Mental Health Stigma, OCD and the Misconception
Despite progress and changing minds, there still remains a stigma associated with mental health and the trivialization of mental illness.
We’ve all been here before.
Owning mental illnesses like it is our property, trivializing them, or worse ignoring them. We all do it or at least, we may have done it before due to a lack of understanding regarding these concerns. According to the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 1 in 6 adults experiences a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression and 1 in 5 adults has considered taking their own life at some point. You know it’s great to see so many celebrities and famous figures open up about their mental health problems. Atlanta-born hip-hop artist Kanye West, for example, has recently embraced his problem with Bipolar Disorder. While it might not excuse all of his actions and statements (and it probably shouldn’t), but it does bring to light the issues of people who suffer from such debilitating disorders, thereby providing insight into why they behave the way they do. Yet when our close ones admit to such problems, we conveniently classify it under phrases like “Everyone goes through this… you’ll be fine!”. Even after a lot of awareness, mental health problems are often stigmatized. We will most likely not make fun of and help those suffering from a physical illness, but we will probably not do the same for those with psychological disorders.
Someone likes to keep it organized. People respond by saying “You’re so OCD!”. Some people label their mood changes under the bill of ‘Bipolar’. Just being sad for little time has been equated to depression. We’ve seen the seriousness of mental health problems being reduced to mere nicknames. That, to me, is far from a good world to live in.
Okay, now you might be asking “Where on earth are you going with this?”.
Alright, here’s what I am going to do. Today I will be talking about OCD. It’s truly problematic to see the misconceptions people have regarding this condition. Nevertheless, it is important to make people aware about the dire consequences of not treating this problem. Before that, we need to know the roots of such psychological disorders, i.e. Anxiety.
Anxiety is a mental state associated with unpleasant thoughts and worries about future events. It’s a state of inner turmoil. While stress resemble our body’s response to various situations, it usually drifts away once the situation has passed. Feelings of stress or fear are mostly short-lived. It goes away once our examinations are over or the interview for our dream job goes well. However, if these unpleasant feelings don’t go away and continue to remain, anxiety creeps in. Again, anxiety is also common and it eases out once we get support. However, if left untreated, it manifests into a psychological disorder. We start to depict unusual behaviors which significantly interfere with our abilities to live a healthy life.
One thing to be noted is that anxiety isn’t just a matter of being in an unpleasant state for long periods. It is also about how we behave to move out of that state. For instance, if we hate being in crowded areas and social situations due to previous experiences, then we will do everything possible to avoid these places. There exists a possibility that we might fear stepping out of our homes because then we will be interacting with people. That’s how bad this goes. Therefore, due to exhibiting dysfunctional behavior, our distressing anxiety can turn into various disorders, one such being OCD.
Obsessive–compulsive disorder or OCD, is a mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts. Thoughts which turn into obsessions upsetting and difficult to manage. When these obsessions dominate us, it is accompanied by actions which become compulsions. We perform these compulsions persistently without necessarily getting any reward, instead we perform it to get rid of our anxiety.
Being neat, fastidious and wanting things to be done meticulously does not mean someone has OCD. For example, I always make it a point to keep things back to where it was in the morning before going to sleep at night. That cannot translate to OCD since in this case, I have full control of my thoughts. Similarly, someone might prefer to write using a certain brand of ball pen, or blue color ball pens. Even over here, it is more likely that they have a certain preference. Not all obsessive behaviors amount to OCD. The actual disorder is very debilitating and rare, with one-third to one-half of all OCD sufferers having OCD in childhood, whether it was recognized or not. OCD occurs when our thoughts have little to no control. These thoughts and compulsions significantly impact one’s daily routine by a considerable amount of time. You might be performing obsessive actions only for a few minutes and yet it is very likely that you do not have OCD, simply because it doesn’t significantly impact your daily routine. In OCD, the behaviors exhibited are almost ritualistic in nature and it continues for hours, only to relieve unbearable levels of anxiety.
Therefore, OCD is pretty much the difference between someone who washes their hands to ensure they are clean enough and someone doing the same compulsively to the point their hands start bleeding. Excessive hand-washing is the most common symptom associated with OCD. However, different obsessions can lead to OCD as well. Fear of being diagnosed with dangerous diseases or committing deadly sins and becoming fixated continuously on the idea of numbers without rhyme or reason are among other common symptoms driving OCD. These fears can lead us to moments of excessive double checking or constantly cleaning for hours at a stretch. You can’t perform normal actions if you become compelled to double check the stove hundred times a day, for example.
