Do you get upset at people comments about your OCD?

[ACE]

I was wondering do any of you guys get upset at peoples comments about your OCD at all?>I try my best not to I know in the past it was very difficult for me personally with my OCD being so strong&the ruminations just having such a tough grip over me.I feel they may try to get to me in a way still right now and perhaps they do cause some distress it's hard to say really.I do my best to say for e.g when the thought comes in my mind of someone saying something about my OCD or my other illnesses it can be anyone to say don't go there it's better off.

[Guest heartplace]

Yes, sometimes.

I understand people usually mean well when they say the things they do about it, but it doesn't necessarily make me feel better to hear things said. I have been told that my problem isn't as bad as I make it sound, and I get told that everyone has anxiety. The latter triggers my doubts about having OCD sometimes. Thankfully though, most of the people I have told about it actually try to understand. I told some long time friends of mine about it just recently and surprisingly, they already knew what part of OCD is really like! It amazed me. I was prepared to go through a full blown explanation to them of what it's like, lol.

Edited September 16, 2014 by heartplace

[Poirot]

Sometimes.

I get upset when people infer that it has been beneficial to me in some way (uh, no.) or when people say that everyone has 'traits' and that they're actually good things.

Obviously I find comments about it not being a real illness or insensitive/stigmatising comments about mental illnesses in general very offensive but I've yet to come across any in real life (it has mostly been just trolls on the internet in my experience). Although it's extremely frustrating, and sometimes difficult to stay polite when people make the comments in person.

I know they mean well but it's really unhelpful and you certainly wouldn't make such comments about any other illness so I really don't know why people think it's appropriate.

[Guest Tricia]

ACE, I become angry at times with judgemental remarks and I would rather no one mentioned my OCD at all, because mainly I receive (well-meaning mostly) lectures...

[taurean]

It's very subjective the reactions that people get.

I am not going to be your typical person here.I have had one bad reaction, from an uninformed person, but generally I find it gives me the opportunity of explaining OCD to people, and as I had a career of presenting (insurance) to people I'm well placed to deal with their reactions - and I'm good at presenting so I can make it interesting for them.

Quite often people tell me about their own anxiety issues, can be worry, OCD, or other types of anxiety disorder, and I am able to tell them how to get help, which makes me pretty popular with those people.

For example, one of the girls at work told me she has a real problem worrying about making decisions. I know how to deal with that, and was able to help her.

Now most people haven't had the experience that I've had, and because as part of my presenting skills I learned how to deal with objections and bad reactions, I have advantages that many here will not have.

We are all different, we have different skills and tolerances, we have to accept that, and operate in the only ways that we can.

[FoosBoo88]

I generally get that everyone has these those thoughts and you just have to walk away, but as we all know with OCD, it's no that easy. If they start about how they've got OCD and start reeling off their personal traits, I just roll my eyes and put them down as one of many misinformed folk.

The worst I had was from my Mum, "OCD about your OCD", that hurt, especially when she went on to tell me basically to shut up about my OCD..then went on about what she always talks about, work.

FoosBoo88 x

[ACE]

Thank you very much for all your lovely comments I really appreciate them so much.I totally understand it can certainly upset sufferers when hearing such remarks of course.Recently a close friend of mine said to me &this was about at least the second time he's said that how my life has passed my by&that he would've done for e.g a course or other things if it was him of course he doesn't have OCD or any other mental illness.At the time I thought about explaining it to him but then I sort of thought don't worry about it.I know it can play on my mind quite a fair bit as much as I try to not let it.

So yeah well I'm sure like you guys throughout your lives like me have certainly heard quite a number of comments against OCD,Depression etc etc. :original: .

[Guest anonga11]

Oh... it urks me. Sometimes I verbally say things like "you're not OCD" because if they "were OCD" they would know that they have OCD, not that they "are OCD." The funniest part of that is when the other person with me doesn't know I have OCD... then, I have some explaining to do!

[Ascend]

No I don't get upset. It wouldn't be fair to expect someone to know how OCD has affected my life in the past.

As said before people usually mean well, so take that away rather than taking offence due to their lack of knowledge.

[Guest Stormwave]

When as I was at my worst, not longer after my first suicide attempt, my best friend for 24 years said the following things to me in a text: "You're weak and pathetic", "You're feigning disaster over an illness you're too weak to fight."

Obviously, this person is no longer my friend. At that point in time it was probably the worst thing anyone could have said to me. It shows complete misunderstanding of what I was going through and how hard it was. My OCD destroyed almost everything I had at that point in life.

I've moved on obviously since then, this was 5 years ago now (I think). I no longer have many close friends, but I think I'm better off for it, as everyone close to me understands and is nice about it. I recently posted a Facebook status about this (not something I often do, I normally keep very quiet about my problems), and received a lot of really supportive feedback, which was nice.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Stormwave

[Guest PaulM]

Stormwave,

A couple of years ago one of my brothers was similarly cruel. He told me to "man up" and made fun of me regarding the things I worried about.

My brother and I don't talk anymore.

[Guest TheWorrier008]

In my experience people will just tell me that what I am going through is all in my head and that I am afraid of something that didn't/won't happen. This causes me to either doubt I have OCD and then think I am losing my mind or that they are actually wrong and said event did/will happen. Sometimes I get a brief moment of clarity where I'm like "Wow! You're right. It is all in my head, I can't believe I went through all of that over nothing." I tend to get frustrated when they don't believe me if I think a certain event happened but I desperately want them to be right. It's tough.

[ACE]

Thanks very much for all your comments again and also your personal stories I'm very sorry to hear what has happened with you guys in regards to your experiences with others especially as they were closepeople to you.And I know of course all you guys are fighting an illness or multiple ones that aren'tyour fault at all especially when they're so strong as well and had or have overtaken you so strongly that you had to resort to the measures of course you never wanted to but felt that was the only way :original: .

Like you guys as I mentioned I heard many many commenst in the past towards mental illness,I know it's not easy but I try my best to not go there I guess when I hear certaion comments or I get a reminder in my head as well.The reason wellor one of them that I try not to go there also is the possibility of my OCD going overboard as it did in the past constantly and I would be upset hours&hours on end even days like it was endless over people's comments as just one thing really.

But I do know of course the comments of people can eat away at you,I try my best to say to myself just try not to go there better leave it alone&if I'm able to I find it is much better certainly not easy to do I know :original:

[Guest jayjay89]

I hate it when people (actually it's only my mum and grandma that do this) pick out illogical parts of my ocd and then say I don't have ocd, I'm just fussy.

Like when I only wanted to eat white food (that was a fun year haha) but I could eat brown bread. That's not evidence that I don't have ocd, that's evidence that ocd is illogical!

[taurean]

This is a real problem, especially with family members.

We'd all like to not have OCD, we'd all like to function in a more normal way - but we are impeded by the disorder. But I feel we all have a right that at least people close to us make a proper effort to understand what pour difficulties are; it's of course one of the tings the charity is very aware of and with which it does try to assist.