Please Stop using ‘OCD’ as an Adjective
From everyone whose lives are destroyed by OCD
OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is a mental illness which ruins lives. That’s why I think it’s about time people stopped using ‘OCD’ as a quirky adjective…
With the recent news of the Coronavirus pandemic polluting social media, my argument becomes more relevant than ever.
My frustration stems from countless occasions I’ve seen people share posts on social media, perhaps of pencils in an untidy arrangement, saying ‘my OCD is going crazy!!’ or people proclaiming that because they frequently hoover their house, they have OCD.
Honestly, all you need to do is a quick ‘OCD memes’ internet search and you will find pages upon pages of ridiculous posts highlighting the blissful ignorance around OCD. The classic ‘memes’ tend to be drawings of incomplete circles or wonky floor tiles… very original, hilarious.
The use of ‘OCD’ being thrown around inappropriately has increased considerably as a result of the mass hysteria surrounding Coronavirus. Putting extra (and necessary) precautions in place to prevent a wider spread of the virus is simply common sense, and something which has been advised by health professionals. It’s not OCD, it’s basic hygiene practice in an uncertain time.
It’s estimated that around 12 in 1,000 people (1.2% of the UK population) suffer from clinical OCD. The illness targets all demographics, from children to adults, regardless of gender or social or cultural background.
It’s a debilitating illness, that takes over every aspect of the sufferer’s life. The two crucial aspects of OCD are a) intrusions and b) compulsions, sometimes referred to as ‘rituals’. Both intrusions and compulsions are involuntary (the sufferer has no control over either).
The Oxford English Dictionary describes the term ‘disorder’ as an illness which disrupts normal physical or mental functions.
There are several types of OCD; generally, these are contamination, graphic mental intrusions, checking and ordering. Consequently, sufferers are compelled, totally involuntarily, to carry out rituals to eradicate these thoughts. They may seek constant reassurance, in addition, that they are not responsible for their thoughts. This can be highly distressing and embarrassing, leading many sufferers to suicidal thoughts.
These are general guidelines. It’s very important to note that no two sufferers are the same.
Washing your hands regularly or anti-baccing your surfaces more so than usual, to avoid a rapidly spreading and potentially fatal virus, is not OCD. Likewise, basic tidying and cleaning is kind of standard.
Unsurprisingly, this new pandemic has unleashed unimaginable panic in many OCD sufferers, who feel more vulnerable and out of control than ever before.
The problem with using ‘quirky traits’ to describe pretty normal feelings about cleanliness or tidiness, is that it totally makes a mockery of those who suffer with clinical mental illnesses on a daily basis.
Having suffered hideously from severe OCD since I was nine years old, it’s no wonder that comments like ‘I’m soo OCD’ really get under my skin.
Part of the problem, I feel, stems from the lack of mental health education in schools and university. You can’t blame people for not understanding when they haven’t been taught. Where there is mental health education, it is often in the form of lack- lustre leaflets and workshops on ‘how to help your mental health’, where someone drones on about the importance of exercise and eating right.
Boring, unhelpful, can we please stop that.
It’s really no surprise that the majority of the population seem totally uneducated about the devastating effects of OCD on the sufferer.
OCD can present itself in many ways; these include extremely graphic, upsetting images or thoughts which occur throughout the day, constantly. To rid these thoughts, the sufferer develops compulsions which ease the trauma of these thoughts. Given the sensitive nature of sufferer’s thoughts, it means many are too upset or embarrassed to seek treatment.
… and this is why using ‘OCD’ as an adjective really doesn’t help the situation. It makes sufferers feel as though their illness is being made into a total joke and appears to be completely misunderstood by anyone who is lucky enough to not suffer from this awful disorder.
OCD- specific mental health organisations such as the fantastic OCD-UK, of which I’m a member, or The International OCD Foundation, aim to educate people about OCD and ensure that sufferers feel supported and part of a community who truly understand.
My experience with OCD has been a complete and utter, living nightmare. I’ve been tortured by OCD on a daily basis for over thirteen years now (OCD UK says that most sufferers wait an average of ten to fifteen years between first developing symptoms and seeking treatment). When symptoms first developed as a young child, I remember feeling incredibly scared and confused.
I wondered if everyone was experiencing what I was.
Having been passed around various mental health services throughout my lifetime, psychologists would recommend that I tried CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). Being a hellish combination of young, confused, embarrassed and extremely stubborn, I declined, each and every time.
Thirteen terrible years later, I decided enough was enough. Its roots had wormed its way into every possible part of my life; relationships, education, work, my social life, eating habits, family life and general physical well being. I’d become a rundown empty shell of the person I thought I was. Every part of life became second place to OCD.
Feeling uncertain and fairly uncomfortable, I made the first step towards treatment. Having seen a wonderful GP, who listened calmly whilst I broke down in her room, I was referred for an assessment with the local adult mental health services.
As my therapy is in its earliest stages, I’m not strong enough to discuss intimate details. I will however, vouch for it being the most tiring, frustrating and relentless inner demon, destroying any avenue of life it can get its hands on. It doesn’t rest and it doesn’t stop.
Although I have accepted my illness, having been inseparable from it for most of my life, and on the right path for treatment, I can’t help feeling an enormous wave of anger and upset come over me when I see ‘OCD’ being used as an adjective.
It has to stop.
I’m sure my annoyances will be received with mixed views; no doubt many will see this as another cry from a ‘millennial snowflake’, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
This decade has been an era of revolutionary thinking, in terms of mental health and the promotion of talking about feelings. People are encouraged to speak up for what they believe in, in an attempt to change the world… even just a little bit.
OCD is a serious mental illness which should be taken very seriously. Sufficient and effective mental health education is needed in schools and the workplace, to support sufferers and give silent sufferers the confidence to talk about their experience.
Please remember this the next time you hashtag ‘OCD’.
If you would like support with existing OCD or to find out more about those who suffer, please visit:
or https://www.ocduk.org/get-involved/ to get involved with news, campaigns and membership
