Have you ever felt the need to double-check that the door is locked or wash your hands repeatedly until they feel just right? While these behaviours may seem like a normal part of everyday life for some, for others, they can be debilitating symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCD).
I'll be exploring the truth behind OCD, debunking myths and shedding light on the reality of living with this condition, as I do every day. From understanding the signs and symptoms to exploring the impact on daily life and relationships, I'll let you know some of the effective strategies for coping and providing support.
Understanding OCD: Myths vs. Facts
One common misconception about OCD is that it simply means being overly organized or clean. I can't express how wrong and that times offensive this is.
OCD is much more complex and can manifest in a variety of ways beyond cleanliness and orderliness. OCD is a cycle, that is led by disturbing negative thoughts.
Subtypes of OCD Compulsions
While there are countless variations of OCD, it has long been believed that an individual's OCD typically fits into one of these five primary categories, with themes frequently crossing over between categories as well.
Checking Typically driven by concerns about personal safety or the safety of others, checking involves repeatedly checking doors or windows to ensure they are closed or locked. This behaviour may extend to checking power outlets and switching off devices. While it may seem straightforward, individuals with OCD often feel the need to perform these checks multiple times before feeling reassured, potentially leading to delays or difficulties in leaving their homes.
Contamination / Mental Contamination Characterized by obsessions centred around the fear of contamination, infecting others, or spreading germs, individuals with this form of OCD tend to engage in frequent handwashing, regular showers, and meticulous cleaning of their living spaces and belongings using sterilization products. These compulsions can extend beyond their domestic routine, making it challenging for them to navigate unfamiliar or uncontrollable environments.
Symmetry and ordering Individuals with symmetry OCD tend to obsess over the organization or placement of certain items. If a person with this type of OCD comes across an object that is not correctly positioned, incomplete, or imperfect in any way, they experience high levels of anxiety. Individuals may find their OCD difficult to disguise which in itself will likely increase anxiety and stress.
Hoarding People with hoarding disorder collect items believing they are valuable, whereas OCD-related hoarding is usually a response to obsessive thoughts and anxiety. Those with hoarding OCD often find their accumulation of possessions stressful and involuntary.
Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms
Identifying OCD in another person can be quite challenging. Having personally dealt with OCD, I became adept at concealing my compulsions from a young age. OCD often manifests in early childhood, unless triggered by a traumatic event later in life. I was always aware that my compulsions were irrational and not considered "normal" behaviour, so I integrated them discreetly into my daily routine. This condition is highly incapacitating and distressing, prompting individuals to acknowledge it and seek help when it starts to significantly impact their lives or becomes unmanageable.
Explaining OCD to others can be arduous, leading individuals with OCD to hide their compulsions for as long as possible. Recognizing this condition in someone else typically requires living with them, spending a considerable amount of time together, or being a trusted confidante with whom they feel comfortable sharing their struggles.
There are some signs you can notice in someone with OCD but these aren't always inducive of OCD so please be careful:
Increased Fatigue Fatigue is a prevalent symptom of an anxiety disorder. Your brain is working extra hard to stay calm and composed, leading to feelings of exhaustion. Individuals with OCD may experience even more tiredness if they are frequently engaging in compulsive behaviours in addition to their regular daily activities.
Lateness Someone with OCD may often be delayed for events, meetings, or work due to their compulsions, which can lead them to get stuck in a cycle of time that they cannot explain or predict how long it will last.
Fidgeting Fidgeting may be linked to anxiety disorders like OCD. When individuals experience increased anxiety because they cannot engage in compulsions in a social setting, they may begin fidgeting to divert their attention and lessen their nervous energy until they can carry out their ritual.
Heightened Anxiety Levels OCD is an anxiety disorder, it is highly likely that it will cause an increased level of overall anxiety leading to symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweating or nausea. For more information on anxiety disorders read our blog: What Anxiety Suffers Want You To Know
Questioning/Worries Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is driven by negative thought patterns and perpetuated by persistent anxiety and fear. When someone is deeply concerned about a situation beyond their control, like another person's health, they may feel compelled to inquire repeatedly in an attempt to alleviate their anxiety.
Fixating on a particular topic or concern Similar to questioning, a person with OCD may become obsessed with a specific negative thought. This fixation can be triggered by an event during their day or may stem from a previous fear. They might begin to repeatedly bring up certain subjects in conversations, seeking additional information to alleviate their worries.
Staying up late or getting up early If someone is attempting to conceal their OCD compulsions, they might engage in them while others are asleep in order to avoid detection. They may incorporate these actions into their daily schedule and deliberately allocate time for them. This behaviour could result in staying up late or waking up early, prolonging their day and impacting their sleep and concentration.
