To scream at the next person..

[user1471559761]

Who says "oh I'm a bit OCD".
Keep hearing it and seeing it all over the place. I have horrendous OCD and spend hours every day checking things over and over and over until anxiety washes over me and I start shaking and sometimes crying with frustration and guilt. Every day.
OCD is not putting always putting your socks on before your jeans or always washing your hands after touching something dirty. It's something most people wouldn't even understand unless they lived with it every day. It destroys relationships and totally takes over the sufferers life. Rant over but I just hate hearing something that upsets me so much being trivialised as some kind of cool quirky illness!

I think people find it disrespectful because most instances refer to some kind of cleaning,when there are so many more aspects to OCD. liking things to be neat and tidy does not make you OCD,not even a little bit

I do think you are being unreasonable. It's a continuum as such not everyone will experience it the same way. Though I agree it shouldn't be referred to in an off-the-cuff manner you should also know that you don't write the rules.

YANBU at all, I can only imagine how annoying and insensitive you must find people saying stuff like that.

However, I think when most people say 'my paperclips have to be organised by size, I'm OCD about it ', they don't actually mean to say that they have OCD, they are using it as hyperbole. They are deliberately exaggerating for humour.

Which I guess you could argue is just as much in poor taste, but it's not the same as believing you have a condition.

Also people can say 'I feel depressed ', without meaning clinical depression.

Must admit I say it, but I do suffer from anxiety, I do have intrusive thoughts and I have had a range of rituals over the years to control this. Never bad enough to see anyone about, although I am being treated for anxiety now.

I'm with you, yanbu. It winds me up no end as someone who suffers from OCD. I was debating the other day whether to highlight to a group near me that its offensive, they had a picture with 'are you a bit ocd about running?', still not sure if I should have said something.

Aside from the fact that its trivialising an illness that causes immense suffering, it doesn't even make grammatical sense? 'I'm a little bit Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.'

Bonnie i'd assume those people just focus on the obsessive bit,and OCD is wrongly seen as the short version of that.

It's interesting - as a child I used to have what I think are OCD tendencies (lights on/off, making funny noises or gestures a certain number of times) but they were never diagnosed as such. I mostly grew out of them - is that possible with OCD?

However there are a few things that still make me very panicky and that other people don't really understand. One of them is to do with cleanliness (particularly when eating), and it is generally easy to hide, but if I am "caught out" I tend to explain it by saying that I have slight OCD. It is just the least embarrassing explanation because I don't quite know how to explain it otherwise!

Is that annoying? I have never been officially diagnosed and it doesn't affect my day to day life, but it is something that I can't deal with very well when other people generally can.

However, I think when most people say 'my paperclips have to be organised by size, I'm OCD about it ', they don't actually mean to say that they have OCD, they are using it as hyperbole. They are deliberately exaggerating for humour.

But if they don't feel happy or comfortable with them being not in size order, does that mean they don't have a mild ocd?

Yes it's wrong to make a joke out of mh issues, but I think there is a grain of truth in there

I hate how anyone doing anything properly is described as ocd. No, just thorough and competant thanks.

How would one describe someone who has a little bit of OCD?

I get anxious if I don't know where things are, sometimes phoning my husband to ask where it is at odd times even though I don't need it that day. I stress if something is not where I left it. I check the door several times even though I know I've locked it, sometimes having to drive back. I can't talk to people while I am checking things otherwise I have to start again. I feel agitated if I spot a bit of dirt and can't deal with it immediately - i.e. if I get interrupted.

I describe myself as a little bit OCD.

andintothefire ThatsMyStapler gandalf456

I can only speak from my own experience of course. I believe I have had it a lot longer than I have been diagnosed for, I was diagnosed about five years ago now. As a child I had issues, particularly with contamination so for example shoes were dirty, therefore floors were dirty and consequently anything that had touched the floor was dirty. The effects of this meant I was unable to put on my own shoes for example, the anxiety and stress it caused me where massive. I dealt with it with an excess of hand washing, until they would bleed actually.

As I got older my fears were to do with my own actions, so I was scared I might flash in public for example, or have a thought about someone dying and I had compulsions to deal with that (touching wood, washing hands, a compulsive shake of my head). It was really distressing, I would stay awake all night to avoid sleepsleep walking and causing harm, I didn't leave the house to avoid triggers, I wasn't eating food that didn't come in a packet etc. I was a horrific time.

