Have you ever heard someone say this and get a sudden surge of anger in the pit of your stomach? Your inner dialogue saying, OCD, you have no clue! You are one of those 3 quarter of a million people in the UK that suffer in silence. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is severe anxiety disorder. It is a mental illness, that can have a debilitating affect on your life. The constant intrusive thoughts (obsessions) the thoughts that just won't go away. Maybe the constant thinking that a family member may die, or you may worry about hurting a loved one (even though you know this will never happen). These come to you in images, fears, impulses, or all of them. You know these thoughts are irrational, but you can't stop them intruding your mind. These constant thoughts can only be relieved through the rituals you carry out. These rituals are the Compulsions. Common compulsions include: hand-washing to help prevent contamination, checking doors, alarms, switches - to prevent danger from fire or break-ins, mental rituals, such as counting, making sure objects are in lines. These are all compulsions that can impact so severely on a person's life, they may not even be able to leave their home. OCD can impact work, family, friends. You may not be able to go out to a restaurant through fear of contamination from the kitchen, so you always make excuses to your friends for not going. Or maybe you fear using a public toilet, as you know you will have to go straight home and spend hours in the shower, cleaning until each germ is off your body.
So please don't think you have OCD because you like to hoover everyday, or you like things to be neat and tidy, or you feel you have to listen to a certain song each day before you start work. OCD is a Disorder. A disorder is a physical or mental condition that impacts on your everyday life. If you have OCD please don't suffer in silence, talk to someone.
