Pens, Paper, and Panic

“Staying in the trouble” at Oxford

“Staying with the trouble”. This was a quote from feminist geographer and all-round academic queen Donna Haraway (2016), cited in Elwood and Leszczynski’s (2018) paper about feminist digital geographies....
Features Eleanor Luxton -

Pens, paper and panic: Contamination OCD

Contamination OCD is commonly understood as a form of OCD wherein the obsessions and...
Columns Ciara Rushton -

Pens, Paper and Panic: On the differences between OCD at home and at university

CW: anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, can be characterised by...
Columns Ciara Rushton -

Pens, Paper, and Panic: On OCD and perfectionism at University

"This self-sabotage is something that’s really intensified, along with a lot of my other OCD symptoms, since coming to university. I could stare for hours at a blank screen out of pure worry that what I’m writing wouldn’t be a masterpiece. This is the point at which the compulsions kick in - tapping on my head five times for good luck is my most common one. Any mix-up in how I do it and I’ve got bad luck for the rest of the day."
Pens, Paper, and Panic Ciara Rushton -
Latest

Pens, Paper, and Panic: On adjusting to university life with OCD

Since my diagnosis, I’ve learned a lot about myself and about OCD. It’s not been a matter of learning to live with it, but rather understanding how it is a part of myself and how I can harness it for good.

Follow us

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by James Ashley