And that's only my experience of an illness, one I have fairly mildly. As in, five years since diagnosis I am able to, mostly, control it. Their are still things that bother me, but I think most people wouldn't notice. Lots of people experience it differently, some people don't have compulsions or at least not physical ones. It can centre not around cleanliness or the ordering of items, but around causing harm to people etc. OCD-UK list them as: checking, contamination/mental- contamination, hoarding and ruminations/intrusive thoughts. Part of the reason I feel that using 'a little bit OCD' is harmful is that it reinforces the idea people have of what OCD is, which often doesn't take into consideration the full spectrum of it, and its very difficult to come out and tell a medical professional about!

I wouldn't describe myself as being 'a little bit OCD' though, I have OCD.

andintothefire as I said I have mine more under control these days, so I would say it is possible yes. Plus, my theory is that the focus will change as you get older too, so you might have had fears and compulsions around, I don't know, clowns? as a child but as you get older this actually manifests as fears around driving. I don't know if that makes sense? That's just my thoughts on it. OCD is an anxiety disorder, the way it is differentiated from anxiety is just how much time is spent and the impact on day to day life, which isn't an exact science. I would probably juist explain that X makes you feel quite anxious, and you would rather do it yourself/do Y. If you really couldnt deal that is, actually I would advocate working through those anxieties :).

ThatsMyStapler as I said before, it would depend on the time and why. If there was a reason behind why they wanted their paperclips that way, is they had a sense of impending doom, something bad would happen, etc and it caused them a significant amount of distress and anxiety I would suggest they see a gp tbh. However if it just annoyed/frustrated them then its probably just a personality thing, some people just like to have things a certain way, that's just who they are! Its when these things start to take over that it becomes an issue. As I said above if it is causing distress then they need to speak to someone to work out why. I'm not sure the 'deliberately exaggerating for humour' stands either, what's humorous about it? I often wonder this when people say 'my spouse/parent/sibling is so ocd about x' and laugh, if you think something is causing a loved one distress why would that be funny?

gandalf456 well, I wouldn't! For me its fairly clear cut, well, as something like this can ever be. Basically as I have already said above.

I'm not diagnosing on the internet or belittling peoples experiences of dealing with it, but for me it is something that winds me up when I hear it 9/10 I suspect the person saying it has zero experience or understanding. If someone is suffering from anxiety or OCD or suspects they might be then they need to access help, and misconceptions can prevent that happening. Even amongst the medical professions, I'm due my first baby very shortly, and trying to work with my consultants and midwife regarding my mh has been an uphill battle.

Anyway, that's long, sorry. I'm also not sure it makes sense, sleep has been lacking recently, what with a giant baby in my belly and all. I just wanted to add this www.ocduk.org/types-ocd if that's OK? There's some good info on there, its not exhaustive but there's quite a lot of detail. Always see your Dr if you have concerns though.

RebelRogue
I guess so, but that would indicate a huge misunderstanding on their part, and I guess if they don't understand it then maybe they shouldnt use the term!

(BonniePippin I was quoting littlejeopardy in my first paragraph, apologies for not being clearer)

I do appreciate how frustrating that must be for you, you suffer severely and somebody tries to make out that they suffer just as much because they do something trivial.

However, those 3 things mentioned ARE a spectrum: ASD actually stands for autistic spectrum disorder, ocd and depression can all be experienced on a scale from very mild to life limitingly debilitating.

Maybe it's something to do with OCD being much more familiar to people than it was a few years ago, thanks to programmes like 'Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners', so terms like 'i'm a bit OCD' are now used by people who might have once just said 'I've got a real thing about my paperclips being in colour order' or just 'i'm completely obsessed about checking my back door is locked.'

I get that there's a spectrum, but I do understand the OPs irritation - when you're completely floored by an illness hearing people minimise it in a 'oh what am I like, hahaha' way irks. 'I had a right panic attack' used to describe someone getting their knickers mildly in a twist gets me (as someone so crippled them and agoraphobia I didn't leave the house for a year). Er, no you didn't

For something to be classified as a "disorder" it has to fulfill two criteria : it has to be distressing to the sufferer and has to have an impact on their day to day functioning.

If you line things up on your desk a certain way or categorise your shoes but you don't feel distressed by this and it doesn't prevent you from doing things or impact on your job, your ability to function or your relationships then you do not have a disorder. You just prefer things a certain way.