Items moved or displaced Certain types of OCD involve a physical aspect, like checking or organizing. You might observe specific objects that have been moved or taken from their original place. While this behaviour may appear harmless or even beneficial to individuals living with someone with OCD, if a consistent pattern starts to develop, it could indicate the presence of OCD.
Impact on Daily Life and Relationships
Individuals with OCD may find it challenging to balance their need for control and perfectionism with the demands of daily life and relationships.
This can lead to feelings of frustration, isolation, and conflict in both the sufferer and their friends, family or spouse. OCD can work similarly to addiction. An individual is often unable to just "stop" doing their compulsions even if they fully understand they don't "have" to do them. They still do. To others around them, it may seem irrational and can cause conflict and they may feel ignored or discarded in favour of performing their compulsions. In some cases, a loved one may feel disrespected as their advice or opinion on OCD seems futile.
If OCD has been present since childhood often attempts by others to lessen it or "fix" it will not work as this is a thought pattern that has been ingrained, it would be like trying to teach someone to unlearn how to walk.
OCD is an incredibly complicated condition to explain to others and even understand yourself. It's important to learn what the cycle of OCD looks like in order to approach it with compassion rather than judgment.
Effective Strategies for Coping and Support
Individuals with OCD may benefit from a combination of coping strategies and support systems to help them manage their symptoms, maintain healthy relationships and recover from the condition.
Finding the Root Cause
My advocacy is focused on identifying the underlying cause of anxiety disorders or mental illnesses. I believe that without understanding how the fear originated, one is merely addressing the symptoms (excluding cases of psychosis or personality disorders).
When dealing with OCD, which is fueled by specific thoughts or fears, uncovering the root cause can bring significant benefits and help alleviate stress by simply working backwards.
I designed the Discovery Journal to do just that. Look at anxiety disorders through a logical lens. By noting down your behaviours and interactions on any given day, patterns begin to emerge and highlight specific areas that contribute to anxiety, enabling you to work backwards to find the cause.
Learning to read yourself, love yourself and understand yourself makes a huge difference to your mental health and the people around you. I know from experience. Learning to listen to your body and your needs instead of your anxieties and negative thoughts can be an adjustment, one that is certainly worth it.
But I didn't do it alone...
Seeking Professional Help
Getting professional assistance, like therapy or counselling, to gain a deeper understanding and tackle the root causes of OCD can be very enlightening when combined with personal efforts outside of therapy, such as journaling, meditation, or mindfulness. I emphasize the word "alongside" because there is a common misconception that therapy or counselling is meant to solve all your problems, when in fact it is a tool to help you solve them yourself. It requires time and effort on your part as well; just attending therapy for an hour a week for a short period is unlikely to lead to full recovery.
Types of Therapy for OCD
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) can help individuals challenge and change their thought patterns and behaviours.
CBT tends to be a shorter length of therapy which involves re-analysing thought patterns. It tends to be short term and simply helps an individual manage their anxieties more in a more healthy way and improve their quality of life. CBT will help an individual create a structured routine and set realistic goals that can help with OCD, increasing a sense of control.
Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP)
Exposure and Response Prevention, known as ERP, is a therapy that involves confronting fears and allowing obsessive thoughts to happen without trying to correct them or neutralize them with compulsions. This may seem extremely intimidating and even downright scary, but I think that is intentional. To benefit from this therapy, it is essential to already possess a fairly solid grasp of the thoughts and actions that fuel your OCD.
The therapy begins by facing anxiety-inducing items and situations that are manageable for you. As you repeat these exposures, you will notice that your anxiety levels decrease and the duration of anxiety shortens. Subsequently, you will progress to more challenging exposure tasks.
Self-Led Integrative Therapy
Integrative counselling isn’t just one therapeutic approach, instead, it takes into account you as an individual and your circumstances and uses elements of different approaches to help you explore and cope with your problems, this may include CBT, creative therapy or psychodynamic therapy.
This type of therapy is usually a longer commitment as sessions are led by the individual and it can take time to reflect to have a breakthrough.
Ultimately, I cannot emphasize the importance of communication. Concealing my OCD for three decades was a challenge. While I diligently worked on minimizing my compulsions and handling my OCD, engaging in conversations with friends, family, and fellow OCD sufferers enabled me to embrace my true self. Although it may be daunting, with appropriate support, it has the potential to transform one's life.
Let us remember that empathy and education are key to creating a world where individuals with OCD feel understood and accepted. As the saying goes, "To understand is to forgive, even oneself." Let's strive to be that understanding presence for those living with OCD.
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