and Travis have already spent hours on Skype consulting

with each of the group.

Meeting Pete, he had a little bit of celebrity status in my head,

because I'd like spoken to him so much in preparation for coming here.

He's someone that's got such a big role in possibly making me better.

Pete's no stranger to taking OCD sufferers on wilderness trips,

but this camp's going to be a bit different.

This is the first time I've ever taken a group with this

severe of OCD with the goal of helping them to work on their OCD.

It feels like we're treading new ground, which is exciting,

but it also makes me a little bit nervous.

14 hours after leaving London, they finally arrive.

You guys, you made it. We're at Island Wood.

-Do you want to see your rooms?

-Yes.

Let's go.

-Oh, wow.

-Wow.

Any bed, honestly, I'll take a single.

-You want double then?

-You can go in double then, yeah.

Rock, paper, scissors. One, two, three.

-Quite fancy a bunk bed.

-I quite fancy an up one, yeah.

Which one do you want, which top?

I don't mind.

The group have come almost halfway around the world,

but tomorrow, their real journey begins.

It's the first day of OCD camp.

Pete and Travis and their team have got just over a week

to help the group reclaim their lives by taking on their OCD.

This extreme programme will force the Brits

to fight their OCD by getting them to face their biggest fears

and do things they'd never dream of doing back home.

'Exposing to the fear, not doing their ritual,

'then we raise the bar and do it again,

'and raise the bar and do it again.'

Straight after breakfast the battle begins.

In a place Jack fears the most... the bathroom.

We're trying to find a spot, whether it's a wall

or something on the wall, ceiling, that you can touch.

Is there anywhere within the actual room where the toilet exists

that you could actually do that?

Yeah, I mean, as far away from the toilet as possible.

OK, let's just have you touch it with the pinkie...

HE CHUCKLES ..and then just hold that pinkie up for a while.

How does that sound?

I'm still taking my sleeves up, though,

because I don't want to get my hands...

Yeah, you've got to be precautionary.

OK, it's there.

What could be on your pinkie?

Bacteria of the toilet seat and just what this toilet,

what this room is about and...

Yeah, water from the toilet when it's been flushed

because it's not got, like, a seat to it properly and...

So, this is what we're going to do, Jack.

I don't always do this, but I think it's actually going to help you.

We're going to have you touch your pinkie around your body

because I think it's actually going to make it...

It's going to be harder at first, but then it will get easier faster.

Get that bacteria, pee, urine, nastiness all over you.

'My mouth went dry and my chest was beating.

'I was sweating, my eyes were darting around the room,

'I couldn't focus. I felt kind of like I was going to faint.'

Although it may seem like a very simple task for everyone else,

it was actually a big ordeal.

In Travis' group, Josh is first up.

He's about to be exposed to his greatest fear.

His challenge is not to ritualise.

Your goal is going to be to touch something with one side of your body.

You can choose whether it's with your hand or your arm or your leg, whatever you choose.

We're going to try to have you go five minutes

without equalising it out on the other side.

So what could you touch with your foot?

It would just be knocking something like that.

It's even just that line right there.

-This line right here? OK.

-It would just be going like that.

HE LAUGHS OK. OK, so let's try that again without equalising.

-OK, I'll have another go.

-All right.

OK, so let's have you sit back down.

-OK, did you see your body pulling you to redo it?

-Yeah.

OK. Now, what's happening with your anxiety right now?

I feel all right, but I think it... Yeah.

You feel all right but what?

I mean, yeah. You get it?

You can feel it already, can't you? Yeah.

I think we all can see the second you do that,

we can just see your face instantly change, right?

-Can your family tell?

-Yeah, they know.

Yeah. You get tongue-tied.

They know when I get...

-It's like a sweat, isn't it?

-..anxious. Yes.

It's very annoying when you're that confident

and it just, sort of, just drains away.

Yeah, it's not nice.

Three minutes into his exposure,

Josh has an overwhelming urge to touch the line.

