Zócalo Public Square

We live in an age of obsession. To be obsessive is to be American; to be obsessive is to be modern. But obsession is not only a phenomenon of modern existence: it is a medical category — a pathology. Its current form, known as OCD, has been cited by the World Health Organization as the fourth most common mental disorder in the world. How did OCD reach epidemic level when a mere 45 years ago it was considered extremely rare? University of Illinois at Chicago professor Lennard Davis, author of Obsession: A History, visits Zócalo to explain obsession’s growth, its treatment, and its complex origin and deep cultural roots.