It's everywhere. "How OCD are you really?", "x pictures that will drive your OCD insane", "x things your OCD will thank you for."

All of the articles should be titled "how much do you appreciate aesthetically even photos really?" "X pictures that will make you slightly uncomfortable" and "x things the fundamental basis of your brain to find patterns and symmetry in life will thank you for."

OCD isn't cute. It's not a quirky personality trait. It's a disorder. A mental disorder. Do you know what mental disorders are? They're an internal living hell. They mess with your life and those around you. They also are behavior, mood, and personality disorders that are distinguishable by the 4 Ds:

Dysfunction: behaviors that interfere with daily living.

Distress: behaviors that cause stress and anxiety.

Deviance: behaviors that are considered "abnormal" to common people.

Dangerousness: the extent to which a behavior can go that can harm the individual suffering or those around.

Major Depressive Disorder, Social Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Depression, Bulimia Nervosa, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and others like it are tough things to live with. They all correlate with the 4 Ds above. Depression can affect a person's ability to get out of bed. Bipolar Depression can cause a person to rashly act out and harm themselves, or people close to them. It's not "normal" to purge after consuming food. It's not comforting to be stressed out by the idea of talking on the phone. Yes, they are things that are okay to have, and a person should never be ashamed of it, but that doesn't change the seriousness of a person suffering.

I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, among other things. I have an illness that 2 million other Americans struggle with. It's not about order, it's not about cleanliness, it's not about perfection. It's not being able to defy the voice in your head. I have an illness that caused me to obsessively count calories, cry when I got peanut butter on my pinky, and repeatedly shake as the same vision of a door opening and closing played in my mind for moments too long.

I have a rather mild form of OCD, fortunately, and one that is treated with medication and talk therapy, but it is still something that affects my daily life. When my anxiety is heightened, I avoid narrow cracks and press against my thumbs, longing for a sensation to ground me and get me out of my thoughts.

Although I am sensitive to photos of misaligned colored pencils and crooked stair cases it is not my OCD trait coming forth and screaming aloud. My disorder, for one, is not a trait. I may be upset with poorly patterned tiles, but that's because I'm a perfectionist. What my OCD does will make me think of the tiles continuously, make others walk back and forth from each color several times, or trace the lines with their fingers because their minds just won't let it go. Some worse, most worse actually.

Do not belittle a mental illness that hurts and kills people to photos of perfect circles. The idea of germs can cause a person with OCD to wash their hands repeatedly until they bleed. The compulsion to count to a certain number, such as the Man on Grey's Anatomy, can cause life or death situations in something as average as driving a car. Love life's can flounder, self esteem can flop, and the obsessions and compulsions can get to a point where the suffering is barely a person.

You may be anal. You may be a perfectionist. But you aren't OCD. You may /have/ OCD, but when we begin to let people be labeled by a pet peeve confused with a mental disorder, it neglects those who deal with the illness on a day to day basis. When we trivialize illnesses like we have for OCD, It may start conversation, but it can also cause a person to feel like they don't need help, or that they don't deserve it, because it's something everyone deals with.

It's okay to be upset by crooked bed frames and out of place colors. It's okay to have OCD, and It's okay to get frustrated, but it's not okay to belittle an illness.

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If you are struggling with something, please reach out or try. Even if it's something that you think is small, know that mental health professionals want to help. We go to the doctor when we have a cold, we can do the same for our mental health.