Is it in general harder with your feet than your hands

or is it usually about the same?

Yeah, no. I mean no, no.

Um...it's the same, yeah.

OK. You think you can make it another two minutes?

Yeah. All right.

Moments later, Josh has reached his limit.

Josh? Can I go with you?

You're out of time, so if you want to ritualise, you can, OK?

Can you try to talk to me for a sec?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Is your anxiety climbing?

No, it's fine now. I did it, I did it.

-Oh, because when you walked over the line, you touched it?

-Yeah.

-OK. So it just felt like you couldn't go any longer?

-Yeah.

OK, I think you actually made it to five minutes, which is great.

So we'll let you cool down for a little bit before we try again.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-OK.

That's just what I mean, I don't like running away.

-It's what I do, always seem to do.

-I know, I know.

But you're just starting, right?

In those kinds of situations,

the natural response is just to get out of there as fast as you can

because that is just what I've learned to do.

It's become second nature now.

I'm a little bit annoyed about running away.

Back in the bathroom, Imogen is about to do her very first exposure.

Are you ready?

-As I'll ever be.

-OK!

Pete plans to trigger Imogen's fear

that something bad will happen to her family,

but not let her tap to compensate.

He'll ask her to rate her anxiety on a scale of one to ten.

What's the tiniest, most minute movement

that would cause you to want to tap?

Um...stepping forward.

OK. So what I want you to do, you're going to move your foot

just the tiniest little bit.

Go for it.

I know it's in my head, I know it's not real.

So I want you to say something different than that, though.

This is going to be harder.

"Maybe it's real."

Maybe it's real.

Nice work! Nice work!

That is fantastic!

-VOICE CRACKING:

-Maybe it's real.

OK, just stop there, what do you have?

I would probably have like a five.

Yeah, a little higher than what we wanted to,

but we're just going to sit there. What do you want to do for a ritual?

I want to tap the wall with my elbow.

Yeah, I can tell that's hard.

'When I moved my foot forward,

'I instantly was aware of all my surroundings.

'All these thoughts going around in my head,'

like I had really powerful thoughts

about bad things happening to my mum, which was very, very scary.

Can you say it again, the "maybe" statement?

Maybe it's real.

Maybe it's real.

-(Maybe it's real.)

-Yeah, good work.

-You're doing so well.

-Yeah.

-You're doing so well.

This is unbelievable.

This is really obviously very tough.

You are a picture of courage right now.

What you just did was phenomenal,

but it doesn't mean your OCD is going to go away,

because you're going to move and you're going to do a ritual

in just a few moments here. And that is OK.

That doesn't mean that it's not going to get better

or that you should lose hope.

After waiting over an hour with contaminated hands,

Jack ends his exposure by washing.

The group have made it through their first day of therapy.

With exposures over, they can stop fighting their OCD.

Until tomorrow.

After a long, hard day,

everyone gets a chance to chill by the campfire.

Well, you guys survived your first full day of OCD camp.

How do you feel?

-Tired.

-Tired? Yes, I bet. You guys worked really hard today.

What you guys got a taste today of, when we started exposure therapy,

was how hard it is to actually fight this beast, right?

So what we've asked you all to think about is, kind of,

what your OCD has cost you

and these are the things you're going to need to keep in mind

in those key moments when what you want to do is, kind of,

just give in to the OCD, to help you push

and find a way to keep fighting.

The reason I want to fight and beat my OCD

is because I'm just fed up of it after so long, it does no good.

It's made me lie to my family, many times,

and it's made me lie to my friends

and people that I shouldn't have lied to,

just because it's much easier than saying that you've got OCD.

I'm just completely done now

with letting it be the biggest part of my life.

I hate everything about it. I hate everything about the...

..what it's taken away from me

and I hate the man that I thought I should have been at 22

that I'm not at 22.

I owe it to myself to fight it as hard as I can fight anything.