Now, one more thing is to be considered. Many people who suffer from this disorder are actually aware of what their thoughts are leading them to do. Many understand the link between their thoughts and actions, but what makes OCD so distressing is the inability to do anything about it, despite this knowledge.
Psychologists do not know what actually causes OCD in particular. However, with OCD being a neurobiological occurrence, some clues are present which explain the factors playing a role in causing OCD. Researchers have found OCD to be more common in identical twins, while a 2007 study also suggests that in general, genetic factors account for 45–65% of the variability in OCD symptoms in children diagnosed with the disorder. As explained in the video relating to the same topic, OCD is associated with low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, though it is not known if it directly affects the person with OCD. In simple words, serotonin is known as a happy chemical which transmits messages between nerve cells, thereby regulating mood and social behavior.
The good news is that OCD can be treated. Especially for children, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is highly effective. CBT is an approach in psychotherapy aiming to improve mental health by challenging unhelpful and obsessive thoughts, regulating emotional behavior and developing personal coping strategies to tackle mental health problems. It is based on the basic principles from behavioral and cognitive psychology. Another way is through medications such as ‘Clomipramine’ (Anafranil) which is said to improve serotonin levels; however, it comes with side effects such as fatigue, dizziness and nausea. Finally, in extreme cases when OCD fails to responds to such methods of treatment, Electroconvulsive Therapy or surgery is used to temper down the problem.
It’s scary when you know what drives your behavior but you cannot do anything about it. Yet, being informed is always a step ahead. Being able to seek help is a great thing in itself. We have often been taught that as people, we have a responsibility to help others in times of distress. If we can do it for physical illnesses, we can also do it for psychological illnesses as well.
At least some of our ideas about the world come from popular culture. Forms of media and communication are vital in enhancing our perception of various topics. When it comes to issues such as mental health, most of our ideas become misguided due to building of stereotypes from social media, magazines, memes, films, TV shows (13 Reasons Why, I’m looking at you!) and so on. Time and again we’ve seen memes which trivialize mental health issues under the disguise of being “relatable”, films and TV shows which portray various eccentric figures to show (unrealistically) mental health or for that matter, they fuel the idea that love is the cure-all for mental illnesses. All of this leads to the stereotyping of mental health and creating destructive stigmas associated with it.
“Okay, we understand this is a serious thing. What do we do about it?”
The least you can do, when you have friends who suffer from mental illnesses, is to not talk over them. If they truly have an illness or show signs of it, never talk them down and imply that it is less serious than it actually is. Remind them that they are in good company instead. Also, remember not to compare their problems with others. In addition, talking about our problems reduces a burden in our minds, giving us a pathway to heal. You need to know that when someone has a mental illness, they are not necessarily “broken”, as mental illnesses are not irreversible. Therapy, counseling, good activities, they all help to heal. Therefore, do not equate mental illness as “broken”, it takes a huge toll on them.
What I would suggest, is to look up on any one psychological disorder/mental problem. Learn about it and discuss it with close people. Various films and other forms of media are available which still accurately depict mental illnesses. If you have a friend who suffers from depression, for example, do your research on it and discuss it. Let them know that they have someone who can help. Again, do not talk over them, instead listen to them. Sometimes, just listening to someone does wonders and even strengthen friendships. Give advice only when they want and need it. As friends, we can only do so much alone. Educate people about various ways to deal with these problems. Even one more person taking mental health seriously can make the world better.
As for anyone having mental issues, consider talking with your close ones. Maybe inculcate some activities which can increase mental health. In my case, I started taking walks in the morning alone as it frees a lot in my mind. Also consider a therapist if necessary. There’s a perception that we should avoid therapists as much as possible. However, when you look at it, therapists and counsellors help us navigate and cope with daily life struggles through guidance and support. Therapy is far from a cure-all, but it is definitely not worse than being consumed by your problems by doing nothing. Try it before you make a judgment. There’s no shame if you want to be in a better place.
To end with, a famous quote from an American Philosopher perfectly encapsulates our state of mind:
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves. — Henry David Thoreau.
Before everything gets lost, we need to begin understanding. We need to continually bring the conversation of mental health into the spotlight. Let’s turn the light on.
