According to the International OCD Foundation, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is "a mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks if life and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions"
It continues: "Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviours an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease his or her distress."
For those afflicted, OCD is a vicious cycle they can't control. They may see disturbing images in their head and then they believe they need to perform these actions in order to prevent some perceived disaster from happening. This may result in OCD being extremely debilitating, as those with the condition have their lives significantly affected. The actions they are compelled to perform may take up significant portions of their time.
Some of these actions an obsessive compulsive person may engage in may be familiar, such as the obsessive need to wash hands, or protect themselves from germs. People experiencing OCD aren’t simply a list of obsessions, however. There are a number of things people with OCD wish you knew about their condition, including:
1. People with OCD want you to take them seriously and to stop trivialising the condition
People with OCD are tired of non sufferers thinking their condition is cute or quirky. Many are putting the blame for this on television shows, such as "Monk". In “Monk”, actor Tony Shaloub plays a private detective, who goes about solving crime while worried about being contaminated by a dirty world.
Many think the show has led to a trivialisation of how serious the condition may be, and how badly people with the condition may be affected by it. As a result, many people with OCD are tired of people telling them to change their thinking, or simply change their habits so they can act “normally”.
People with OCD may also resent people who merely like to organise their colours or like to keep their environments clean trivialising the condition by jokingly referring to themselves as having "OCD".
2. Some people with OCD pull their hair out
Many members of the public appear to believe that excessive cleanliness and organisation are signs of OCD. This may be true, but some manifestations of obsessive behaviour may be far more destructive, such as a disorder that results in hair loss , called trichotillomania. Trichotillomania used to be classified as a condition caused by anxiety, but was recently reclassified as a one of the disorders grouped under the umbrella of OCD. Afflicted persons pull their hair out in response to "uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue or frustration" according to the Mayo Clinic.
Those who suffer trichotillomania may pull their hair from anywhere. It doesn't just have to be from their head. It can be from their eyelashes, their eyebrows or their skin.
Positive feelings can also prompt a hair pulling episode. People with the condition may believe performing the ritual of pulling their hair out can result in an extension of the time they feel the positive emotion.
3. Persons with OCD can spend years being treated for their disorder
People with OCD can spend years in therapy being treated for the disorder. Despite this, many people believe it is all in the sufferer's head and that they can snap out of it at any time.
Fred Penzel, a psychologist and Scientific Advisory Board Member for the International OCD Foundation who has been treating OCD since 1982 says an uncomplicated case of OCD can take anywhere between 6 months to a year to treat. People with more severe symptoms, or who work at a slower pace can be struggling with their obsessions and compulsions for years longer.
Additionally, because OCD has no cure and the rate of relapse for people with the condition is high. Many people have to undergo rehabilitative treatment at various points throughout their life.
According to Dr. Penzel, people with OCD may respond well to cognitive behavioural therapy as well as Exposure and Response Prevention. This involves asking the afflicted person to confront their obsessive thoughts long enough for them to see that they do not occur in reality.
4. OCD can be isolating
People with OCD report that they are often socially isolated and lonely. Many say they tend to isolate themselves from others because they believe other people will not understand their condition, judge them for it, or think them strange or weird.
An OCD patient with trichotillomania, for example, will avoid people because they are ashamed people will see the bald spots on their head or eyebrows. They may even avoid potentially positive and life changing activities like job interviews because of these fears. They may also avoid becoming involved in romantic relationships for similar reasons. They do not want the significant other to witness their habits.
5. OCD is genetic
Many people believe that OCD is a purely psychological issue but this is not necessarily the case.
A number of studies into genetics and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder appear to indicate that genetics may play a major part in a person’s risk of developing the condition. One 2013 study of 2,057 OCD patients against a control group of 6,055 people without OCD indicates that a person’s risk of developing the condition was much higher if an immediate family member (parent, sibling or child) has the condition.A 2014 study of 5,409 sets of twins indicated that the amount of DNA shared by family members may also be linked to risk of developing OCD. Identical twins share 100% of their DNA, and the results of the study showed that 52% of identical twins both had OCD. This means that it’s more likely that both identical twins will develop OCD than one developing OCD and the other remaining free of the condition. Fraternal twins share 50% of their DNA and only 21% of the pairs showed both twins suffering OCD.
Despite the indicators that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder may have a genetic component, scientists are still searching for the specific gene that contributes to the development of the condition. They acknowledged that there are certain environmental factors to consider as well, including the presence of stress and trauma.
6. OCD is more common than people think
According to Beyond Blue, nearly 3 percent of people in Australia experience OCD during their lifetime. That’s around 770,000 people. OCD may manifest at any age, but typically symptoms appear to manifest fully around adolescence, the World Health Organisation, OCD is in their top 20 list of disabilities in people between the ages of 15-44.