I hope one day I can grow up and I can have a family and a job

and not have to worry about what I'm going to have for dinner or,

can I make it out the front door without tapping it four times, or something?

That would be quite nice.

My parents have been through so much. Um, like...

SHE SNIFFS

My parents have been through so much supporting me...

..and they've just been amazing, my sister, too, and all my family.

They've, kind of, spent their whole life looking after me

and I feel like if I get better then they've kind of achieved something

and they've helped me to get better.

Just so they can live a stress-free life without worrying about me.

I have a motto for you guys for this week.

And the motto is with just one word,

and that word is "maybe".

And there's a badge that comes along with "maybe",

and you're all going to get that badge in just a moment here,

and the badge is a question mark.

Whenever you look at this,

it's a reminder that maybe the bad thing could happen.

Maybe it could, maybe it couldn't.

And I want you guys to take this with you for the rest of your lives.

Are you ready for your tattoo?

-I'm going to have two.

-That's great.

THEY LAUGH

It's day two at Island Wood.

Yesterday was stressful and disorientating for everyone.

So Pete decides to kick off with a confidence-building challenge

out on the lake.

But for Olivia, even this triggers her OCD.

I don't know who's worn it

and life jackets usually smell like damp if people have fallen in

and I've just put clean clothes on and had a shower

so I don't really want to wear it.

And she's not the only one.

This is the kind of thing where everyone's tightly together.

-You can't leave.

-Yeah.

So let's say you do feel trapped,

cos there's a good chance that could happen,

and we're not going to let you jump overboard.

So you're going to have to wait.

What I want you to do is I want you to tell me if it's happening, OK?

But pretty quickly, they all find their sea legs - even Jack.

So, I'm just curious how it went for you guys.

It was absolutely fine. It was fine, I enjoyed it.

What did you learn about

the difference between anticipating something

and then the actual experience itself?

It probably won't happen.

Maybe it will, maybe it won't but it probably won't.

Maybe?

Inspired by the raft challenge,

Jack's motivated to push himself further than he's ever gone before.

For almost a decade, Jack's been so fearful of germs

that he's only drunk from disposable cups.

-You ready for this?

-Nope, let's go.

-Nope, let's do it!

But now he wants to try to drink from a glass

that's been used by other people,

with a little help from the Island Wood kitchen staff.

This is Ben. All right, Ben, this is Jack.

-How're you doing, you all right?

-Nice to meet you.

-Cheers for your help.

-So, it's not quite boiling yet,

but Jack is saying that it's probably good enough for him.

So whenever you're ready to put a glass in, that would be fantastic.

Yeah, this is a hot cup.

There's one condition. He needs to see the glass being sterilised.

I don't like the water that's in there being too much on it

so as much as we can get out by, like,

doing what you're doing now, that's perfect.

I'm going to sit on the... Where would you like it set, set down on?

There's fine, wherever's fine really.

But, yeah, as long as it's the right way up.

Perfect.

One minute, all that water is evaporated, it's gone.

That's perfect, cheers.

Hey, Ben, I want you to see what he's about to do.

What's something that you were terrified of?

What are you afraid of? HE LAUGHS

I always joke about this -

bears, lions, and I'm not afraid of much that I can think of, actually.

But bears? That's a good one.

And so if you were to walk into a cage with a bear...?

-I wouldn't walk into a cage with a bear.

-OK.

That's exactly the same mental process that Jack is about to take

when he takes a drink out of this thing.

It's like, obviously even touching the glass is a bit...

It's weird, man.

It's strange.

When was the last time you drank out of a glass?

-Nine years ago.

-Wow.

-It's quite a strange feeling.

-It's impressive.

I'd high five you if I could.

Air bump.

Air bump with Ben maybe?

THEY LAUGH

Let's go.

For Jack, this is a huge achievement,

and he's keen to show off his latest victory over OCD to the others.

This is the most self-conscious drink I've ever had.

