"Are you a little bit OCD?"

[Guest Recoveryyy]

I was watching that show called 'Play to the Whistle' and Holly Willoughby said to one of the panelists/guests, "You're OCD. Are you a little bit OCD? You know, it manifests in different ways for everyone. Like straightening things". Am I being dramatic by feeling offended by this? I know OCD is always being trivialised but seeing that just reinforces it for me. It particularly annoys me as she's in a position where she could be raising awareness, not belittling people with an illness. You wouldn't say "you're a little bit diabetic" etc. Also, they were all laughing about it.

Sorry for the rant but I find it upsetting, not just for me but for everyone else.

[Guest Heryn.]

I caught what she said on catch-up and in my opinion, it wasn't as negatively focused on as it could have been. It wasn't helpful calling him 'a bit obsessive' but then again HW seems to think that a squirrel can outrun a motorbike.

If you do a search for Jon Richardson, there is some really interesting material about how he coped with OCD.

[Guest Recoveryyy]

You're right, it could have been worse but I feel like it does belittle it, making it seem like more of a quirk or a habit.

She probably does think that as well! Haha.

[Guest Orwell1984]

That would annoy me too. Maybe she's a little bit blonde

[Guest mynameisian]

I cant stand it when people say that, like its almost something to be proud of. Anyone with "real' OCD would not think it was just a character quirk. I saw something equally irritating on facebook. One of those quizzes that was "how OCD are you?" and the entire quiz was based around tidyness, cleanliness and neatness. Imagine if there were quizes saying 'how AIDS are yyou, or 'how cancer are you'. People woyld be up in arms.

[whitebeam]

There are so many examples of this, Recoveryyy. i know Ashley does confront some organisations and so on and try to get them to remove items, change wording and what have you.

At work, I have lovely friends, i have never hidden my OCD (which is in the past but I have often spoken of it) and have often said 'yes, but that's not OCD' or 'real OCD can be really debilitating' etc.......despite this, every now and then someone will come out with 'I'm/he's so OCD' and so on.......They don't mean to upset and would be horrified if they thought I had been.....

People really don't get it. It's very much a popular thing to have or be these days.

[Guest Recoveryyy]

I just find it so upsetting and, quite often, it angers me. I'm not an angry person but knowing what I go through and what others go through because of this illness, just frustrates me when people make throw away comments. It's either, people find OCD 'amusing' (which it isn't) or they genuinely think OCD is just some quirks or liking to be clean or tidy. OCD is isolating enough as it is without making sufferers feel like their illness isn't serious or fear of talking about it in case someone mocks it (which is how I feel, so I never talk about it).

I've found YouTube to be of some comfort when I'm feeling particularly bad, as there are OCD sufferers who have vlogged about it, makes me feel not so alone. However, the comments are still full of "OMG! Me too! I have to have a tidy room/wash my hands/check the door" when quite clearly, the vlogger has made it very clear what OCD is and how it affects them, often to the point of crying. It's like we try to raise awareness but people don't want to listen and learn what OCD really is.

[Guest megan]

i dont think u could think of any topic that people dont joke about. fat, thin, black, white, men, women, blonde. i joke about it and i have serious discussions on the subject. for me i dont want it to be serious all the time, oh she has ocd how tragic, but i am perfectly comfortable with my ocd which may make a difference. an old friend of mine lost both his legs in a horrific accident and he jokes about that. i understand how u can be offended by the humour too. i did the quiz, but according to that i dont have ocd so i know its accuracy is flawed.

Edited July 4, 2015 by megan

[Starbuck]

The problem is that unlike many other things that people joke about, the majority of people don't understand OCD and literally think that they are 'a bit OCD' or that it's just a quirk / about a mild need for order / neatness. All of these jokes or people saying they are OCD when they are not reiterates this belief.

I have countless people say it to me and they genuinely believe that this is what OCD is. A girl told me very seriously that she had OCD. I was fairly excited (maybe the wrong word) by this as I thought I could offload and spoke to her about my own struggles for about ten minutes. She then looked sheepish and said 'err actually, I don't have OCD, I just like everything to be tidy.' We were both embarrassed after this as I had confessed to her my mental illness that I would never have told her otherwise and she felt uncomfortable. The lack of understanding can be harmful.

[Guest megan]

i domt disagree with u, but i consider it to be a good thing. id rather someone tell a joke to bring the topic out in the open and then we discuss it sensibly and although they still dont understand fully which id expect they are informed. if someone is malicious or deliberate thats different but i welcome humour. a lot has changed in 30 years before no one knew virtually anything on it, there were no forums, psychologists didnt know so much about it, u were effectively alone and now its more acceptable there is more help for people. there can be a stigma or abuse for it but u get that for everything because some people are just not nice. i also dont agree with one comment above that someone with real ocd wouldnt see it as a charter quirk. i was asked recently if u could would u get rid of ur ocd would u, and i said definitely not. i am perfectly comfortable with it now and have no desire to change it.

Edited July 4, 2015 by megan

[gingerbreadgirl]

you wouldn't get rid of your OCD?

why?

[Guest megan]

it has taken a while but i manage it in a way that i am happy with, its who i am i like being clean i have no problem with the rituals, the thoughts are there i dont stop them, then i analyse them they have been quite useful with personal development actually. i see it as a challenge. i have friends that are fully aware of it and dont care some are very interested, some arent very empathetic but it doesnt cause problems. i have been working a lot with emotional intelligence and adapting it to suit my ocd.

Edited July 4, 2015 by megan

[gingerbreadgirl]

OCD is an anxiety disorder so if you have rid yourself of anxiety (which is fantastic) you are no longer dealing with OCD in my opinion. To me it sounds like you have found a great way to manage/cure your OCD so doesn't impact your life which is what we should all be aiming for.

[Ashley]

it has taken a while but i manage it in a way that i am happy with, its who i am i like being clean i have no problem with the rituals, the thoughts are there i dont stop them, then i analyse them they have been quite useful with personal development actually. i see it as a challenge. i have friends that are fully aware of it and dont care some are very interested, some arent very empathetic but it doesnt cause problems. i have been working a lot with emotional intelligence and adapting it to suit my ocd.

I wonder if you really like being clean. or if your OCD is kidding you to believe that? I always thought I liked being clean but I hated washing but the thought I liked being clean drove my compulsions to wash and shower for 60,90+ minutes. One day I realised I was not afraid of germs, I was afraid of the uncomfortable feeling I get by not washing.

I am not sure I have met anyone who said they would keep their OCD, for anyone who suffers with OCD the anxiety the suffering is not positive it is overwhelmingly negative. Is it possible you don't have OCD but maybe something else like OCPD?

[Guest megan]

i didnt mention i dont suffer from anxiety, and it impacts on my life. i am fully aware of how ocd manifests. i am just comfortable at the point im at with it and fully aware of it, i have no desire to change. i dont suffer from it nearly to the extreme i have done in the past but this is from awareness and yes management of some aspects of it. just because something is unusual doenst make it unture.

[Ashley]

I think the danger with trying to live with and manage OCD is you can't give OCD an inch, it will always demand a mile. I once thought settling for just washing my hands for 5-10 minutes at a time was fine, that was better than 1-2 hour showers, which it was, but eventually the OCD demanded those 1-2 hour showers back.

I think for anyone with OCD, step one is learning to manage it, not to let it encroach on other aspects of our life, but that's only one of two steps. Step two is we have to go on the attack and try and push more and more of OCD out of our life, because if we don't do that I guarantee it will do that to us, it will attack us and demand more and more of our life.