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Obsessive-compulsive disorder, not so funny anymore
Posted Friday 7 October 2011
This is a guest post from Charlotte, who blogs on the stigma associated with obessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to support OCD awareness week and World Mental Health Day.
You may not be aware that 10 to 16 October is OCD Awareness Week. We all know about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we’ve all seen the Facebook groups for people who are “so OCD” about a character from a film or whatever band is currently causing hysteria in the charts.
It’s not just the general public who have pushed this misunderstanding – the media haven’t always provided the best image of an OCD sufferer either. A national newspaper published an article last year which referred to people with OCD as “fully fledged lightbulb-licking towel-tidiers”, not the most helpful representation that we’re looking to project.
I don’t blame them – from the outside the rituals can look pretty funny and the lack of logic in our obsessions is – I suppose – laughable. The problem is that it’s so easy to see it as a funny quirk, an amusing tic, that we forget to look further.
Two years ago I was paralysed by OCD. I had dropped out of university, cut myself off from all of my friends and found it increasingly difficult to even leave the house. I had not touched a knife for over a year in the fear that I could stab someone and I would spend hours on exhausting rituals in the hope that I could somehow save my family from whatever horrible event was playing in my mind. Suddenly OCD didn’t seem so funny anymore.
I don’t blame people for finding OCD an amusing label to stick on any quirk or obsession – before I was diagnosed and learnt more about the disorder I would probably have done the same. All I ask of them is to please stop belittling the suffering that hides behind this witty acronym: the mother who cannot hold her baby out of fear of contaminating her with an illness she doesn’t even have; the father who is so tormented by horrific thoughts that he can't even look at his children; the fourteen year old boy whose hands are raw and bleeding from being scrubbed with bleach, the child who believes that his rituals are the only thing stopping his mother from being killed; the list goes on and on.
OCD isn’t funny – it ruins lives. Everyday people lose their jobs, their homes, their families or their partners because of the incredibly distressing and debilitating symptoms of this often misunderstood illness. So many people stay trapped in the agonising vicious circle of obsessions and compulsions, too afraid of stigma and not being understood to ask for help.
So please have a look at what OCD is, and what OCD isn’t. And remember that to some of us it’s a reality. To some of us it isn’t a joke.
Charlotte
Thanks to a lot of support, medication and CBT I am now back at university studying psychology and trying hard to spread some awareness of this often unrecognized illness. I blog at www.obsessivelycompulsivelyyours.wordpress and would love to hear your comments.
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13 Comments
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Hi Charlotte,
I guess I can consider myself lucky, as I only really obsess over germs, usually from being outside my house. I am not to terribly bad and have kept some form of control over it, for fear it takes over my life and I in turn will end up with full blown ocd that I cannot control, a form of obsession in itself! My son also suffers with OCD and has been able to control it somewhat for fear it ruins his social life. Its hard, watching my son go through the things I go through, and to hear from others how hellish it is. Its time people realized there is a difference between obsession or compulsion and the actual disorder that doesnt allow people to live, or to live without certain acts or rituals. I guess in many ways I feel as though I am not sick simply because I can somewhat control it. I do know of people who are spending every waking minute to control the surroundings, the thoughts, and the world at large, and how impossible they find it. Its confusing and difficult for me to get it, let alone someone who can open their door, walk out into the street, greet people, go shopping or for dinner, and to go home and sleep.I wish you the very best!!
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I had a partner who went through exactly what you describe in your blog. Watching her go through the routines and rituals was heart-breaking for me and I am afraid to say took a toll on our relationship, as I was brought into the routines and rituals myself.
I still do wonder what if I had been stronger been able to cope better and to help more. I did so much reading on OCD but no amount of reading and understanding can prepare or help you but what I felt is nothing compared to what my partner had to go through every single second of the day.
Maybe with writing this I am leaving myself open to ridicule that I couldn't be stronger and maybe you are right and I have to live with that guilt everyday of my life.
I still love Diane deeply and still wonder what If. -
OCD is deeply underestimated and this false divide of "serious mental illness" and "common mental illness" really annoys me because I feel like it's saying serious/trivial.
I hate it when I hear people say they wouldn't mind being OCD for a week to get the housework done or anorexic for a week to lose some weight - that's facile and frankly stupid.People forget that the most invasive physical treatment there is [psycho-surgery i.e. leucotomy] has been offered mainly to people with severe OCD, not the other "serious mental illnesses".
Let's stop using this judgmental dividing line as to what constitutes 'serious' suffering - if any expression of distress really hurts and/or interferes with the ability to live - than that's serious!
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Thank you both for your comments - it's lovely to get some feedback.