THEY LAUGH

-OLIVIA:

-In nine years, that's crazy.

-I know.

-That's such a long time.

-It's just so good though.

-It is.

They're supporting each other.

I don't even know if I could have predicted

that that would happen to this degree,

but it's so clear that they're simultaneously dealing with their own fears and their own exposures

but then they're giving to others,

and that's phenomenal that they can shift out of that space

and it's not just all about them.

-Bye!

-THEY LAUGH

Pete has discovered that four hours after Imogen's exposure yesterday,

she returned to the bathroom to ritualise by tapping the wall.

So today, he's going to raise the stakes.

How could we do an exposure

where it's impossible to do a ritual afterwards?

I see your face just dropping.

-What would that thing be?

-Um...

When I'm walking sometimes I have to tap certain stones and...

So if we went for a walk outside,

then if you stop where you want to actually do a ritual on a certain stone,

-that's what you're telling me we could do?

-Mm-hmm.

OK. We'll start the exposure and then we'll make a decision

about whether or not we're going to throw the rock anywhere.

OK.

That one? Already?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Tell me if you were to get rid of this rock or not tap it,

what could happen?

Um, something bad. Like, to my family.

What's the statement?

Maybe something bad will happen.

Again.

Maybe something bad will happen.

-Again.

-Maybe something bad will happen. Oh, dear.

Maybe something bad will happen.

Imogen's frozen to the spot for half an hour

before she's able to calm down.

So, let's talk about what we're going to do to with this rock.

Can you take it?

Do you want me to?

What do you want me to do with it, just pick it up right now?

Hold it? OK.

-Will you put it in your pocket?

-Yep.

-Can I see how I go?

-Yes, we can.

We can just keep this in my pocket and we can see how it goes.

I think that's a fantastic idea.

-Thank you.

-(You're welcome.)

This is another full day of therapy.

Everyone is going head-to-head with their OCD.

Megan is plagued by thoughts of bad things happening to people,

so Travis wants her to look at a picture of her friend

and imagine her getting sick.

You're going to get ill.

OK, and what do you notice about your anxiety right now?

Probably...two or three.

OK.

Yesterday, Josh managed to wait five minutes before ritualising.

Today, he wants to break that record.

What would you like to set as a goal for this time?

If I put it at ten then I can see...

Counting down, I think that would be quite good.

OK, so you go ahead, what do you want to do this time?

All right.

-Weird.

-Did you do it yet?

Yeah.

OK.

All right, how high is the anxiety right now?

I'd... I'd say it's like a three.

-So a little bit lower than yesterday.

-Yeah.

While Josh rides out his exposure,

Olivia's challenging her fear of smelling badly.

-OK.

-It stinks of coffee, that bin.

-It does!

-You ready?

-Uh-huh.

All right, go for it.

-I'll do it this way.

-Great.

Keep your hand there for a minute,

and then we'll just go straight for the hair.

Good work.

-OK.

-Bleurgh!

So, Josh, where is your anxiety at right now?

I'm not too sure.

-Is it over a five?

-Yeah.

Is it over a seven?

I don't know, but I want to go.

OK, so you're feeling really strongly like you want to go.

-Yeah.

-OK. And do you know what it is about leaving that helps?

It's being alone, it's just being alone.

It's being alone when it's...

-Like a painkiller almost.

-Yeah.

Josh makes it to the ten-minute mark.

It's the longest time he's ever gone without equalising.

Two and one. Nicely done!

Are you feeling exhausted?

-Yeah, knackered.

-I bet you are!

Everyone's making progress, but back on the porch,

Pete's about to start working with his most complex case.

Andrew's OCD is very severe,

he's probably the most severe in the group.

And it's further complicated by the fact that he has Asperger's.

He's afraid of the number 13,

he is afraid of contamination,

the uncomfortable feeling he gets if he doesn't ritualise is intolerable.

Pete is starting with Andrew's contamination OCD.

