Stop using OCD as a throwaway term – why this is harmful for mental health sufferers

I have been doctor-diagnosed with OCD since I was 14 and yes, I do still have to say doctor diagnosed. The reason? Because so many people are still using this as a throwaway term which is becoming harmful to others and is insensitive.

OCD stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

OCD is NOT: 

• Being fussy about the order of things
• Liking to be clean
• Being quirky and unique 
• A personality trait
• A joke
• A scapegoat

OCD is, in fact, the compulsion that wills and haunts you inside your own brain to think intrusive thoughts and in some cases to act on them. Not to say some of the above are not OCD related traits, but just liking something clean is very different from obsessively cleaning because the compulsion in your brain is telling you too. For me, my OCD mainly takes the form of the obsessive cleaning of my skin, at times until my hands are red-raw. I think it’s hard to imagine why I do this unless you know what it feels like to have OCD, but if I don’t wash my hands the thought will eat away at my brain, making me feel like I’m not in control.  

The NHS website describes the breakdown of obsessions and compulsions as:

• an obsession is an unwanted and unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters your mind, causing feelings of anxiety, disgust or unease
• a compulsion is a repetitive behaviour or mental act that you feel you need to carry out to try to temporarily relieve the unpleasant feelings brought on by the obsessive thought

This is a clear outline of the behaviour we experience with OCD. I’ve been very open about my OCD in the past, both on and offline and it has seen me receive different reactions. I now have to be very careful with who I tell about my OCD offline. I find those online are altogether more accepting and don’t use it as such a throwaway term. At school, I told one wrong person and it got out, I was bullied and it was all one big joke to them. 

Saying this though, it still shocks me to see people using the diagnosis of OCD, something that has haunted me for ten years now and has become firmly part of my life, to describe small annoyances or fusses in their life. OCD is not a term for anyone and everyone to use and assign to how they are feeling. Those of us who have OCD do not enjoy it, we don’t see it as a quirk, it controls our brains at times. 

I go through times when I feel like I have my OCD a lot more under control and others where I can’t think straight because of it. It hurts me to see the reactions of people when it is publicly discussed. I see people saying ‘they’re a bit OCD’ almost daily when straightening a picture or moving a glass. It had become a term so easily used in everyday conversation, which makes me feel very sad. 

I hope from writing this blog post and sharing it during OCD Awareness Week, I can help bring to light this issue. Not everyone has OCD, in fact, just 1-2% of the population has OCD. But with the way, the media portrays this disorder it has lost it’s meaning along the way to that other 98% that use it so loosely. Every time someone uses the term OCD inaccurately, it discredits it when being used genuinely, and that is hard.

Please let this blog remind you to think about how you use the term OCD. Catch yourself or correct others when using it in the wrong context. We’re not always vocal about our OCD because it isn’t taken seriously, but I know I will always point out when someone is not using the term correctly. To be clear, I would never call someone out for saying they had OCD, but sometimes it’s clear when it’s being made a joke of and this I will not stand for. 

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.