JustKat - I wish you and your son all the best. Never be afraid to ask for help if you need it - it's very easy to be brave and play it down, but if it is impacting on your life then know there is treatment out there.
Neal - One thing is for sure, OCD doesn't just affect the sufferer but all those around them. Once the sufferer starts to involve you in rituals, it becomes very difficult to remove yourself - but totally necessary. Nobody will judge you - you did what was right for you at the time. Sometimes the family and friends have to take a step back for the sufferer to realise how bad things have got - and they also have to look after themselves.
There are so many carers out there who don't get the recognition that they deserve. It's often down to their support and insistance that people decide to embark down the quite difficult road to recovery.
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It is really not funny anymore especially when the activities of daily living is already affected. Therapy should be an emphasis.
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Fantastic post to raise awareness of a very important cause. I was crippled by OCD for quite a long time (1-2 years, not too sure to be honest). It was the most horrendous time in my life and also had a huge impact on my family who I was living with at the time. It was so debilitating.It completely ruled my life. well, I had no life. But somehow I got through it, and I am now keen to share my story and help to raise awareness of OCD and other mental health problems.
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Does anyone have problems linking items such as dvd's or magazines with there thoughts? And find they can't enjoy things linked with whatever the dvd or magazine subject is? It's really distressing for me and feel very lonely.
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Thank you all -
Yep, therapy should be an emphasis - CBT is the gold standard treatement when it comes to OCD - without it I wouldn't be where I am today!
Sophie - OCD can be so very debilitating and it was very difficult for my family to cope with. Like you, I had no life - no friends, no social life, no hobbies. My entire day, from waking until finally falling asleep was ruled by OCD. I'm so glad that you got through it and want to spread awareness - next week is the perfect opportunity!
Jozef - It's quite common to connect various objects with the intrusive thoughts and to then avoid them. It is very distressing, but there is hope, I promise. Please see your GP and ask to be referred for cognitive behavioural therapy, it can make such a difference. I wish you all the best.
Mindreader - I think our posts crossed! You're right, by saying that OCD is not one of the "serious" mental health problems, it belittles the struggles that are associated with it. As I said in my article, I have come across so many people who are utterly paralysed by OCD - try telling them that it isn't serious!
Thank you all for your feedback!
Charlotte
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Do this once, it can be funny.
Do it thirty-seven times a day (then once more because that's not an even number) every day, you soon stop laughing.
http://youtu.be/I8CTscW3dpI -
Was 'diagnosed' with OCD c.5yrs ago, relieved to know what the official term was for my anxiety/panic/depression, suffered over c.40yrs. Found CBT only partially helpful, and at the moment, OCD is taking over again (probably exacerbated by the menopause/judgemental people at work,marital problems,daughter's marriage problems). Have felt 'judged' all my life, starting with being bullied at school. My OCD is totally to do with my appearance, so also feel extremely vain (& often judged so) but it is nothing to do with vanity. Feel so trapped at times, as it's a vicious circle and apparently, OCD never 'goes', just has to be 'controlled' = exhausting!
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I always loved the OCD character in 'Taking over the Asylum' because she was treated with the respect she deserved and not ridiculed. Her skills were used in making the radio station work, i.e. organising, making lists, making sure things got done. We saw that her distress had origins, history, meaning, and I liked the way fellow patients understood that on one occasion what she really needed was a bottle of disinfectant, only fellow patients would do that for someone because staff would have frowned upon it, but what they did was right at that moment.
It's so discriminatory to refer to 'serious' and 'common' [code for trivial] 'mental illness', we need a campaign slogan like 'Not trivial, not serious - it is what we say it is'. -
I think I am right in saying OCD is often just part of a mental illness. It seems to be closely linked to anxiety.
I have depression, GAD and have suffered from PTSD; however I also have some OCD. Medication has helped with all of these.
I guess the point I am making is that OCD should be taken seriously - not least because it is often associated with other mental illnesses. -
I have a lot of sympathy for OCD sufferers and what they have to put with. I suffer from emetophobia which some people find hilarious and others treat me with contempt. It causes me extreme stress and often results in me obsessively following certain rituals in the hope it will stop me and my partner from having an illness which results in vomiting. I cannot apply for certain jobs which put me at a higher risk of having to deal with someone who is being sick, I never had children because of the phobia, I even went vegetarian for several years in the belief it would carry a much lower risk of getting food poisoning.On one occasion when I caught gastro-enteritis, I starved myself for days afterwards due to the trauma of being sick and the fear of it happening again. I've tried different treatments but none of them have worked. I can see the funny side of it, but other people's ignorant comments are not helpful.If it was possible to have a brain transplant to get rid of the phobia I would be first in the queue.
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