Hi all,
I’m an OCD sufferer and I’m deeply worried by a long standing trend on these forums to label everything that relates to a sense of quality, perfectionism, being fastidious or fussy with “being OCD” or those trends exhibited in another person making them “so OCD”.
Lets clear something up, directly from the sufferers “horse mouth” if you will. OCD first and foremost is a debilitating and truly horrific anxiety disorder (I don’t use those words lightly) that can result in severe depression, hospitalisation and even suicide. the perfect placement of a screen protector is not a help in these situations.
it is NOT a personality trait that means you like things being nicely aligned, your bookshelves being in colour order, your screen protectors placed perfectly, your keyboard replacements being done ONLY by certified professionals, minor nicks in a phone case driving you crazy and thousands of other examples of perfectionism, neuroticism, fastidiousness etc.
You are NOT OCD because you relate to any of the above, unless of course a misaligned phone on your desk means you think you’re entire family could die if it’s not corrected OR a poorly manufactured Touch ID button with a nick in it results in you having to tap on your arm 5 times every time you see it or something bad will happen OR a poorly placed screen protector results in magical thinking that it’s a sign of your own evilness and the shame and guilt that results from that.
OCD is not an adjective to describe a personality trait of perfectionism in the same way that early stage lung cancer is not at all the same as the common cold, and those who really suffer from it are often misunderstood by their family and close friends as just having something a bit quirky because the societal understanding of OCD is so poor. It’s horrific and debilitating and if you know someone with it they’re probably suffering quite badly a lot of the time from very negative thinking, debilitating physical rituals and lots of guilt and shame from just existing. Perfectly aligning their screen protector does not deliver them from the anxiety.
I implore all of us to understand OCD for what it is, to not use it as an adjective (“I’m so OCD, my phone cables all have to be blue or it drives me crazy”) and to find other language to represent what’s important to you (“its so annoying when I get a repair back with damage, I always want my devices to be perfect”). If you reading this now are guilty of this crime, don’t worry, it’s no big deal. We all adopt different ways of speaking that we see in society and reuse them over and over again unintentionally. But let me ask you to be as aware as you can in your usage of the word OCD in the future so you can look after those who truly suffer from it.
Thanks for listening, if you like this, reply and keep this thread high for as long as possible so some educating can be done.
I’m an OCD sufferer and I’m deeply worried by a long standing trend on these forums to label everything that relates to a sense of quality, perfectionism, being fastidious or fussy with “being OCD” or those trends exhibited in another person making them “so OCD”.
Lets clear something up, directly from the sufferers “horse mouth” if you will. OCD first and foremost is a debilitating and truly horrific anxiety disorder (I don’t use those words lightly) that can result in severe depression, hospitalisation and even suicide. the perfect placement of a screen protector is not a help in these situations.
it is NOT a personality trait that means you like things being nicely aligned, your bookshelves being in colour order, your screen protectors placed perfectly, your keyboard replacements being done ONLY by certified professionals, minor nicks in a phone case driving you crazy and thousands of other examples of perfectionism, neuroticism, fastidiousness etc.
You are NOT OCD because you relate to any of the above, unless of course a misaligned phone on your desk means you think you’re entire family could die if it’s not corrected OR a poorly manufactured Touch ID button with a nick in it results in you having to tap on your arm 5 times every time you see it or something bad will happen OR a poorly placed screen protector results in magical thinking that it’s a sign of your own evilness and the shame and guilt that results from that.
OCD is not an adjective to describe a personality trait of perfectionism in the same way that early stage lung cancer is not at all the same as the common cold, and those who really suffer from it are often misunderstood by their family and close friends as just having something a bit quirky because the societal understanding of OCD is so poor. It’s horrific and debilitating and if you know someone with it they’re probably suffering quite badly a lot of the time from very negative thinking, debilitating physical rituals and lots of guilt and shame from just existing. Perfectly aligning their screen protector does not deliver them from the anxiety.
I implore all of us to understand OCD for what it is, to not use it as an adjective (“I’m so OCD, my phone cables all have to be blue or it drives me crazy”) and to find other language to represent what’s important to you (“its so annoying when I get a repair back with damage, I always want my devices to be perfect”). If you reading this now are guilty of this crime, don’t worry, it’s no big deal. We all adopt different ways of speaking that we see in society and reuse them over and over again unintentionally. But let me ask you to be as aware as you can in your usage of the word OCD in the future so you can look after those who truly suffer from it.
Thanks for listening, if you like this, reply and keep this thread high for as long as possible so some educating can be done.
