OCD and employment

[Mamatired]

If your OCD is not interfering at work, is it something that you can keep private?

[MothFir]

I've worked at the same facility with many of the same people for 25 years and nobody knows I have OCD (as far as I know 🙂).

[Mamatired in reply to MothFir]

That’s good to know. I worry that if they know they will think differently of me or be more cautious around me. I kind of would prefer to keep it a secret amongst myself and my family. Does your ocd interfere with any aspects of your job?

[MothFir in reply to Mamatired]

At some point or another my rituals have involved checking, washing, and lots and lots of mental ruminating. The ruminating is easy enough to hide, and I have hidden the checking and washing well enough that I doubt anyone would recognize it as OCD, even if they notice I have some quirks. Most people have no idea what OCD really is -- they just think it's arranging pencils and cleaning stuff.

The ruminating makes it hard to concentrate, and the washing/checking can take time, but it has never been too bad. I have a fair amount of flexibility so if I waste some time on rituals I make it up by working later. My OCD has come and gone in severity, and when it got particularly disruptive about a year ago I started seeing an ERP therapist. That has helped cut down on my obsessions and ritualizing a great deal (as has going to a support group, participating on this forum, reading books, listening to podcasts, watching videos, etc. etc.).

Some people are very open about their OCD to everyone, but I completely understand your desire to keep it private. I'd recommend doing everything you can to treat it, though. The moments of mental peace I've had since I started therapy have made me realize that it's much better to recover from OCD than to just hide and work around it, and I wish I'd done therapy years ago.

[Bigbrighteyes96]

I think it depends what OCD you have - if its a mental compulsion or a physical one. I have some of both, but can hide the ones people can potentially see (for example I have this phobia of my clothes being ruined by the slightest stain or damage) and I was asked to clean the toilets at work. So I picked up a bottle of bleach, but the lid was loose, and bleach went on my black trousers that now have big red blotches. This made me upset/angry but I managed to hold it together and not show the emotion to my colleagues. Through counselling, CBT and ERP my OCD traits have become more manageable and less time consuming then they once were. But they still make it difficult to cope with work.