Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), like mental illnesses in general, is widely misunderstood. It is an anxiety disorder comprised of either extreme obsessions and compulsions, or both, that hinder the sufferer’s daily life. According to the American Psychiatric Association, these obsessions and compulsions have to take up at least an hour a day, and are a result of a miscommunication in the brain. So, what actually consists of the condition? Read these ten bullets to help you understand what occurs in day to day scenarios versus its stereotypical portrayal.
Three PSA’s: Mental illnesses ruin lives and take up unhealthy amount of time during the day; it’s one of the qualifications of actually having a mental illness according to the American Psychiatric Association, and is not some quirk or adjective. Using mental illnesses as such is a big F-U to people who legitimately suffer from them. No, you’re not “OCD” because you like cleaning or “depressed” because one day you are sad. If only it were that easy. The second one being that, these examples aren’t just limited to one condition but show how the disorder can manifest itself in every-to-day events. A third PSA is that I too make mistakes, and although my information is from credited sources and personal examples, that doesn’t mean this article is mistake free so I invite you to please do your own further research.These examples are both ones from my life, (having a comorbidity of OCD and ADHD ) and ones that very likely can be seen in other people with OCD. These example can possibly have relation to other conditions besides OCD too.
What is OCD:
Having strong anxiety about a certain area being clean that you feel it slowly driving you mad, so you clean the area obsessively to try and calm the anxiety temporarily, but the anxiety will just build up again shortly.
What is NOT OCD:
One day deciding that your room needs a good clean and doing so.
OCD is categorized in part by unwanted obsessions that never leave the person’s mind, and because of this, bring a great deal of anxiety and impairment to the person’s day. Added to that are compulsions or actions that are done to supposedly lessen the constant anxiety, however, in actuality don’t treat the condition because without actual treatment the anxiety will persist. The anxiety doesn’t actually go away though because OCD is the result of a brain issue. Cleaning the desk in your room, and then laughing about how OCD you are, is just plain wrong because this desire to clean you had (the non OCD person) is not brought upon by miscommunication or a problem in your brain, it is just a harmless preference you have.
What is OCD:
Constant obsessing over body image related issues to the point where even if you eat a little bit extra of food, you feel the desire to work out because the anxiety of how said food will affect certain areas of your body is overwhelming. However, once this workout is done, the anxiety only grows back stronger. This obsession persists for much of the day every day .
What is NOT OCD:
Healthily counting calories in a diet or lifestyle change.
The difference here between being meticulous about something and having an OCD obsession/compulsive relationship towards something is that in the first example, the obsession is one that persists for more days than not, and the act of working out will not actually make the anxiety better because this stems from a direct brain issue. Whereas the second example, is a person who wants to make a change in his or her diet/life and decides to count calories, and if that doesn’t work out, will just move onto the next method.
What is OCD:
Checking that the door is locked various times in a row at various times during the day because the need to do so is so strong that if it is not done, anxiety that something awful will happen leads to this taking up much time of the day.
What is NOT OCD:
Being cautious and checking that the door is locked once or twice, forgetting about the situation, and going merrily along about your day.
The key difference here between the two examples is that the first example, has an overpowering obsession-compulsive relationship and it takes up far more time than what is considered healthy, and the anxiety is so great it leads to multiple checks over various times. While as the second option, is just being cautious and the person checking the door will soon forget about it and will not have any lingering anxiety.
What is OCD:
Having unwanted sexual thoughts that disturb you and don’t go away, as if they are on a continuous repeat. These bring upon an extreme sense of anxiety or disgust that lasts for at least one hour a day.
What is NOT OCD:
Nervousness or even anxiety around the idea of sex or first-time sex.
It is normal to feel anxiety or weird around sex if it’s your first time. Especially, in a society that doesn’t properly educate us about sex (all types) properly and shames women for having it. Having anxiety towards sex because of bad experiences does not automatically mean the is cause is OCD as it could be a symptom of something else. The first example is OCD because in an OCD diagnosis these thoughts are often extreme and anxiety provoking, last for a long period of time during the day, and can be for days, months, etc., and are often dealt with with some compulsion actions to lessen the anxiety.
What is OCD:
Washing hands due to an extreme anxiety or obsession related to germs, so often and throughout the day to the point of damaging the hands because the anxiety of not doing so takes over. The feeling is so prominent that said person can’t seem to stop because the only temporary relief from this anxiety is to compulsively wash their hands to the point of damage, and even then, it still isn’t enough.
What is NOT OCD:
Washing your hands a lot or having an “obsessed” personality trait about washing hands.
This example is one of the prime misconceptions people who don’t have OCD will say. When people like washing their hands they do so to be clean, prevent germs, etc., and can wash them without any impending, unbearable anxiety that disrupts the day. However, when a person with OCD is obsessively washing his or her hands to the point of cracking/bleeding, the reason for it is this intolerable anxiety that won’t go away unless this specific ritual is done over, and over, and over. It takes control of their minds and may very well often be there for most of the day. Even if the person knows that the obsession is unrealistic, the irrationality takes over. Also, someone who has an obsessive personality trait and is washing his or her hands should be weary to use OCD to express their obsession because there is a difference between an obsessive personality trait and OCD. If this specific obsession, however, takes up much of the day and comes with great anxiety, contact a professional but don’t just assume it’s “OCD” because there is often more than one explanation for a set of behaviors.
Post Read:
Thank you for reading, skimming, and checking out this article. A post read PSA is that you may have noticed that the, “What is OCD” examples were often longer and more detailed than the, “What is not OCD” example. This is to show the contrast of what is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the complexity behind it. Again, I recommend checking sources for yourself because this article is not exempt from mistakes. Trust the professionals more than the person summarizing the professional’s words.
*Information is gathered from International OCD Foundation and the American Psychiatric Association.
*This article is not for diagnosis of any mental illness. Please see a doctor or professional if you believe you have OCD for a proper diagnosis, below are some links to help:
https://iocdf.org/supportgroups/online-and-phone-ocd-support-groups/
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org