OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is a mental disorder that is commonly under analyzed by society. A misconception many people make with OCD is that people who suffer from this illness are just “neat freaks” or “controlling”.
Most people believe that having OCD just means that a person needs everything to be clean and in order just because they like structure in their daily life. In reality OCD is so much more than that.
According to Monica Handy “Depending on the severity of OCD a person has affected their day-to-day life and how they function.”
According to The Mayo Clinic thoughts and fears known as obsessions. “These obsessions lead people to do repetitive behaviors, also called compulsions. These obsessions and compulsions get in the way of daily activities and cause a lot of distress.”
OCD causes revolving constant fears that cause the person to feel a need to repeat actions or thoughts in a ritualistic cycle in order to push away any fears or anxiety that come along with the disorder.
According to Brunswick County Schools Psychologist Sara Oja “Many people may have repetitive thoughts such as having to recheck if they locked the door because they can’t remember. This is different from having true OCD because it does not interfere significantly with their lives.”
There are several different subtypes of OCD that are extremely common yet go unnoticed by society. One of the most well-known OCD traits is a fear of contamination. According to the organization “No to Compulsive Disorder Therapy “Contamination OCD is a subtype characterized by the fear of becoming contaminated or contaminating others.
The symptoms revolve around germs, dirt, and overall uncleanliness”. Though this is one of the most common types of OCD it is still not just the longing to be organized in every aspect of a person’s life.
It is the actual overwhelming fear that you will either become sick or give someone an illness because of a contamination impact. A common thought with this OCD subtype is ‘I’ll never be clean enough’ or ‘What if the food I ate was contaminated.’
This cycle of thoughts can cause conflict in every form of a person’s life and can affect a person’s ability to live their life because fear takes over every aspect of their reality. Due to this fear compulsion begins to take over. A few examples of this is constantly washing your hands after every interaction or contact to something the mind categorizes as dangerous.
Another subtype to OCD is existential OCD. This subtype is the fear and obsession for answers about life in a philosophical manner. While it is common that people wonder about life and all of its aspects, this subtype turns it into a fear and a demand from the brain for the need of answers.
A common obsession that relates to this form of OCD is “What if there is no meaning to life” or “What if this is all fake”. Due to these obsessions they usually lead to compulsions such as constantly researching life and its aspects or seeking reassurance from others and their opinions on life. While these compulsions may not seem like an extreme hassle to others, a person living with this type of OCD lives constantly wondering about their own life and that fear takes over everything they know or thought they knew.
False memory and real events OCD are subtypes to OCD. According to NOCD “False memory or real event OCD is characterized by re-occurring intrusive thoughts about past events, leading to feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, and other emotions”.
Usually when a person suffers from this subtype, they live in fear that something humiliating will come out about them even if they have not done anything wrong. They will also fear that they did something wrong to someone and they just can’t remember the situation. This tends to lead to a compulsion of constantly mentally reviewing a false or accurate memory until reassurance is gained whether fake or not.
According to NOCD “Harm OCD involves obsessions about harming yourself or others. Having violent, intrusive thoughts happens to everyone occasionally, and most people can shrug them off. However, people with harm OCD are deeply disturbed by these thoughts and become overwhelmed by them.” This OCD is basically something everyone deals with but in an extreme and constant fashion.
Certain obsessions categorized with this subtype include constant unwanted thoughts about harming yourself or others. For example, a person with Harm OCD could think “What if I just swerved off the road” or “What if I left the oven on and I catch the house on fire” These thoughts can lead to compulsively checking the trigger object before leaving the house or refusing to drive especially with others in the car.
A common subtype to OCD is Sensorimotor or somatic OCD. This type is an obsession with out-of-control physical functions or sensations that lead a person to constantly question out of control body movements. A few examples are blinking, breathing, or how fast a heart rate is.
This leads to obsessions like “am I blinking right” or “I have to count my breaths to make sure I don’t forget how”. This leads to constant mental cycles and distracting yourself to try to ignore the intrusive thoughts. Oja says “There are many different compulsive behaviors that can occur. These may include obsessive hand washing, counting, repeating words over and over, making lists, checking things over and over, excessive cleaning, etc. The behavior could be anything that helps to reduce the level of distress”
Living with OCD is about going through cycles of disciplined regiments in order to refrain from stress that could be triggered from ignoring your task. OCD is not just worrying about whether or not you turned your oven or hair straightener off, it is about running the same thing in your head over and over again and obsessing over compulsive behaviors until the distress is settled.
There are many misconceptions when it comes to OCD because this illness is so overlooked in society Oja states “OCD is more of a low prevalence disorder, meaning that it does not occur as frequently as some other disorders such as anxiety.” Due to this OCD is often passed as just anxiety which leads it to be ignored by society.
According to Vice Principal Anothony Tantillo, “I think people need to be aware that they have it but don’t need to freak out and think they have some detrimental disease just because they are diagnosed.” It is important that people understand that this illness does not need to be justified by a professional diagnosis to be acknowledged by society.
It is important for those suffering to seek help from anywhere they can. Oja states “Students can reach out to their parents, guardians, or trusted adults to talk about their concerns. If the guardian is interested in seeking additional information, there are many local mental health providers in the area. We can provide a list of the mental health providers to the guardians. For adults, they may want to start by talking with their primary care provider.”
OCD is a commonly overlooked or misconstrued mental illness that not many know how to deal with. Many people live in silence with this illness just being told they are too bossy and need everything their way when really it has nothing to do with that. It is important as a community we do not let those people continue to suffer with no help. We should instead encourage people who may have this illness to talk to someone they know and trust to seek the help they need.
