When I was thrust from the familiarity of high school into the liminal few months before entering college, I was suddenly consumed with crippling intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are intense anxieties about "what might happen to you or someone you care about, or what you might do to yourself or another person." Although almost everyone experiences intrusive thoughts, people with OCD fixate on them, obsessing over whether there is a dangerous source or reason for these thoughts.

Until I graduated from high school, I had no comprehensive understanding of OCD. My stereotypical associations -- repeated hand-washing, color-coded calendars, spotless bedrooms -- were formed by TV shows like "Monk" and reinforced by hearing OCD used as a casual descriptor for tidiness. So when I was abruptly overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts, I had no language for what was happening in my brain. Not having any compulsion to make my bed or bathe more than once a day, I didn't recognize what was happening to be anything other than my own distinctive craziness... or was I simply a terrible person? I reached the conclusion that I was both crazy and a terrible person and did not seek help for fear of judgment or irreparability.

Obsessive compulsive disorder is not the only illness that is commonly misunderstood and misrepresented. The misconceptions that abound regarding countless mental illnesses can, and often do, prevent those who are suffering from reaching out for support. For some, like me, ignorance about mental illness is the main player in not getting help. Others are hindered by the stigmas attached to it. And others still do not have access to adequate mental health care. These factors make dealing with any kind of mental disorder much more painful, isolating, and debilitating.

Accurate information and increased awareness about mental health issues, while not a cure-all, would be a major step toward softening the pain of those who struggle with them. For me, the darkest periods of living with OCD were when I simply had no idea that it was OCD. Being diagnosed and treated did not keep my brain from working the way it does, but did give me the ability to deal with that and to realize I am not alone.