Think about the last time you heard the words Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. When people typically think about, talk about, and refer to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, they are only referring to the “compulsive” aspect of it. The letters "OCD" probably went along with either a picture of a tile pattern not being perfect, someone talking about how they can only have the radio volume turned up to a certain number, or someone being very particular about having all of their documents organized in alphabetical order. Those few things I have just listed for you are called "compulsions", or repetitive physical behaviors, actions, and many times rituals performed inside one’s mind. These behaviors must be repeated over and over again until something called an "obsession" goes away.
"Obsession" is the aspect of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that often gets overlooked. Many people do not know what obsessions are or why they occur. However, without the obsessions, compulsions would not even exist. Compulsions are the only way to kill the obsessions before they start to inhibit one’s everyday life. People find compulsions irritating, but do not realize that it is their body’s defense mechanism against the obsessions which are involuntary thoughts that are repetitive and intrusive.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental illness where the obsessions are usually horrific and disturbing thoughts, and the only way to cope with the anxiety triggered by these thoughts is through compulsive behaviors. Someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder might wash their hands five times before they can leave the bathroom, but do you ever wonder why? It is not only the obsession of feeling unclean but it is also possible that they need to wash their hands this many times because they can only do things in increments of odd numbers. But why, you ask can they only go through life using odd numbers? It may be possible that it is because they are convinced that even numbers are evil and using them will cause certain death.
People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can often distinguish between what is logical and what is illogical, but in their minds, it is all very real. Often times people with this mental illness have an anxiety disorder too because the obsessions trigger anxiety-type responses.
At a glance, most would believe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is not that great of an issue based on the media and stereotypes. When more closely taken into account, though, one would realize that the disorder is a great burden, can hinder one's effectiveness of everyday tasks, and is not something to be made a joke of or romanticized about.
I have heard many jokes about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but one that always sticks with me is, "It should be CDO, get it, because people with OCD would want it to be in alphabetical order" and then they laugh it off. And others think that they are just quirky behaviors and act particular about things just so that they can self-diagnose themselves with OCD. They think that it is cute and silly to be quirky. This ignorance that I see among young adults whether it be on social media or people I meet in person is what drove me to write this article.
To start, those letters describe a real mental illness, so do not ask why they are not in alphabetical order, that is just a nonsensical question. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is something that affects about 3.3 million people in the United States, and can use up to an hour of one's time every single day. Second, the compulsions, although they provide relief from the obsession-driven anxiety for a short period of time, actually reinforce the obsessions. It is a never ending cycle. And finally, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real mental illness, it is not having collections, or obsessing over a sports team. It is not wanting to have a neat desk space just for the purpose of being a neat person, it is your brain telling you that unless having a neat desk space something bad could happen. Having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is not beautifully tragic, and none of us are waiting for someone to save us from our illness. It is not romantic, it is not cute, it is not funny. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a battle for some people every single day of their lives. It can be a determining factor in how many paper towels they need to take from the paper towel roll to stop their brain from telling them they are going to have a heart attack. Without obsessions, one's compulsive behavior is simply a habit. It is not Obsessive Compulsive Disorder until your brain is telling you, “do this action, or else…”
“Picture standing in a room filled with flies and pouring a bottle of syrup over yourself. The flies constantly swarm about you, buzzing around your head and in your face. You swat and swat, but they keep coming. The flies are like obsessional thoughts — you can’t stop them, you just have to fend them off. The swatting is like compulsions — you can’t resist the urge to do it, even though you know it won’t really keep the flies at bay more than for a brief moment.” — Cheryl Little Sutton
