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The POSITIVE side of OCD


Guest heartplace

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Guest heartplace

I wasn't meaning to reassure myself. I was meaning to make a point by example (an example that no longer exists. I'm pretty sure I can avoid being a serial killer now.).

Yes doubt still remains. But I find that this still indicates deep down what my morals are. As I said OCD didn't cause my morals, I just feel like it has strengthened them more, because I'm determined not to be a wrongdoer. Of course I'm going to make mistakes. But I'm talking about flat out deliberately doing something wrong just because you want to/can.

Edited by heartplace
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Guest legend

ocd likes morals, it picks on them., its about what you do with the ocd when it does

so seperate yourself from you and the ocd as a platform maybe ?

i dont want to be a wrong-doer =morals, so ocd reinforces that .

Yep ocd does reinforce the fact that we have morals. I dont want to stab my wife with the knife in my hand,

but ocd tells me i am going to , so i refuse to cook and hold a knife. BUT my morals tell me i wont .

True but what if

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Guest heartplace

I agree, it does. If you value something highly it's going to attack. But I do believe that it has helped me to appreciate my morals just a little more.

Edited by heartplace
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Guest legend

so , what you are indicating then is that you see ocd for what it is , and it reinforces the morals that you see.

so ocd doesnt bother you on that context .

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Guest legend

but youd rather not have had ocd at all , because without it , the morals wouldnt be an obsessional problem or caused

debiltating anxiety and pathological doubt.

ocd isnt an asset, nor does it define ones personality

thats what i was saying all along ;)

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Guest heartplace

Of course, it would be nice not to have OCD at all. I never meant that it defines our personalities either. Some personality traits can probably cause us to be predisposed to it (for example, I've always been a perfectionist.) But it doesn't make our personalities what they are. And of course it's not an asset, but sometimes good things can come out of the worst things, which takes us back to the initial post in this thread. I know that not everyone will probably relate to what I posted, but some can and it's nice to see what our good points can be despite all the bad.

Edited by heartplace
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Guest Sisyphus

I find this thread fascinating.

On the one hand I can follow the logic that OCD, as I understand it in theory, is an indiscriminate flaw that could happen to anyone. And maybe it's not the healthiest approach to treat it as a virtue, but instead concentrate all your fire on overcoming it.

On the other hand, I think it's perfectly natural for any minority group under oppression(in this case from a mental disorder) to seek unity, commonality, and try to find/reinforce the positives of their situation. I too have wondered if there are any common traits shared between OCD sufferers. We know the brain rewires itself constantly to reflect what it's expereincing. Surely this is what CBT relies on? So I've wondered if the rewiring in response to OCD could possibly account for any unusual common qualities. Ok so those could be good or bad obviously, but some possible good ones could be a greater capacity to overcome adversity, to multi-task, to empathise. That is all 100% conjecture though, I have zero evidence to back it up, and it's just an idea.

But surely unless someone is in possession of cast iron answers to all this, aren't these valid questions to ponder?

Either way I find the original post harmless and well-intended - surely just an attempt to put a positive spin on a potentially very disheartening situation. Trouble is, when everyone's got a big stake in this thing, and everyone has varying opinions about it, asking the big questions is going to put some noses out of joint and likely provoke a heated debate.

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Guest legend

never ever put me nose out of joint , sissy. Tend to discuss the bigger picture , rather than the attack the poster :)

Did you know that we...

1. Have a higher level of determination
2. Have a naturally good memory and...
3. Are twice as likely to be compelled to learn new things as other people are?

Just thought I'd point that out!

quote "we"

where "I" was more appropiate

Edited by legend
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I thought 'ocd sufferers' were generally more caring people-caring too much in fact and that's why we get ourselves into such states? Worrying if we have left the iron on. ..worrying if we have said something wrong....worrying we will hurt someone...run someone over. ....committed a crime. ..???

Of course that said doesn't make us perfect people and I too hate feeling the way I do because of this. It's one thing to care but when it makes you ill its horrendous and I often say I wish I was one of these people who didn't care as much.

HOWEVER the original post seemed to me like a light hearted piece intended to bring some positivity to the forum and I think its been over analysed maybe? Xxx

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Guest heartplace

I thought 'ocd sufferers' were generally more caring people-caring too much in fact and that's why we get ourselves into such states? Worrying if we have left the iron on. ..worrying if we have said something wrong....worrying we will hurt someone...run someone over. ....committed a crime. ..???

Of course that said doesn't make us perfect people and I too hate feeling the way I do because of this. It's one thing to care but when it makes you ill its horrendous and I often say I wish I was one of these people who didn't care as much.

HOWEVER the original post seemed to me like a light hearted piece intended to bring some positivity to the forum and I think its been over analysed maybe? Xxx

I think they can be. Of course OCD doesn't discriminate, but a lot of us are genuinely caring people I think. The compulsions we perform can seem selfish to onlookers but we often have selfless intentions.

I did mean for this to be lighthearted. I'm tired of seeing so much negativity. Yes I have my negative "i'm hopeless, i'm a piece of garbage" moments where there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. But from my own experience I have found that a positive outlook makes a huge difference and better times do come around. I will probably always have my ups and downs, but I manage to maintain a healthy outlook most of the time.

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Guest irretractable

Generalizations are just that - they're generalizations. That doesn't mean there's not some validity to them. I can say that men, in general, are taller than women. That doesn't mean that ALL men are taller. But the generalization is still true.

For example, here's a study in which OCD was associated with higher IQ.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11392347

Heart place, you're right on in pointing out the positives. Many different mental illnesses have been associated with different personality traits. (and there's data to back your assertions)

There's positive inherent to suffering itself. I am a more compassionate person because I suffer. I truly believe I can experience more joy as a result of having suffered (and continuing to suffer). I choose to live my life with the "glass half full" perspective because I'll be pulled under if I don't.

