Boy with OCD thought he caused 9/11 terrorist attacks

Rupert Neate
London Telegraph
Saturday, June 28, 2008

A ten-year-old boy with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) thought the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York were his fault, according to a new report.

Leading psychologists said the boy thought the September 11 attacks in 2001 happened because he did not step on a particular white mark on the road that day.

Experts from University College London believe it is the first time a patient has blamed themselves for a major terrorist attack.

In a report published in the journal Neurocase experts said the boy, who suffers from OCD and Tourette's syndrome, was wracked with guilty after the attack.

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Mary Robinson, a psychologist at UCL, said his condition meant he was forced "to step correctly on a particular white mark on the road" every day.

But on "September 11, the day of the atrocities, he forgot to do this and therefore thought the World Trade Centre attack was his personal fault."

Full article here.

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