To think that the term phobia is over used?

[DesolateWaist]

People seem to use the word phobia to mean anything that makes them feel slightly uncomfortable.
AIBU to find it disrespectful to people who have a genuine phobia?

It's like when people say they are a 'bit OCD' because they like things neat. Or say they are depressed when they mean a bit sad.

There should be a new word meaning 'this makes me feel uncomfortable but not so much that I'm on the verge of a panic attack'.

That's definitely more extreme than my reaction to them, I just get twitchy and feel weird!

I think that as some people just the word phobia to explain how they feel it diminishes the meaning for people who really do have the extreme reactions.

My DH had issues with symmetry, hates anythin wonky, but I wouldn't use the OCD term because I knew someone with it and saw the struggle they had just getting through a day.

"I frequently describe myself as a bit OCD. It's the simplest way available to me of explaining the difficulties I have to someone in a way they can understand."

OCD ruined many years of my life. My son has OCD so badly that it is currently ruining his. The fear, the thoughts, they have negatively affected his quality of life. Please stop using a 'bit OCD'. It makes it harder for people like me and my son to be taken seriously. If we mention we have OCD so many people assume we wash our hands a lot and that's it. The thoughts my son have are nasty and very traumatising for him, sometimes he would rather be dead than live with this. We hope treatment will help him soon. People need to stop trivialising what is a very serious disorder.

Why do you assume that I'm trivialising a very serious disorder? I'm explaining my difficulties in terms that people sort of understand. My difficulties are not less serious or less debilitating. They just have a different root cause.

Because saying you are 'a bit OCD' is trivialising.

No one can be a bit obsessive compulsive disorder

You can be an obsessive person, a compulsive person or even both, but unless it affects your daily life and you match the criteria then it's not a disorder.

So if people think someone can be a 'bit OCD' they don't have much understanding of the illness. It's like saying you are a bit schizophrenic, you either are or you aren't.

I don't know what difficulties you have or how bad they are and I'm sure they are just as serious and debilitating, but it's still not a bit OCD.

This explains it well.

'People often confuse OCD for pernickety personal quirks of choice or preference but Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is far more serious than people realise. The key is in the name and the word Disorder which is defined ‘a psychological pattern associated with distress or disability’.

An interesting read

www.ocduk.org/are-you-little-bit-ocd

Sorry, I was meant to delete the whole quote but accidentally left part of it up.

Ignore the sentence after: This explains it well.

I do agree about the OCD thing and I know I shouldn't say it. It would probably be better to say I was prone to OC behaviour as I do know what OCD is and what it entails so I should know better.

Oops yes I do see the irony in "I'd go mental" if used as slang to describe being annoyed... But I would literally go "mental" to some extent because I have some serious mental health issues.

I think if I had said "I'd go schizophrenic" (which I would never say) it would have been ironic. As "mental" isn't an actual disorder. "I would lose control" is maybe what I should have said though you're right

I'm not sure I agree that you can't be "a bit" OCD.

DS has generalised anxiety, multiple phobia and a mild degree of OCD. When he's more anxious his OCD traits gets a lot worse and he handwashes until his skin cracks and says things repetitively. When his anxiety is lower his OCD traits are barely noticeable.

I don't really mind people using "phobia" to dscribe their fear of something, I do mind when school assume "DS has a phobia of vomit" means he doesn't like it - when he would try to get out of a moving car if there is even a suggestion that someone feels sick.

I don't tend to bother how other people use language unless they are professional who are supposed to be helping him.

Fair point Becky I suppose I don't distinguish between mild and "a bit" I guess the annoying part is people not understanding it as a real health condition rather than being very tidy.

It does annoy me when I say to people "DS has a phobia of..." they say "Oh but most kids don;t like..."

Ho hum - they'll spot the differnce if it happens in front of them!

I do worry that DS's OCD might get worse as he gets older so we're really trying to help him with his anxiety now - CAMHS not terribly helpful though.

I do wonder if more money in CAMHS might reduce mental health problems in the long run.

Yes they do, I am told im a Germaphobe because I hoover everyday and wipe my kitchen down all the time but it is because i have to hairy cats who like to jump on the kitchen side when im not looking, if I did not have cats I probably wouldnt clean so much.

'I'm allergic to ...... ' is also greatly overused. I have many patients telling me they're allergic to something and when questioned further it turns out they're nothing of the sort. Just because you don't like something or a medication may make you feel a bit sick doesn't mean you're allergic to it.

maisie I was going to mention that earlier! It makes it hard for people who are genuinely allergic.

Yeah i'm allergic to mustard and thanks to people claiming to be allergic to it when they simply don't like it, people just pretend they haven't slipped a bit in the meal thinking "she won't taste it"