Being extorted by your own mind is what people with OCD have to live with everyday. They’re unable to resist the compulsion to perform specific tasks or acts that their mind is prescribing. OCD disrupts the part of the brain that recognizes when the things that we’re thinking or doing aren’t on-task or unusual and gets us to stop.
1. Concern with Germs
It’s atypical to be overly concerned with germs. Some people with OCD are in constant fear of being contaminated and contaminating others, and they may also feel the need to constantly wash their hands. Mental healthcare professionals at places like the Orange County mental health facility can offer strategies and treatment plans that can transform your life.
2. Repeatedly Checking Things
There may be instances where a sufferer closes all of the doors before leaving the house, only to turn right back around and double or triple check that each door is indeed closed. Repeatedly locking locks, flipping light switches, and tying shoe laces are some other commonly repeated actions.
3. Repeating Phrases
It’s not uncommon for those with OCD to repeat things a certain number of times before being able to move on to the next task. It could be saying something before passing through a door or getting into the car. Sometimes it’s having the lyrics of songs in your mind on repeat.
4. Organizing
Some OCD sufferers have to have things done just so, so much to the point that they can’t sleep until everything in their home or a specific room is ordered or arranged to their satisfaction. Hoarding is the other side of this coin.
OCD is a mental health disorder and is best treated by a mental health professional.
Let’s take a look at what OCD is not.
1. Being Neat and Organized
Most people strive to have some sense of order, organization, and cleanliness in their lives. Some people even focus on it as a lifestyle habit. But wanting these things and working to maintain order is not OCD. If you’re peacefully and happily choosing to keep things in order, it’s not OCD. OCD is characterized by unwanted and intrusive thoughts.
2. Being Meticulous
There’s nothing wrong with being meticulous, and generally speaking, it is necessary in some instances. Wanting to keep things even doesn’t make you an OCD sufferer. Always ensuring that everyone gets the same amount of food or beverage or always making sure the paper towel and toilet paper rolls roll the same direction with a clean edge isn’t an unwanted intrusive compulsion that you can’t shake. It’s you preference.
3. Being a Stickler For Routine
Being a regimented and routine person isn’t the same thing as OCD. Keeping certain things in certain places, taking off your glasses and leaving them in the same place every night, or color-coding the clothes hanging in your closet isn’t a mental health disorder.
4. Impulse Control Problems
People who are compulsive liars, shoppers, or gamblers usually have addictive behaviors or an impulse control disorder. Although at some point, those who suffer from these addictive behaviors will feel helpless and consumed; but at the outset, they enjoyed engaging in those behaviors.
5. Being a Collector
OCD has nothing to do with being a collector, either. Collectors find joy and fulfillment in hunting and finding collectibles. They enjoy telling others about their collection and they’re proud of their finds. Those with OCD are not proud of their collections and don’t typically want to share them. They can’t seem to part with the things they collect even if they are worthless pieces of junk.
OCD is a serious mental health disorder that requires a trained mental healthcare provider. When people say things like, “My OCD won’t let me keep a messy house,” they’re just showing how little they understand about the disorder.