“I’m a bit OCD”…a phrase you probably hear on a regular-ish basis. Chances are the person saying it is referring to their preference for things to be undertaken in a certain way. The phrase is normally used innocently and without a second thought. Indeed the jovial tone usually accompanying the phrase often attracts smiles and sometimes even laughs from those in earshot. All in all then, you could easily be mistaken for thinking it’s not a big deal. Unfortunately however, for people truly experiencing OCD, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) isn’t about a preference or desire for a certain outcome or about just being “a bit of a perfectionist”; another common saying. OCD isn’t a quirk. OCD is a serious mental health condition which has the power to destroy sufferers’ lives, isolating them from friends and family and debilitating their very existence. Suffers can become slaves. Slaves to their own mind and what can be excruciating, relentless and soul destroying actions they feel compelled to undertake.
Quoting OCD Action – the UK’s largest OCD charity – “People with OCD experience intensely negative, repetitive and intrusive thoughts, combined with a chronic feeling of doubt or danger (obsessions). In order to quell the thought or quieten the anxiety, they will often repeat an action, again and again (compulsions).” OCD can take so many different forms and often latches on to those things regarded as so important to the sufferer. OCD uses anxiety to trick you into responding to things in the way it wants you to and the more you do so, the more you are reinforcing the notion that OCD knows best and the tighter the grip it has on an individual.
At its worst, my own OCD has paralysed me. It’s prevented me from undertaking even the most basic of everyday tasks. My OCD has been the single most powerful driving force behind my existence and robbed me of thousands of hours of my life. Hours which I will never get back again and which have come at the expense of enjoying life, family, friends and relationships. At my worst, I’d have walked barefoot over broken glass or into a burning building if these things stood in the way of undertaking the compulsions.
Fortunately for me, I have had extensive support from medical professionals and undertaken multiple courses of psychological treatment which, combined with medication, has allowed me to take back some control of my life and strip OCD of a lot of its power. It’s still there mind and like many suffering with mental ill health, some days are a real struggle still, but I am eternally grateful for the knowledge and tools I have been equipped with to take the fight to OCD.
The stigma and misconceptions associated with OCD have meant that the majority of people in my life don’t know about my suffering. It’s been on a need to know basis that I’ve divulged and this isn’t something I am proud of. As a passionate mental health advocate I know the value of raising awareness of conditions such as mine and the power which comes from being open and honest about things. Writing this blog has been a huge step forward to me however and I hope that, if nothing else, it will open people’s eyes to this serious mental health disorder and people will think twice before proclaiming “I’m a bit OCD”.
Anonymous, Advocate for Mental Health
For support with OCD head to https://www.ocduk.org/
If you need support with you Mental Health in anyway below are some steps you can take;
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Speak to your GP
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If out of hours call 111
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If you or someone else is in immediate danger call 999
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If you have a local mental health crisis team, contact them
- Call the samaritans on 116 123
- Text SHOUT to 85258
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