A YOUNG film-maker hopes his documentary will shed light on a little-known illness which he has coped with for more than a decade.

Mark Boustead, 24, started to make the film about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as part of his film course at the Northern Film School, but he has found it has taken on a life of its own.

The former Kirkby Stephen Grammar School pupil is now waiting for the call to appear on BBC television’s This Morning. The producers have said he has touched on a topic that they have not covered before and they are keen to feature him.

The student, who is studying moving image production at the film school, which is part of Leeds Metropolitan University, said that he had experienced OCD for many years.

“It’s something that I have had for over ten years but it was only August time I went to my GP and was diagnosed.

“I grew up in Kirkby Stephen which is quite rural and isolated. I had it (OCD) all through secondary school and being a teenager is quite stressful. I initially thought it was something everyone went through - then I thought it was something only I had.” He found there was little awareness of the illness, which people were secretive about for fear of being ridiculed, and his documentary soon turned into a video diary charting his own quest for information.

He said his illness has manifested itself over the years in obsessive thoughts that bad things might happen to his family or that he is going to hurt someone. To counteract these thoughts and stop things from happening he feels compelled to do actions like touching things ten times, or walking into a room ten times.

The obsession is the psychological part of the illness while the compulsion is the more physical part, which can be very embarrassing. However, being diagnosed and telling people about the illness has helped, and he and his friends are able to “laugh it off”.

“That in itself has been a tremendous help – just telling people.” He is hoping that by appearing on This Morning he will be able to speak about OCD and help other people.

He has filmed at the OCD conference in Birmingham, and a national organisation called OCD Action is interested in passing on the documentary to its members.

He is also hoping that he will be able to show the 50-minute film at a festival in London next June which is specifically for documentaries and films on mental illness.

“It’s kind of taken on a life of its own. It’s helped enormously just doing this project,” he said.

After graduation he is keen to continue and expand on the work he has done so far.