by,

Suzanne Coleman, MD

Hi all!  Are you as excited as I am about seeing Caleb Reynolds from “Big Brother” on “Survivor?”  Omg, when I saw him in the season preview my mouth dropped open!  (Not like Olivia’s though, that would be scary.)

If you didn’t see Caleb on “Big Brother” he was the super built guy from the South who speaks in a nice Southern drawl 🙂  He does crazy karate or something like that and jokes around a lot.  He is a loyal player so that will be cool to see if he is true to himself or if he plays the game more strategically this time.

There have been a lot of people talking on facebook about how Caleb was obsessed with some of the women when he was on “Big Brother.”  It started of with Amber, who was beautiful, though a bit on the skinny side I think; she had green eyes and curly hair and was a gentle person.  He fell for her hard and fast and no matter what she did or said, he thought it was mutual.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t and it took him way too long to hear that she was telling him she wasn’t interested in him.

Through watching him with her and later when he talked about other girls it became obvious that his behavior was really obsessive.  There are a lot of people who get obsessed with other people, or ideas, or politics.  But there’s a point where it just isn’t healthy, for them or those around them.  That’s when you need to start thinking about getting help, like going to counseling.

When being obsessed becomes a problem, it’s probably some form of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.  You can see this in people who shoplift as well.  What they have in common is a feeling that they find hard to ignore, for example it might make them feel like they have to do something or be with someone.  It is hard for them to realize it is unhealthy, because they’ve been like this for a long time, and most likely they grew up with someone similar, so they think it’s normal.  These feelings that they can get can move them to act in ways they might not otherwise, like stealing, or harassing someone to relieve the pressure of the feelings they have inside.

There is treatment for this, and if someone chooses to check into getting help, they’ll likely grow a lot if they go to counseling.  It’s a great way to better understand one’s self and how they can be a better and healthier person, and it works.

So people have all been talking about whether or not Caleb has dealt with any of his obsessive issues.  They are wondering if he will start obsessing over anyone on “Survivor” this year.  If he does, how will it impact his game?  Will he put people off?  Will his obsessive loyalty be his end, or his strength?  You never know!  It all depends on him and the people he ends up playing with this season.

I know that I for one will be glued to the screen to find out!  Hope to see you there 🙂  Feel free to comment below.