He's asked him to put his dirty hands on his skin.

Can they come off now?

No, hands on the head still! You're doing a fantastic job.

It just feels like it's getting worse.

I know, I know, I'm a bastard.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome, babe.

What was the "maybe" statement? Can you say it?

Maybe my skin WILL get bad, on my forehead.

It's not just saying it, because that's only words, isn't it?

-I don't like the sound of my own voice.

-Say it.

Um... Yeah, maybe my skin'll, like, flare up and get pretty bad.

Louder.

I'm feeling really...

like, bothered now.

Jack, can you help me out again? We'll open this door.

Before Pete can begin to treat Andrew's OCD,

he needs to tackle his crushingly low self-confidence.

He's never going to hear now.

It's just... It's not going to happen.

I am tempted just to shout, but it just sounds so ridiculous.

-LOUDER:

-My spots might get bad and flare up.

See, I can't get any more than that

because my voice really kicks in any louder than that.

I don't want to fail, but I do not want to shout

while people are about.

Andrew, say, "Maybe my voice is completely stupid."

My voice IS completely stupid.

"I have a completely stupid voice."

I have a completely stupid voice.

You say that with such confidence.

-Because it's the truth.

-Say it again.

Yeah, it's true. It's totally true.

Yeah, maybe it's true.

I'm plagued with it for the rest of my life.

You might have a stupid voice.

You might have been born with a stupid voice.

Actually, hearing you say that really annoys me

-because it's just true, that's what people have told me.

-What's that?

That I've got a stupid voice. You're right. You've actually said it.

I said maybe.

-So I'm pretty angry now.

-Yeah?

I'm sure people have thought...

"He just can't communicate properly with his voice."

So if you shout, you might be rejected by all of us.

Like you were rejected when you were a kid.

-I've always been rejected, yeah.

-Yeah.

There is a difference between then and now.

We're not children.

'Andrew just has, you know, it's a monolithic barrier

'to what he wants to really do in life, to what he can do,'

because the fear is that he's absolutely worthless,

so he has this massive hurdle that he's trying to jump over

and it's just...

It's almost unbearable to watch.

He's got one last chance to make Jack hear him.

-LOUDER STILL:

-My spots could get quite bad and flare up.

I bet he's heard that. He's heard that.

How do you feel?

-I mean, it were OK.

-What's that?

It were OK.

I'm so hoping that you feel

at least a little tiny bit proud of yourself

for what you just did.

I don't know why you try with me, I'm such a loser.

I don't even know why you're trying.

We try because we see something you don't.

That's the problem, right?

You wouldn't be here if that wasn't the problem.

If there is a proud feeling in your brain, a proud thought...

..my suggestion is to take that seriously.

Right now I do feel pleased that I spoke a bit louder.

I actually think it's improved my voice

because now that I've, sort of, projected it a bit more

and I was speaking quiet I think I sound a little better.

I think it might have somehow helped the vocal cords or something.

Tomorrow, everything is going to change.

The group are getting ready to leave the comfort of Island Wood Lodge.

We are going to shift gears now

and we are heading tomorrow into the wild unknown

and we have to get ready and we have to get packed.

Whatever you take, you're going to carry on your back.

So if you take a lot, you're going to carry a lot.

I'm really worried this bag's going to be really heavy.

-You need one pair of these, and one pair of trousers.

-Is that it?

And you're going to wear them for three days and it's going to be OK.

We've got to be up for...

Well, we've got to be up and out before half five, I think.

That's going to be fun.

But we're all going to the high ropes course, which will be fun.

I think everyone's ready for the high ropes course, aren't they?

It'll be good.

We're all going on about how much we're looking forward to it,

-when we get there, everyone's going to

-BLEEP

-themselves.

I'm sitting outside now at about 12:30,

even though we're just two days into eight of exposures,

there's a few of us really struggling now, myself included.

I'm not going to sleep tonight.

I don't think many of us are going to sleep tonight because it's so intense.

