OCD Stereotypes

[HulaHoop1993]

Hi, all!

Does anyone else get stereotypical feedback when sharing that they suffer from OCD? If so, would you care to share?

I know the response I get most often is, "OMG so does that mean your room is spotless?!"

Ummm...no.

Just wondering what other responses people get.

Thanks!

[purpledare]

Hi HulaHoop! My mom is in hospice and I told her nurse that I have debilitating OCD. The nurse laughed and said: "Can you come and clean my house?" It's so frustrating how uneducated about OCD many health providers are. If they only understood the terror, how it takes over one's life, how completely debilitating it can be ... that would help a bunch of us out!

[HulaHoop1993 in reply to purpledare]

Hi, purpledare! I would like to wish your mom well, and thank you for your comment. I agree! If people only understood how much time and mental energy that OCD drains from a person's day then maybe they would not speak so lightly of it. Here's to hoping that the healthcare industry starts taking OCD a bit more seriously!

[purpledare in reply to HulaHoop1993]

Thank you for your caring, HulaHoop. Yes! Cheers to the healthcare industry taking OCD a bit more seriously! Hula hooping helps! Seriously, I am 58, but go outside and hula hoop when my mind is spinning. It helps to have the body spinning too! And ping pong helps a lot too! I focus on the ball, not my thoughts. May you be well and keep fighting the good fight. xo

[Sallyskins]

I've had that, too! In fact my house resembles a garbage dump and I am naturally untidy!

Some people think it's all about being neat and tidy ('I'm a little bit OCD', they often say) or they think it's all about washing your hands (some of us do that, but it isn't the only manifestation of OCD).

At least more people have actually heard of it. I had it for years before I found out what it was - I had a really useless plank of a therapist who knew but didn't tell me or offer appropriate treatment. I found out myself from a book my mother bought me.

But I have had some sympathetic reactions. People can be helpful and kind as well.

[HulaHoop1993]

Hi, Sallyskins! Thank you for your comment! My house is definitely a mess!

I have also heard someone say that they have "Faux-CD." I just thought to myself how OCD is anything but fake. When I was little I did have obsessive thoughts to wash my hands all the time to the point of bleeding, but there is definitely so much more to OCD than that.

I got diagnosed when I was eight. One of my therapists told me that eight years old is very young to be diagnosed with OCD. I apologize that you had a lousy therapist! I know how that can actually make things worse. The therapist I had when I was eight sent me straight to the hospital where they ended up overdosing me. But I'm glad that your mom got you that book!

And it's good to keep those sympathetic reactions in mind, especially on the tougher days. I was venting to a friend of mine and told him that I could probably write a book about OCD, and he sincerely asked me why don't I do that. It's refreshing to have people who genuinely care.

[beth196]

I educate people how OCD is so different. i'm out of my closet about OCD. Talk about brain scans which show your brain is abnormal I'll gladly take meds so I can function normally OCS sucks