Edited by irretractable
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Guest Sisyphus

never ever put me nose out of joint , sissy. Tend to discuss the bigger picture , rather than the attack the poster

Sticks and stones...! (note to self: maybe time for a name change here)

I agree it's always a good idea to try and remain objective about these things.

quote "we"

where "I" was more appropiate

I totally get what you're saying if it's the case that there's definitely no common positive traits among OCD sufferers, but I'm just questioning whether there is a 100% accepted answer on that yet - maybe there is - I genuinely do not know the answer to that. If not though, perhaps there is room for debate, different opinions here?

And it's just a hunch, but I doubt Heartplace meant "I" - I think maybe she meant something like "we tend to" or "most of us". I think it all comes down the intended meaning behind the words, and how casual/serious the context is. i.e. I imagine when H was posting, she probably didn't go over the wording with a fine tooth comb to bullet proof it, because she didn't think it was that big a deal, but I'm second guessing there obviously.

David.

Edited by Sisyphus
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Let me say this - in the kindest and gentlest way, that equating OCD with 'morality' is very unwise. The scrupulosity that often affects sufferers (I don't mean just in a religious sense ) stems not from being any better - or worse - than anybody else, but from flawed cognition and dodgy brain chemistry. The terrible excruciating 'guilt' that one often feels, isn't real guilt, but a fake and toxic imitation. Genuine guilt never feels so bad! The reason it's important to point this out, is that to conflate OCD and 'morality' only helps to maintain the disorder. Let me give you a couple of imagined examples of how self serving OCD is (they might not be very good, but I think you'll get the gist): 1. Person with OCD makes purchase at shop, on the way home they believe that the cashier gave them 50 pence (or 50 cents) too much in change. The sufferer returns an hour later, and tries to explain to the cashier, who's now busy with a backlog of customers that the change was wrong. The action doesn't benefit the cashier, who is now more stressed, but serves to make the OCD sufferer feel better. 2. OCD sufferer tells his wife that the cake she's made is delicious. He then gets an OCD spike that say he's just lied and didn't really like the cake. The OCD tells him that the right thing to do would be to tell the truth. The OCD sufferer tells his wife he may have lied. He feels momentarily better, but his wife feels worse.

Bottom line, there is nothing altruistic about OCD. It's a terrible and selfish disorder. People with OCD are no kinder or less selfish than those without. Morality, doesn't come into it. It's just an OCD ploy.

On a side note - to those who say that OCD makes them more empathetic to the suffering of others, it could be ANY disorder or ailment, there is certainly no inherent quality in (what can actually be a 'selfish' disorder) OCD to cause empathy.

Edited by paradoxer
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Generalizations are just that - they're generalizations. That doesn't mean there's not some validity to them. I can say that men, in general, are taller than women. That doesn't mean that ALL men are taller. But the generalization is still true.

For example, here's a study in which OCD was associated with higher IQ.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11392347

Heart place, you're right on in pointing out the positives. Many different mental illnesses have been associated with different personality traits. (and there's data to back your assertions)

There's positive inherent to suffering itself. I am a more compassionate person because I suffer. I truly believe I can experience more joy as a result of having suffered (and continuing to suffer). I choose to live my life with the "glass half full" perspective because I'll be pulled under if I don't.

I have to say, as far as my subjective observations go, having gone to OCD self help groups, hung out on forums, I don't see OCD sufferers being any more or less intelligent than any other random group. Even if it were the case, I reckon it's pretty irrelevant.

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Guest heartplace

I didn't expect this thread to be taken as seriously as it was. I just meant for it to be a pick-me-up kind of thing, but there it is. In my opinion, some of the best famous people have been people with mental illness of some kind. Despite pain, people with mental illness are capable of accomplishing great things. Things you might not see "normal" people accomplish as often.

And the idea of OCD people being ethical that I mentioned before isn't an idea of my own, I read it somewhere. It said that OCD people are usually ethical people. I'd have to look for the source again though.

Edited by heartplace
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Guest heartplace

All of that being said, I agree that OCD itself is not a virtue, nor should it be treated as such. I guess my attitude toward OCD is just difficult to explain...I know how I feel about it, but I can't seem to explain my thoughts on it without getting misunderstood.

I also don't think OCD automatically turns us all into selfish jerks. A friend of mine told me about her ex-husband who has OCD, and he was one. But not ALL of us are this way. Obsessive Compulsive DISORDER is just what it is, a DISORDER. An illness, just like any other illness. We didn't ask to be this way. We don't WANT to be this way. We're victims of it and we have to beat it.

Edited by heartplace
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All of that being said, I agree that OCD itself is not a virtue, nor should it be treated as such. I guess my attitude toward OCD is just difficult to explain...I know how I feel about it, but I can't seem to explain my thoughts on it without getting misunderstood.

I also don't think OCD automatically turns us all into selfish jerks. A friend of mine told me about her ex-husband who has OCD, and he was one. But not ALL of us are this way. Obsessive Compulsive DISORDER is just what it is, a DISORDER. An illness, just like any other illness. We didn't ask to be this way. We don't WANT to be this way. We're victims of it and we have to beat it.

:original:

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Guest heartplace

My point is that while people with physical illness are spoken of with so much understanding, people with illness like us are being spoken of like we're a nuisance to have to deal with. I can see how living with a person with OCD is challenging, but...people with OCD are people too!

Thankfully there ARE people in my life who try hard to understand. Anyway...

Edited by heartplace
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