We're a few hours away now and tomorrow's another day,

but it's another a hard day and everything's about to get harder.

It's day three and Pete has the group on the move.

Moving is an important part of the therapy

as often people with OCD have difficulty leaving places

as it adds to their anxiety.

-Howdy! How are you?

-Good.

-Good.

Pete's upping the stakes again.

This time a physical challenge with a real element of danger.

They'll be clambering along inch-wide cables,

130 feet in the air.

If they can push themselves to do this

it should give them more confidence to fight their OCD.

-It's high.

-It is high.

-I'm scared

-BLEEP,

-me.

The reason we're here is to help them learn how to live with uncertainty,

to take all sorts of different risks in life.

Today, they will be taking actual risks.

First to attempt the ladder is Imogen.

-Do you even feel you can...?

-No, I want to go straight down.

We will, but if anything would happen to you,

say you would faint, no worries, I'll tell you what will happen.

I've got you and nothing will happen to you.

Good luck, Imogen.

Thank you.

You're about halfway already.

30 feet up, she freezes.

It's not the start the group had hoped for.

Whenever you're ready.

I got up the fourth one, then I was like, "Oh, I've got to come down".

I could feel my legs going.

Next up is Andrew.

I actually just feel a bit, like, overwhelmed.

There's just really an awful lot going on in all directions

and I can't really handle more than one thing happening.

There just seems to be stuff happening everywhere.

It just kind of throws me a bit.

I'm just getting you ready.

-And if you take a couple of steps to the ladder.

-OK.

For Andrew, who's been virtually a prisoner in his bedroom

for the last five years, it's a huge step.

You good?

Now just stop right there. You all right there?

Now let go with that hand and just stand there.

Don't go anywhere. Relax.

Down here in your hips.

Once I got up, I felt a little bit better.

Then as I did more and more things it just started to become...

I just became more confident.

Towards the last ones I was doing, it was just no problem at all.

Spurred on by Andrew, the rest of the group climb up to the canopy.

Swing!

I think Andrew's heavily enjoying himself up there.

He has a big, perma-smile on his face and it's making us all happy.

It's quite contagious, his joy.

Just seeing everyone up there and, like, you can tell that everyone

is going through their own little exposures.

That's a hard one.

Jack and Andrew held hands and Jack can't hold people's hands,

I mean, this is incredible.

Perfect, perfect.

I can barely reach now.

I'm going to have to... Whoa, whoa!

Session over and the group shares a bonding moment, American style.

Let's say thank you to Bernie.

Olivia, come all the way around.

Big squeeze.

# ..American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee

# But the levee was dry

# Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye

# Singing, "This'll be the day that I die... #

The ropes course has given the group great confidence.

Now they think they can do anything.

So Josh wants to take on another challenge.

He's touched Pete with one hand, but not the other.

Just minutes in, things start to go wrong.

'Josh was in the middle of an exposure,

'and he's only done a couple of exposures

'in a confined space like a van,

'so he essentially has a panic attack.'

-Just get out.

-Whatever you need.

-Just get out. Get out.

-Shall we pull over?

-I need to get out.

-OK, we're going to pull over.

Pull way off. Thank you.

'I had to jump out of his way for him to get out of the van.'

He nearly knocked me out. He proper had to barge through t'seatbelt,

it came out with him and everything.

-JACK:

-It's hard watching anyone go through it,

because I know how tough it is.

-JOSH:

-'You just need to get as far away from that situation as possible

'because it feels like your body tells you that you are in danger.

'To me, it is like seeing a bus come towards you.

'The natural thing to do is just get the hell out of the way.

'When you do feel pure fear, you can almost taste it.'

Witnessing a full-blown panic attack has stunned the group.

You know better than anybody what it's like to have a panic attack

so you can explain what's going on for him right now.

It just feels like the biggest roller coaster, the biggest...

being afraid of fire, being afraid of drowning,

being afraid of a bomb, being afraid of anything like that,

all in your face, all in one go, all of those things.

