I cannot pinpoint a moment when I noticed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) being used synonymously with tidiness. Especially since I was guilty of it being a part of my own vocabulary at some points - I would apologize before for wanting to straighten out cards or have all my papers in a certain order and say with a joking smile, “sorry, ODC”. I do remember a moment when I decided to make a conscious shift in my vocabulary in a sophomore year psychology undergraduate course when I learned about the symptoms and diagnosing of OCD, though.
Obsessive compulsive disorder falls under the broad scope of anxiety disorders with two main parts: obsessions and compulsions.
Obsession is not what you typically think of when you hear the word - like an obsession with a sports team or an actress or a restaurant - but rather obsessions are repeated negative and unwanted thoughts which continually bring feelings of anxiety, worry, or doubt. Examples of obsessions are fear of contamination or inappropriate intrusive thoughts. Obsessions are constantly a part of day to day life.
Compulsions are the actions taken in order to attempt to subside the obsessions. Compulsions can take the form of repeated phrases, rituals, or checking, along with other manifestations.
Obsessive compulsive disorder is described often as inducing a state of mental uncomfortableness and distress. Very often people who suffer from OCD blame themselves for both the obsessions and compulsions as though something is inherently wrong with them. It is reported that this disorder engulfs the person suffering from feelings of self-disgust and self-hate.
While the cause of obsessive compulsive disorder is not known, there are many different theories on its root cause(s): personal experiences that lead someone to cope with anxiety in the form of obsessions and compulsions, biological factors, or the dysfunctional belief that the person has more control over the situation than they do.
Treatment has overwhelming come in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which is a form of talk psychotherapy that focuses on the effects of thoughts on behavior. A common form of CBT is exposure and response therapy (EX/RT) that is essentially putting a client with OCD into a situation that usually causes anxiety and prompting them to sit with the anxiety rather than turn to their usual compulsion. Eventually, a healthier coping skill will be introduced after time on a situational and case basis to replace the compulsion(s).
The value of learning about what obsessive compulsive disorder is truly about is to eradicate popular culture’s use of the disorder interchangeably with neatness and order. While it is invaluable to have conversations about mental health and mental health disorders, it does no service to anyone to put out the wrong information or inadvertently minimize those who are diagnosed with OCD by citing it when you feel the urge to clean your apartment or make sure the picture is hung up perfectly level.
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder fight a hard battle with anxiety, shame, and disgust that we trivialize or ignore by using it in everyday conversations out of place of its true gravity and we are just plain incorrect. The psychology lecture where I learned about obsessive compulsive disorder in detail changed the way I speak about not only this disorder, but many disorders and terms in the mental health field that get thrown around incorrectly. After that lecture, I thought about the 1.2% of the population who is affected by the diagnosis of OCD and how many could have overheard my joking or apologetic tone as I said the disorder in place of my desire for tidiness and met that thought with empathy as I consciously decided to remove that from my vocabulary.
Wanting to be organized, neat, clean, tidy, etc. does not mean you have obsessive compulsive disorder and joking about this disorder in place of your habits or desires will do nothing to help the fight of destigmatizing mental illness.