Lots of people turn to habits and rituals as a way of soothing themselves when they are anxious or stressed. It doesn't indicate a disorder unless those two criteria (significant distress and significant impact on functioning) are met. So when people justify their use of phrases like "I'm a little bit OCD" by claiming that they do have OCD but its just very, very mild and doesn't interfere with their daily life in any way or require any kind of intervention that doesn't actually make sense because if that's the case it cannot be OCD. Some people are more inclined to habits, rituals and obsessional thinking than others simply as part of their personality but it doesn't mean they have a mental disorder.

My daughter shows signs of it but I haven't been to dr and just try and cope. She is about to turn 13. As a toddler she would go into a meltdown if her toys weren't lined up in a certain way. She would change her clothes immediately if she spilt something on them and had a really strange habit of folding paper round things and wrapping her toys in blankets. She still has to wrap her teddy in her blanky at night.

If she has just had a bath or shower she refuses to touch paper.

She has always been an anxious child that worries about everything. When she is particularly anxious she asks checking questions constantly and will repeat the same questions - she doesn't cope with routine changes at all.

And she cleans - a lot. She must be the only teen I know whose bedroom looks like it is ready for a magazine shoot! It is immaculate! She will decide at really awkward moments she needs to clean it though and goes into complete meltdown if I say no.

I keep the rest of house really clean as it causes her less anxiety but I can clean a room after lunch and by dinner time the cat might have got some fur on the carpet and she will want it cleaned again. And the fuss she makes if things don't smell right.

My mum thinks she needs to see a dr to get help, her dad thinks there is nothing wrong with her and the behaviour is somehow my fault. I just leave her too it and try and avoid putting her in stressful situations. My friends enjoy having her round to their houses as she manages to get their children to clean their bedrooms up.

Ywnbu but don't take it personally as it is just something people say without thinking

I think the trouble with people saying they're 'a bit OCD' isn't that it's disrespectful, it's that it perpetuates the idea that people with OCD are just perfectionists who like things to be tidy. When actually often they couldn't care less except that they have a compulsion to repeat certain actions, and will be anxious and potentially believe bad things will happen if they don't.

Well, my mother has it (diagnosed and medicated) but about about cleaning (her house is filthy) more checking and rumination so I recognise son of the symptoms in myself and my daughter (she is obsessed with dirt and germs and has bad hands as a result).

Both my daughter and I get it with increased anxiety. With me symptoms subside when relaxed. I have had treatment for generalised anxiety so, with my upbringing and personal experience, i know a little bit. My Dh has the checking thing -i.e checking the iron is unplugged and needing reassurance even when the plug is dangling there.

Ocd, if very mild, doesn't take everyone to their gp. Others have it worse but it takes a third party to get then to the doctors.

I think it's very important not to tell people they don't have a health condition because you may have it worse (and yours sound severe). Someone did that with my ds saying hw didn't have asthma because his symptoms weren't typical but sure enough my instincts were correct as many people's would be re their mental health, i should imagine

Yes YABU.

My DH is 'a bit OCD' in that he has has therapy for it in the past because it gets in the way of living life in a 'normal' way bit he's not on ADs not currently in therapy and functioning normally to anyone outside the house. His workmates rip it out of him how fastidious he is with his tidy desk but he tries to appear 'normal' and has to let things go.

He checks, checks and checks again so leaving the house or going to bed is a ritual I can do without when trying to get us all out of the house for the day. So actually there are degrees of OCD. It's not just about cleanliness - it's not for him - but it's about doing something for the sake of doing it to put his mind at rest even though a 'normal' thinker wouldn't even have been troubled by it.

YANBU.
There's a big difference between being obsessively neat and tidy and house proud (like me), and having a genuine illness.
One of my old work colleagues (I'll call him John) has diagnosed OCD and a very late in life aspergers diagnosis. He actually measures the distance between objects on his desk with a tape measure and notes them down to ensure nothing is ever moved from where he put them. A few years ago, John went on annual leave and some nobhead in the office thought it would be hilarious to go in John's office while he was gone and move everything John returned to work after his holiday, obviously saw what had been done to his desk and went into complete melt down another colleague found him sitting on the floor behind the door of the staff room absolutely distraught. Two of us went to John's desk, found his notebook and put everything back according to the measurements he had last written down. I didn't realise until then just how much of an impact OCD can have on a person's life!