Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, more commonly known as OCD, is a term that is tossed around whenever someone washes their hands often or likes to hang their shirts in color order but that is not OCD, that is having obsessive tendencies but many people mistake them as the same. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a diagnosed mental condition and only affects about 2% of the world’s population or about 150 million people and can be a serious issue that affects people’s daily life.
When I was about 12 I began to show obsessive tendencies, which my parents loved because it meant that I was always cleaning but they never connected the anxiety it was causing me. Every time I walked outside my room I was no longer in a situation that I could control and my brain went in to overdrive. It is those fears that cause the compulsions like organization, cleaning and repetitive behavior.
When I was in my early 20s I was diagnosed which caused me to go in to a depression. I went through various medications in hopes of finding the perfect concoction that would help keep me “normal” but nothing seemed to work. I made a lot of bad decisions in my 20s because I thought through everything and if I could not control the situation I just reacted and that was the cause of the problems.
It has now been around 20 years since I was diagnosed and while I still have issues with OCD it has gotten better. I no longer need to control everything, I no longer need to turn light switches on and off or lock and unlock doors and it wasn’t medication that helped me it was meditation and immersion therapy.
Self-help does not always work, I just got to a position where I take enough medication for my health issues I didn’t want to continue taking medication to help with my obsessions and compulsions.
If you know someone who is OCD or even if you know someone with obsessive tendencies, please never tell them that it is all in their mind, we know that it is in our minds but we do appreciate the support.