OCD and NO MORE CHAIN LETTERS!!

One of my blog readers commented on a recent blog I wrote, “The News Can Do You In.” Her response got me thinking that it is not only the news— chain letters and chain e-mails are responsible for messing up the minds and computers of millions of people. Here is part of Cindy’s response:

“Oh and don’t get me started on the chain emails... they stress me out... I usually delete them but sometimes I’m guilty of forwarding them to my friends... just in case it’s true that I’ll have bad luck for 10 yrs if I don’t fwd them to 10 friends in the next 10 minutes!! Lol”

One vile chain e-mail is the Bloody Mary Curse, which claims to be cursed once opened and warns that not sending it on will cause dire and tragic things. I’m NOT going to put the whole thing on here –

“You are now cursed. You must send this on or you will be killed. Tonight at 12:00am, by Bloody Mary. This is no joke. So don't think you can quickly get out of it and delete it now because Bloody Mary will come to you if you do not send this on…”

I want to let people know that this kind of e-mail can be very damaging, especially people with OCD who may obsess about having bad luck if they don’t send it on. Sending it becomes the compulsion for relief of the obsession. Bloody Mary says something terrible will happen if you don’t send it. Here is another part of it…

“Don't think this is a fake and it's all put on to scare you because it’s real ...

“We strongly advise you to send this email on. It is seriously NO JOKE. We don't want to see another life wasted. ITS YOUR CHOICE... WANNA DIE TONIGHT? If you send this email to...NO PEOPLE - You're going to die.1-5 PEOPLE - You're going to either get hurt or get the biggest fright of your life.5-15 PEOPLE - You will bring your family bad luck and someone close to you will die.15 -25 OR MORE PEOPLE - You are safe from Bloody Mary”


How terrible these are! Why put fear into people?

Here’s what I found on Wikipedia regarding chain letters…

Common methods used in chain e-mails and letters include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck or even physical violence or death if he or she "breaks the chain" and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter.

Reasons for sending these…
1) To defraud you of your identityb) To play on emotions and take your money c) To send it to everyone on your mailing list to clog up the internetd) To pass on computer viruses

And hoax messages also known as e-mail scams often threaten or frighten you to pass on your personal information or a sum of money to the sender.

I refuse to open these types of e-mails because I have been a victim of the anxiety they can cause in the past. I hope that people stop writing these and I also hope that people stop passing them on. NO MORE CHAIN LETTERS!!!!!