SPOILER ALERT
Ghost Whisperer - “Cause for Alarm”
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is, according to the International OCD Foundation, “a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing.” If you have ever met someone with OCD, then you know that the symptoms vary from compulsive hand washing to repeating tasks to as slight as not being able to set a task aside unfinished. Chad Lowe guest starrs on Ghost Whisperer as a computer software genius with a bad case of OCD. Not only does he compulsively lock doors, he taps everything he touches three times. Before I move on, I'd like to say that Lowe did an excellent job. His movements, his speech patterns, and even the way he sat in front of the keyboard convinced me that this man was not only a genius, but a genius suffering from OCD.
The story starts with Aiden telling Melinda and Jim that he needs Flash, his flashlight, in order to sleep. Unfortunately, no one knows where Flash is and Melinda goes and lays down with him. We see that Eli is going to visit his latest patient, security-conscious software developer Nathan Weiss (Lowe). Nathan needs to keep security tight because he had a close call with having his video imaging software pirated. He moved his business to his home because he works better and he is paranoid. The man is so paranoid he sleeps on a cot in his safe room.
Nathan has not been able to handle his OCD habits. He needs to have his habits controlled because he is releasing new software this very week. He asks Eli to help him control his OCD and his paranoid feelings. Naturally, Eli says he'll help and we're off and running.
Now, this is beginning to bug me a little, but Melinda can apparently see visions that Aiden is having if she touches something right after he does. Because of Aiden's young age, I can see how he is unable to interpret his visions, but seriously, his mother will be able to see them? I think this is pushing the limit of believability just a bit. Also, Aiden is an empath and I get that, but I'm having a problem believing that he can be empathic to someone he's never met. They're stretching the logic here.
Back to the story... Eli realizes that Nathan is being haunted. Thanks to Melinda's visions of what Aiden feels, they learn that Nathan had a younger sister. His OCD didn't exist before his sister was murdered at a very young age. At first, Eli and Melinda believe that Nathan is being haunted by his dead sister. Then, while at Nathan's house, they run into Amy Warner. Amy used to be Nathan's girlfriend. She warns Melinda that he has to get out of that house. Before Melinda can discover what this ghost means by that, a security officer tells her that she should be on her way.
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