It's like...fear personified.

It's 15 minutes before Josh feels well enough to get back in the van.

It's a massive setback for him,

but there are even bigger challenges to come.

Still shell-shocked from Josh's exposure,

the group check into a motel.

They have less than 12 hours to pull themselves together

before the next stage of the camp.

What's scaring me the most

is if I've come here and gone through all of this

just to go home and be exactly the same as I was before I left,

then I'm going to feel like it was time wasted.

When Josh did his exposure and had to leave,

I was really actually scared for him

because of the fear of being trapped.

-And you can't move.

-So that's both together.

But there's one person on a high.

I do feel quite different in myself, really.

I think it's just been like day one, a little bit better,

day two and you know, just as days have gone by

I think I've just felt as though I'm just more accepted into t'group.

It is just making me feel a lot more confident in general.

With an evening off from therapy,

some of the group head for the hot tub.

No, I didn't do that.

Ah, here he comes! Good man! Scooch over.

One more coming in.

And remarkably, there's another arrival.

Andrew, Andrew, Andrew, Andrew.

Andrew!

When was the last time you were in a hot tub?

-Probably never.

-Ah, first time hot tub!

It's turned into more of a rap video.

Oh! Oh, my God!

The group are up early for a hearty breakfast

at a classic American diner.

Spirits are still high from last night.

I can't believe that that man

thought I were involved in a porn movie.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, Andrew. I love you.

Two days ago, back at the camp,

Jack drank out of a glass for the first time in nine years.

You ready? OK.

He's now decided to do it in a crowded restaurant.

Yeah.

-Is it going to work?

-Mm-hmm.

-OK.

I need you... I need you to do the tap, please.

This time, there's no way for Jack to sterilise the glass.

He has to make do with running it under the hot water tap.

I think I'm only taking this one because it's...

OK.

-What's your number?

-Six now.

-BLEEP

-sake.

-BLEEP.

What was it? Was it the glass or the sink or the kitchen?

-All of it.

-Everything.

Jack's OCD is very intense.

He's constantly being triggered and he has so many different things

going on at different levels at the same time.

I didn't sleep all last night

and sometimes it affects me, I get angry and stuff,

and I'm panicky and nervous.

The only thing that gives me a little bit of relief

is to hit something, but I'm trying really hard not to.

It's the halfway point, and from here,

the group face a four-hour boat ride to reach the start of their trek.

It's already been mentally draining.

Imogen, she was questioning whether or not

she was really even going to be able to do exposures on this programme

and over the course of four days, she's made a huge amount of progress.

The thing that is most scariest about doing things

is not the actual doing of it, it's the anticipation of doing it.

I've completed challenges

that I wouldn't have completed before I came here.

I've felt more relaxed than I've felt in ten years

and that's because I've just gone around talking to everybody.

Yesterday I went in the hot tub with everyone,

which was something I've never done and I never thought that I would do.

It's given me such a lot of confidence,

I just need to make the most of it.

Initially, I just wanted to have a minute of a day without OCD,

but now I feel like I can do a lot more than that.

I still get the intrusive thoughts, the same amount,

but I'm training my brain to not automatically ritualise.

Now we're going out in the woods

and it's going to be very physically uncomfortable.

What I think is truly unique about what we are doing

is the environment that we're taking them to.

I don't think that there's anywhere else in the world,

somewhere where people are taking

six people with a mental health disorder out into the woods.

It's another way of teaching them that they can push themselves

so much farther than they think they can.

Next on Extreme OCD Camp:

The group strike out into the great outdoors...

This is not... I'm not made for this. I'm like a city boy.

This is the worst thing ever.

Michelin quality.

Ew!

..an environment that will take them to breaking point.

He is just pushing and pushing to go further and further.

They're terrifying themselves over and over and over again.

They're completing an ultra-marathon here.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd