Although OCD has become more well known to the public as of late, I do not feel like it has been portrayed fairly. I have had OCD since I was a child. While I'll admit that some of my actions may come off that way, I am not crazy. Not everyone with OCD is like Howard Hughes. He was an extreme example.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is just that, it's a disorder. You can't just "get over it". I can't tell you how many people tell me that. Or they tell me they used to have it and they got better. The fact of the matter is, we all have quirks where we check to make sure the stove's off or we make sure not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk. However, quirks do not make up a disorder.
If checking the stove becomes so urgent that you fly home from vacation early just to do it, or if avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk keep you from going to work that week, then you have a disorder. A disorder disrupts your life. So, if you truly have OCD, you're not going to just get over it.
OCD, specifically, is about obsessive thoughts and the compulsive actions that are carried out based on those thoughts. The best way that I can describe it is, it's like having brain freeze. For example, like anyone else, when I get my hands dirty, I wash them. The difference is that I might get stuck in that thought that my hands are still dirty (the obsession), even if logic tells me that they are not. So I will have to continue washing my hands until they feel clean (the compulsion).
Some people might have to wash their hands a certain number of times, but it isn't the same for everyone. Like I said, not everyone is as severe as Howard Hughes. There are different levels of severity to OCD, just like with any disorder.
For me, I am functioning in my dysfunction at the present time, but I don't know what the future holds. OCD is a progressive disorder. It does get worse with time. Somehow, the process progresses so fast and yet slow enough that it seems bearable at the time. By the time it becomes unbearable, it's too late. I definitely worry that it will get to a point that I can no longer function "normally".
As far as treatment, I have tried the medication that doctors would have me take the rest of my life if they could, but as you've read in previous posts, I am not a big supporter of medication as a means to cure everything. Especially when they're not even sure of the cause.
I, personally, think that it's no different than anything else. Some people are genetically predisposed to things that are then triggered by our life experiences. I'll talk more about what may have triggered my OCD in pt.2 .
Labels: OCD
