OCD leaves schoolgirl hoarding conkers and praying for dead animals

A girl of 15 has told how her life is being ruined because she cannot stop counting - and praying when she sees dead animals on the road. Suzannah Osborne suffers from an extreme form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Suzannah's illness has left her obsessed with counting good numbers to 'cancel out' bad numbers, hoarding stones and conkers and praying for dead animals. Suzannah, of Teignmouth, Devon, said: "I have rows with my family. No one will speak to me because of the stupid counting."



She first started logging her steps when she was eight and developed a phobia of treading on cracks. Her mother, Rosalind, 41, who also has two sons, said: "It puts the family under stress."

Suzannah's condition is so bad doctors have increased her dosage of Sertraline from 50mg to 125mg. "I don't always want to be doing my rituals, but live like any normal person can, I want a family and a normal life, but I have to get my OCD under control," she said.

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