OCD
“I’m very OCD.” “It’s just my OCD.”
These phrases are commonly thrown into everyday conversation by people who have labeled themselves with OCD-obsessive compulsive disorder. Merely wanting your pantry organized is not actually having OCD…unless you find yourself having constant, intrusive thoughts about your pantry that lead you to get out of bed during the night to make sure all items are stacked perfectly, with all labels facing the front, and exactly one inch apart. Upon checking, you find that everything is as neatly as you left it, but you need to touch and count and adjust every item you see, anyway.
Misinformed people often mistake their desire for cleanliness, organization, and perfectionism with a DSM diagnosis of a severe disorder leading to debilitating anxiety. “OCD is a specific, neuropsychiatric, anxiety disorder that causes a person to experience uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and/or behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.” (MedCircle 2020)
To be diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, certain criteria must be met. The thoughts and behaviors are so consuming that excessive time is devoted to engaging in repetitive thoughts and actions in which no pleasure is derived upon completion. Efforts to try to control the urges are unsuccessful and the disorder causes significant struggles with daily life. (Medcircle 2020)
There are 4 categories of OCD.
Excessive Cleaning. There is a huge fear of contamination, germs, dirt, and filth. People who have this form tend to wash objects, and even themselves, very frequently because of worry they might be unsafe or unsanitary.
Perfection. This should not be confused with being a perfectionist; someone who wants to excel, make top marks, striving to be the best. In this category, people stress to have all items arranged, organized, and symmetrical. They often count these items and believe if something is in disarray, it will trigger something bad happening.
Checking and rechecking. Those in this category fear that harm will come to them due to something being left undone or someone being negligent. I once knew a man who constantly worried about faucets being left on. He would turn the handle to the “off” position, over and over (often counting to seven) to make sure the water was indeed off. He had often broken faucets because of this. He did the same with light switches. People with this form of OCD have high anxiety and constantly retrace their steps to make sure things are done appropriately.
Forbidden thoughts. People with this type of OCD have a fear of unwanted thoughts. The thoughts are often negative or violent in nature. They engage in rituals in hopes of preventing unwanted thoughts, unfortunately only triggering the unwanted thoughts even more. It’s important to note that, despite the constant thoughts, those with this form of OCD are unlikely to act on these thoughts and do not have a violent temperament.
(Medcircle 2020)
therapy known as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) seems to be very effective. ERP is still performed through a licensed therapist, but it refers to exposing the person with OCD to the thoughts that trigger the anxiety and obsessions. It’s a way of training your mind to learn and trust what will happen if no action is taken. Or, after the exposure to the area that causes worry, ERP helps the person choose a different, less intense, response. (IOCDF.org)
The goal with treatment is to lower the anxiety the disorder causes, as well as decreasing the time and effort it takes to react. The hope would be for the person to manage their OCD in a way that enables them to live happy, active lives without the constant stress of intrusive thoughts and necessary rituals.
For those people who think they have OCD, but are actually just people who prefer cleanliness and organization, feel free to come to my house and go to work.
Kyndal Sims
Birch Psychology
https://medcircle.com/articles/what-are-the-4-types-of-ocd/
https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/ocd-treatment/