You Don't Understand
A letter to those who say I'm just "overreacting"
To the person that says that I'm overreacting,
Your right. Trust me, I admit you're right. But here's the thing, you don't understand.
You don't understand.
You don't understand what it's like to have a brain that tries to self-sabotage itself. You don't know what it's like to have to fight your own thoughts. You don't know what it's like to be bed-ridden with fits of anxiety.
You don't understand.
You don't understand what it's like to have to be reassured 50 times about the same thing only to be so anxious that you need to be reassured for the 51st time. You don't know what it's like to have an internal feeling that everything is alright but deep down inside there's a tiny feeling that maybe there's something wrong. You don't know what it's like to be 99.9% sure but be completely terrified of the 0.1%.
You don't understand.
You don't understand what it's like to have Obsessive Compulsive Order. You think you understand. You think OCD consists of being really clean and organized. You use the term "OCD" when you organize your markers by color. You use the term "OCD" when your room is dirty and you know you need to clean it.
You don't understand.
And to be fair, I didn't understand either. I used to think that OCD was the same thing until I was diagnosed. Even when I was suffering from symptoms I had no idea because I just had this false idea of what OCD was.
You don't understand.
You don't understand the fact that using the term "OCD" incorrectly prevents people from getting the help they need. It prevents them from knowing what their symptoms actually are. You are the solution to the stigma. Use your words to end the stigma.
