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As others on this thread have mentioned, full-blown OCD is considerably more serious than it's commonly portrayed. It's as serious a health condition as other m

As others on this thread have mentioned, full-blown OCD is considerably more serious than it's commonly portrayed. It's as serious a health condition as other mental illnesses like depression or bipolar disorder. Cracked.com, of all places, wrote an excellent article on the subject of what actual real-life OCD is like: http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-no-one-tells-you-about-having-ocd/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-no-one-tells-you-about-... "Imagine the feeling of having a song stuck in your head. Now imagine that instead of "It's Raining Men," it's the thought of murdering your best friend. In graphic detail. Over and over again. You're not mad at your best friend, and you've never done anything violent, but it won't stop playing. You probably feel kind of shitty just reading that. But that's what the "obsessive" part of OCD is like: intrusive, unwanted, disturbing thoughts that won't go away. " For more information and details of what is or isn't OCD, the OCD subreddit is apparently surprisingly good: http://www.reddit.com/r/OCD http://www.reddit.com/r/OCD I'm sure that OP didn't mean anything hostile by his/her use of the term. Given it's commonly misunderstood, and that causes genuine suffering, it's worth bringing the nature of OCD up when it's discussed in this fashion!

aaron-lebo 12y ago
I have OCD. It is almost entirely under control now, but it derailed me for a good five years and put me in a depression so deep that I wanted to die. Last week I actually wrote a very personal blog post about it if anyone is interested in understanding the disorder and what it means. It also talks about how I've personally tried to find meaning in life after dealing with it. Kind of navel-gazey. Sometimes my feathers get ruffled when people say stuff like "I'm so OCD" and have no idea what they are talking about, but they really don't know any better and I think it is okay to let it slide. Sometimes we do need to trivialize horrible things (as long as we understand the real pain they cause) in order to cope. http://lebo.io/2015/03/26/worth-the-fighting-for.html http://lebo.io/2015/03/26/worth-the-fighting-for.html
- thenomad 12y ago
  Agreed - I don't think people say "I'm so OCD" or similar out of malice. A lot of people genuinely don't know what OCD is or why it might be harmful. Hence I do think politely and briefly educating folk is a good thing, if only so that one day if they experience the same symptoms they realise what they are and seek help. Really glad your OCD is under control, and well done. I'll add that post to my informal list of OCD resources!

aaron-lebo 12y ago

I have OCD. It is almost entirely under control now, but it derailed me for a good five years and put me in a depression so deep that I wanted to die. Last week I actually wrote a very personal blog post about it if anyone is interested in understanding the disorder and what it means. It also talks about how I've personally tried to find meaning in life after dealing with it. Kind of navel-gazey. Sometimes my feathers get ruffled when people say stuff like "I'm so OCD" and have no idea what they are talking about, but they really don't know any better and I think it is okay to let it slide. Sometimes we do need to trivialize horrible things (as long as we understand the real pain they cause) in order to cope. http://lebo.io/2015/03/26/worth-the-fighting-for.html http://lebo.io/2015/03/26/worth-the-fighting-for.html

thenomad 12y ago
Agreed - I don't think people say "I'm so OCD" or similar out of malice. A lot of people genuinely don't know what OCD is or why it might be harmful. Hence I do think politely and briefly educating folk is a good thing, if only so that one day if they experience the same symptoms they realise what they are and seek help. Really glad your OCD is under control, and well done. I'll add that post to my informal list of OCD resources!