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OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

DISCLAIMER: This post will contain sensitive topics.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS? I wrote this article because I want to shine light on the truths behind the myths about OCD. This article is not directed towards anyone, nor was it written to hurt or throw blame at anyone, I simply wanted to share about OCD to clear up some common things to anyone who reads this.

OCD is something a lot of people take as a joke. They'll say "Oh, I have OCD," while they organize their pencils or lock their doors. But if any of you reading this have OCD, you know it's nothing like that. In fact, it can be incredibly insulting when people do things like that.

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines OCD as "an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions or compulsions or both that cause significant distress, are time-consuming or interfere with normal daily functioning, and are recognized by the individual affected as excessive or unreasonable —abbreviation OCD". People who have OCD aren't just perfectionists. As you can see in the definition, OCD is an "anxiety disorder". People with OCD struggle against it every day, hence why when others joke about it, it can be upsetting.

Often, people will claim they have OCD about minor things—grammar, clothing organization, etc. Sometimes, they do. But more commonly, they just care a lot about it. I don't doubt that at least half the people reading this have done so. And the thing is, most often, people aren't even trying to joke about it. They just don't realize how serious OCD is. I've heard "I just have OCD about [this]" too many times before, and I know the people saying it are never trying to be insulting, but hearing it is. Addressing this common issue, Psychology Today says, "Some of the issue may be more about misinformation concerning OCD, rather than a mean-spirited attempt to add stigma to mental health issues", which leads me to my next point.

A common stereotype is that all people with OCD are obsessed with cleaning. Well I'm going to tell you right now that that is wrong. Yes, a lot of people with OCD struggle with compulsive-cleanliness, but that's not all the disorder is about. A lot of people with OCD don't even care about things being clean.

The thing is, there are a lot of different types of OCD. Some are centered around cleanliness, but most center around other things. According to ocduk.org, the five categories a person's OCD would fall into are Checking, Contamination/Mental Contamination, Symmetry and ordering, Rumination/Intrusive Thoughts, and finally, Hoarding. See? Not all about cleaning.

The most important thing I want to say here, though, is that OCD is not voluntary. Trust me, if people could choose whether they had OCD or not, "not" would win by a longshot. OCD is basically a "monster" inside of you. It makes you do things you want to do. I'm sure you've gotten annoyed at someone for re-organizing something you just organized or correcting you over and over before, but what if they couldn't help it? What if they wanted to stop as much as you wanted them to, but their minds simply wouldn't allow it? Did you consider that perhaps they might've been about to explode on the inside because the book wouldn't go into place, and yet had to restrain themself from fixing it because if they did, other people would get mad at them?

That's just a little about what OCD is like. Of course, everyone is different. For some of you, this post will have no effect on you, but I truly hope that for others, I have helped you learn more about this disorder that a little over 2% of the population has. Thank you for reading.

Remember, we are always here for you to talk to, whether through comments, our message board, or PMs.