Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a debilitating mental illness, it is NOT a quirky personality trait.
My entire life, I've struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Before I started intensive treatment and medication regiments, I was unable to drive a car and afraid to leave the house. This disease prevented me from functioning independently, had a large impact on my everyday life, and caused me a great deal of psychological pain. Throughout my struggle, I was constantly reassured by people that they understood, because, as they would say, "I'm soooo OCD too. I hate when my room is dirty." While I know they were just trying to help by making me feel accepted, it was hurtful when people would generalize and minimize my condition. The fact of the matter is, trying to relate to mental illness through self-diagnosis and generalization only strengthens stigmas and stereotypes.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, in the simplest sense, is characterized by obsessive thoughts, and compulsive behaviors that aim to calm those thoughts. Contrary to popular belief, contamination OCD, characterized by obsession over contamination and compulsive cleaning, is not the only type of OCD. Furthermore, liking your room to be clean is a personality quirk, feeling obligated to wash your hands every hour for fear of bacterial contamination is not. There is a difference between being organized, and having a mental disorder which causes you to believe you can prevent obsessive and intrusive thoughts by staying organized. Trying to say these things are the same is rude to those who actually struggle with OCD in their daily lives.
You wouldn't tell someone with cancer you understood what they were going through because you had a cold once, it would be minimizing to their experience and their pain. So why do we so often try to generalize and relate to mental illness in ways that minimize and delegitimize it? While I sometimes get offended by this, I must remember that people have good intentions. It is because of stigma, stereotypes, and lack of mental health education that these things occur. If we had more comprehensive mental health education and better awareness of mental health issues, people would be able to better support their friends in need, through educated response, rather than generalization.
I ask you to think about the people in your life who suffer from mental illness, and realize that their conditions are just as serious as any physical illness, and should be treated as such. Do your research, learn about mental health, and let your friends know that you care. Through education, we can end the stereotypes and the stigma. Only through learning and talking about mental illness can we truly help our friends who suffer.
OCD is a disease, not a quirky personality trait. Let's treat it that way.
