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Vivian Crawford
Oct 24, 20224 min read

OCD Awareness Week

By Vivian Crawford



We just finished the second week of October. You may not have known it was OCD Awareness Week. If you missed it, don't fret, for it is never too late to spread awareness and bring light to any mental illness, especially one as misunderstood as OCD.


WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND

I believe OCD is one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses because of the myths and stereotypes connected to it. After being informed by a friend about a year ago, who personally struggles with OCD, what it truly is, I have been making sure to spread the word and suppress the myths. Many people when hearing the term OCD, think of perfectionism and germaphobes, and even though these can be symptoms, OCD is far worse and can cause great fear and anxiety, and even suicide in severe cases.


WHAT IT IS

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Obsessive-compulsive disorder is defined as “a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts ("obsessions") and/or behaviors ("compulsions") that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over”. I cannot explain from experience but my friend Katherine Stancoff wrote, “My earliest memories are me repeatedly washing my hands after feeding my cat, and closing my bedroom door a certain number of times, a specific way, until it felt ‘just right;’ because if I didn’t, I would die, or satan would come into my room.” This might sound odd to those of you who do not suffer with OCD, but for those suffering it feels very real. Katherine wrote, “The majority of us sufferers understand that our obsessions are totally irrational. But, it feels too real and debilitating, so we feel the urge or need to do a compulsion. Once you give in, the more you have to do them. They get more extreme and the rituals can completely interfere with a person’s life.” To better understand, “Imagine your worst fear. Now, imagine having thoughts that you do not choose to have, say that if you don’t touch that chair a certain way, your fear will happen. You don’t touch, because it is illogical - and then you begin to have severe anxiety. So you touch the chair, but it didn’t feel right. So you touch it again, but two is an unlucky number. So then you tap it a third time, because isn’t three lucky? Do you see that these things can cause a person to spiral?” I think it is important to spread the word and debunk the myths because too often people will claim to have OCD just because they are a perfectionist. “There are at least 1 in 200 – or 500,000 – kids and teens that have OCD. This is about the same number of kids who have diabetes” (International).

If you or someone you know has OCD, or you think you do, here are some symptoms and treatments for it.


THE EFFECTS OCD HAS ON A PERSON

With anything, people experience symptoms to different degrees, so some might experience OCD far worse than others. These obsessions and compulsions can interrupt their everyday life and even make everyday tasks so much harder. “OCD can make it difficult for people to perform everyday activities like eating, drinking, shopping or reading. Some people may become housebound. OCD is often compounded by depression and other anxiety disorders, including social anxiety, panic disorder and separation anxiety” (BetterHealth). The longer it is left untreated, the worse it can get and the more it consumes your life. Often those with OCD try to hide it, but it is important to find help so that it does not take over your life.


SYMPTOMS

Many people double-check things and are perfectionists to some extent, but if you relate to the following symptoms, you might have OCD. Of course with any mental illness, do not self-diagnose yourself, and please go to a doctor for a diagnosis and help with treatment.

  • “Having unwanted thoughts, impulses, or images that occur over and over and which cause anxiety or distress” (CDC).

  • Feeling the need to say or do something over and over or in a certain exact way in order to make the said obsession go away(CDC).

  • “Can't control his or her thoughts or behaviors, even when those thoughts or behaviors are recognized as excessive” (NIMH).

  • “Doesn’t get pleasure when performing the behaviors or rituals, but may feel brief relief from the anxiety the thoughts cause” (NIMH).

SOME RESOURCES FOR HELP


Mental illnesses have a way of making you feel like they are the ones in control of your life, but with the right help and support you can overcome this! And even those of us not struggling with OCD should educate ourselves and start open converstations about it so that people aren’t scared to let others know that they struggle. We should create a safe space, and those of you who have read all the way to here have already done that first step of educating yourself to better help others!







Works Cited

“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Children.” CDC, April 11th, 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/ocd.html

“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd







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