TW: This article will cover some more distressing mental-health topics.
There is something strange about something you identify with being talked about like an academic subject. I feel it when people have debates about the queer community, and I notice it when peers discuss invisible disabilities— like they’re a foreign concept. Recently, I had that strange feeling when I opened up my abnormal psychology syllabus to see that obsessive-compulsive disorder— or OCD— was going to be one of the subjects we will learn about and be tested on, just like math, or grammar, or physics.
OCD is one of the most misunderstood mental differences in common culture. I’ve heard people claim to be “so OCD,” and then later ask, “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? What’s that?” The popularization of the acronym and the misleading associations tied to it have tanked awareness and acceptance for folks with this disorder. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was eight, and have gone through many stages of severity and multiple different subtypes throughout my life. If you’re interested in getting a better grasp of this disorder, come along with me while I share some information and personal anecdotes.
First of all, OCD is an anxiety disorder recognized by the DSM-5 as “recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are… intrusive, unwanted, and… cause marked anxiety or distress,” where the patient “attempts to ignore or suppress [them], or to neutralize them with some thought or action,” alongside other requirements. Essentially, the person with OCD has unwanted thoughts or urges, and then tries to assuage them by completing an action. For example, I have recurring anxious thoughts about being “unclean/messy.” One of the ways I try to solve this while doing schoolwork is by writing and rewriting to-do lists until they are neat and “perfect,” which often means wasting a lot of time and paper, especially if I decide that too many “checked boxes” counts as messy!
OCD also has a variety of subtypes, and these subtypes change throughout a person’s life. More well-known OCD subtypes are contamination OCD, where a person feels they are dirty or have fears about being unclean (I have this type!) and checking OCD, where a person needs to check X number of times to make sure something is as it should be. While there are a handful of large categories usually recognized as OCD subtypes, there are tons of labels for groups of fixations. Most people think of the “hand-washer” and the “excessive cleaner” when they think of OCD, but this is far from the only manifestation of this disorder. For example, another subtype I have is sensorimotor OCD, or obsessive hyperawareness of certain body parts. I am hyper aware of the interior of my ears (weird, I know!), and find myself contracting my tensor tympani over and over again in order to assuage the anxiety I feel because of this over-awareness. While this could be damaging for my hearing, I find it distressing to not complete the compulsion. OCD would not be a disorder if it did not cause distress, after all.
The main reason OCD is so misunderstood is because of the lack of general awareness of OCD subtypes, as well as the true definition of the disorder. When OCD activists and patients try to bring up subtypes, they are often socially rejected, sometimes violently. Some of these stigmatized subtypes are: Harm OCD, where one obsesses over the fear of harming themselves or others, Real-Events OCD, where one obsesses over the fear that they’ve made up one of their memories, or Pedophilia/Beastiality OCD, where one obsesses over the fear that they are attracted to children or animals.
People misunderstand OCD patients’ obsessions as wanted, or real, and criticize them as attention-seekers, liars, or violent. However, the defining characteristic of OCD is unwanted— better known as intrusive— thoughts. Have you ever heard someone tell you not to think about a white elephant? It’s almost impossible. Imagine that white elephant is something you really hate, or fear. These are the intrusive thoughts of OCD; the obsessions are ego-dystonic, which means they are the opposite of what a person believes or wants.
OCD patients have a hard time discussing their disorder with others and seeking help. Misinformation about OCD buries the true issues patients deal with, and when they attempt to correct any misunderstandings, it tends to elicit negative reactions. It is a loop of anxiety, fear, and avoidance. That is why it is up to those of us who can to spread information about OCD, and treat those who are living with the disorder as any other health patient. I hope you will join me in bringing awareness to the public of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, so more people are encouraged to get the assistance they deserve, without fearing stigma.