Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is otherwise known as OCD. It is a debilitating mental illness that affects 1 out of 5 people. It is characterized by Intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that are very hard to deal with. the intrusive thoughts are often terrifying for the suffer to experience because the intrusive thoughts cause high levels of anxiety. People with OCD have to perform rituals and compulsions in order to temporarily stop the anxiety. it's something terrible to experience and something that no one should ever have to go through yet tons of people around the world experience this mental illness.

It's scary and the sufferer knows the fears and thought they have are irrational and won't affect anything but the anxiety makes them think otherwise. OCD can be caused by lots of things like your own biology, environment, stressful or traumatic life events, genetics or even other mental illnesses. OCD is a lifelong mental illness and there is no cure but there are treatment options like therapy, medication, etc. People with OCD often have fears of germs, dirt, hurting themself or others or even religion-based fears. These fears and thoughts are often hard to control because the person with OCD may not like the thoughts they are feeling because they are afraid of actually doing a harmful action or accidentally doing something that would harm someone else.

Even though they would never actually do it and it's just a very scary thought that just won't go away. Not being able to control thoughts like these are terrifying because the person with OCD believes they are a bad person because of what's going on inside their head. OCD can be hard to deal with especially if it becomes debilitating for the person who has it. This means that the suffering is stuck in an anxious loop every day and night and loses track of time dealing with anxiety and compulsions over and over. It's exhausting and time-consuming. OCD is scary and hard to deal with but with the right treatment and support from family and friends, OCD can go from debilitating to manageable. OCD is something that people need to learn more about because it's not a quirk it's an awful mental illness that is truly something terrifying to have. While its no longer classified as an anxiety disorder. It most certainly is one because of the extreme fears it causes a person to experience in order to have the anxiety subside for a little bit the person performs rituals and compulsions. Then the fears come back stronger than before and the cycle starts anew. It's scary to experience and people with OCD don't always know that they have OCD until they seek out help or in some cases don't want help at first because they are scared of being judged for what they are going through.

They fear if they don't make sure that a door is locked that someone could break into their home or if the stove isn't off the house could burn down and their pets or family could be severely harmed. Even after checking those things even if the doors are locked and the stove is off. The person still feels compelled to keep checking over and over. Even though nothing will happen but the person can't shake the thoughts from their mind. OCD is way more than a funny quirk.

People who suffer from OCD don't like it being thought of as a funny quirk because it's much more than wanting things organized.

If you or someone you love suffers from OCD. There are ways to get help.

To learn more go to

https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354432

https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml