Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most debilitating mental illnesses there is. I was officially diagnosed with it in 2016 but for as long as I could remember – since I was about six or seven years old – the signs were there.
OCD is made up of two parts. The first is the obsessions which can manifest in a series of thoughts, worries, doubts or urges. These obsessions cause significant distress to the individual and are ego-dystonic, meaning they go against the person’s value system. The second part is the compulsion, which manifests in behaviours and rituals that the person practices to arrest and calm his or her anxiety. These could be counting, checking and asking for reassurance because OCD demands absolute certainty. OCD, over the years, has been communicated through popular culture to be mainly associated with cleaning and handwashing and though contamination is a particular theme in OCD it isn’t the only one. This has led to it being viewed as an adjective and a cute personality trait that keeps those who suffer from other themes isolated.
