to think that some people are just ignorant?

[MartinCrispyDuck]

I was just on the phone to a friend who described the housework she had done before her PILs arrived as 'like someone with OCD on ecstacy'.

This is something I notice more and more - people call themselves 'OCD' and call other people 'OCD' as an insult when actually it is a mental health problem which ruins people's lives.

Do they not understand that having OCD doesn't mean just ocassionally mean having a flick round with a duster, straightening a picture or washing hands which have just touched a bin? It doesn't mean liking to have a tidy house, or to keep yourself clean. It means hours of washing, cleaning of performing other, often distressing, rituals to keep horrible thoughts at bay. It means having images of dead, horrible injured friends and family pop into your head at any moment.

AIBU to think that some people are just ignorant?

thanks MCD......we both need to be kind to ourselves.

I am now snuggled in a fresh bed (thankyou heaps DH), so hoping to sleep well, and lie in too.

oh now trillian, you are just being a show off with your big words

My friend has OCD, although she insists we call it CDO so all the letters are in alphabetical order.

Does the OP mean ignorant in the sense of having no knowledge? If so, then they can't be fully held to blame.

I find lots of things offensive, but would never in 1,000,000 years expect anyone to change their behaviour over it. We've become VERY precious in this country.

Offensive, I suppose everything is to someone. I was at my cousins house and her brother has terrible epilepsy which has controlled and ruined his life.... and so I said about my son having an eppy.....wtf? I NEVER NEVER use that word, never have even before I realised that it was offensive some years back.

It doesn't offend me (I don't have OCD) but it does irritate me when people do this - it's almost like OCD is a badge of honour (oooh look how clean and tidy / fussy / permickity I am), but it's not, it's a disease.

bloody hell!! I cannot believe people have flamed the OP. I can totally understand why she is upset, this illness has obviously had a massive negative impact on her life - it really isn't funny.

I was under the impression that OCD is one of those conditions that can affect people differently, and that it is fair to term people as "a little bit OCD". I have been told that i have mild OCD - but my house looks like something that kim and aggie would flinch at. I have battled with unwanted thoughts much akin to those the OP describes and have mad superstitions that i have to stick to. But not compulsion iyswim - i dont do the counting, the checking or the washing. Personally i was a bit when my counsellor suggested this.

I actually think that we can all have ever such slight levels of OCD - so maybe someone who is driven at work, highly organised might actually have some OCD traits, but is that the correct description? I don't know, because it does take from people who are crippled by it, but i am willing to bet that those wiht real OCD have an exaggerated version of those "normal" people who are just very particular about things.

Very mean to be telling the OP to get over herself imo.

I think OCD is new and we haven't got to grips with the implications of using this term. Many terms have come before and taken time to be properly used and not abused.

I think most people were not aware of the fact that the OP had OCD. I didn't realise that initially. I think most people based their judgements on that. Having now realised that the OP has OCD, I think what her friend said to her was disgusting. It was such an unusual phrase that it was thought out. It was not unintentional and that is why it was a disgusting thing to say.

this is not making fun of mental health issues.

it is using something for comic effect. are we not allowe to do that, or is everything a holy cow these days?

YABU

What's the difference between "making fun of" and "using for comic effect"?

If you are going to be offended by the OCD remark, can I be offended by PsychoMum saying it was the 'straw that broke the camel's back?'

DH has a broken back.

YABU

claig, thats a little unfair saying it is disgusting.

that phrase really is overused in todays society, I hear it a LOT. I think tho, because I do have issues with OCD, I am sensitive to hearing the word, which is why I notice it, as would the OP, and yet to people who don;t suffer, and therefore have no idea how crippling it can be, they wouldn't.

The OP's friend, in all honesty, should be forgiven for her comment, as as the OP said a little further down, her comment would not have upset her on a normal day......yesterday however was a day when her OCD was bad.

Lets be fair tho, every single one of us, every single day, do and say things that are offensive to someone.

I think, (and I include us in this.....as my CBT therapist said), that WE all have a responsibility to counter our reactions to what we hear that offends us.

I, for instance, get upset by my aunt.......now, I cannot change my aunt, but I can work at changing how I react to her.

I say that easily.......the practice is not so easy tho....

pyschomum5, I know exactly what you mean about your aunt. I have relatives like that too. I also know many people like the OP's friend. From my experience of these people, they are usually very unhappy people, and take pleasure from sticking the knife in at unexpected moments. They intentionally want to wound people, it temporarily makes them forget their unhappiness as they enjoy the schadenfreude. I agree with you, they should be forgiven, because they have other good qualities and it is their unhappiness that makes them act like this. However, their actions are intentional and maybe you are right that disgusting is too extreme, but they are distasteful. I find that you should never confide too much in people like that, as they do not have your best interests at heart.