OCD Is Not a Joke

by sharkweek • 5 years ago

75 43 5 years ago

3np• 5 years ago

OCD is also a spectrum.

MegaThorx• 5 years ago

Nice another website where you can't reject the tracking cookies. If you follow the link to "customize cookie settings" it only tells you to disable the cookies completely.

dave_sullivan3• 5 years ago

I think in the future we will realize that OCD is actually autism and autism spectrum disorders are disorders with dopamine regulation. I think this because I used to be on the spectrum until I regulated my dopamine levels and now I'm much lower on the spectrum. Anecdotal of course, but the link should be studied more.

nvrspyx• 5 years ago

That's a bit reductive as many mental health disorders rarely exist in isolation and are often "symptoms" of other issues. OCD, for example, may certainly have a high correlation with autism, but its manifestation has also been observed in victims of trauma and those with severe, untreated generalized anxiety disorder.

klipt2• 5 years ago

its manifestation has also been observed in victims of trauma and those with severe, untreated generalized anxiety disorder

Makes sense, OCD rituals are a way to take control for people who feel the world is uncontrollable and scary and might hurt them.

There might be some genetic predisposition but I imagine environment/society is a huge factor. Make people feel safe and loved and they'll realize it doesn't really matter if their faucets drip a little or their books are skew. Conversely, if you live in a crime ridden area, it totally makes sense to worry about whether your door is locked.

adrianN• 5 years ago

I'd bet that almost all psychological disorders we diagnose today will turn out to have a large variety of underlying conditions that manifest in similar symptoms. We understand extremely little of the brain, we're at best in the "your humors are out of balance" phase of medical science when it comes to diagnosing problems in the brain.

civildude• 5 years ago

+autism = +dopamine in opfcortex or what

wk_end• 5 years ago

How did you regulate your dopamine levels? Stimulants?

dave_sullivan3• 5 years ago

Buproprion

skissane4• 5 years ago

Here's a paper which argues that the distinction between ASD, ADHD and OCD is biologically invalid: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-019-0631-2

So if that paper is correct (and of course it is only one study, and we should have more studies to explore this question further), that suggests that maybe the distinction between ASD, ADHD and OCD ought to be abolished, and they all ought to be subsumed into one bigger disorder, that then might even be subdivided into a new set of subtypes (based on actual biology) which would have little in common with the existing ASD-ADHD-OCD distinction.

wizzwizz4• 5 years ago

There's a pre-alpha Minecraft mod I read about that divided them into “spoons” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory), “brain worms” (e.g. depression, obsessive thoughts) and a generalised version of “special interests” (which models both the traditionally-ASD and traditionally-ADHD variants). It takes a very game-mechanical-as-applicable-to-Minecraft view of them, but I thought it was a decent framework. I'll see if I can find a link.

tsoukase• 5 years ago

No mental disorder is a joke and the more joke it seems to a layman the more gravitating it is

helmholtz• 5 years ago

"I have to sort my books", she cried,

With self-indulgent glee.

With senseless, narcissistic pride,

"I'm just so OCD!"

"How random guys!", I smiled and said,

Then left without a peep -

And washed my hands until they bled,

And cried myself to sleep.

- /u/poem_for_your_sprog

ETA: No way to add a single newline on HN it seems. This website can be so daft sometimes.

Smithalicious• 5 years ago

The irony here is criticizing turning OCD into a joke, while turning narcissism into a joke in the same poem (unless that's intentional?)

But nobody is going to come to the defense of narcissists because that's one of the mental disorders that makes you a "bad person".

kwhitefoot• 5 years ago

If one looks only at the effects that OCD has on other members of the family one might also consider a sufferer of OCD also a bad person. It's a pity that there seem not to be enough resources to treat each person as a person and help them manage their lives regardless of the label that us laypersons might apply.

Grustaf2• 5 years ago

... and the commenter calling the website "daft".

mav3rick2• 5 years ago

I am constantly worried about scratching even the minutest of my possessions. No matter how old they are. Obsessed with furniture being exactly at the right angle and position. I don't know if this is just attention to detail that has spilled over from my job or some form of OCD

klipt2• 5 years ago

I believe psychologists only consider it a disorder if it interferes with you living a happy life.

Everyone has some of these traits, it's only the extreme versions that become a problem.

sharkweek• 5 years ago

Correct - for OCD it’s diagnosed when it affects about an hour a day of someone’s life.

My therapist used to host a support group for OCD and always mention at the start that most OCD sufferers would do anything for the disorder to only affect an hour of their day.

brewdad• 5 years ago

Shortly after I took possession of my new car a few years ago I noticed that there was a blemish near the shifter. It looks like the prep person used an abrasive cleaner a bit too aggressively. Very minor though.

At first it bugged me and I was ready to go screaming back to the dealership but after a few minutes I realized that the next scratch or blemish wouldn't bother me. Considering I share the car with my teen, it removed an emotional burden.

Fingers crossed Almost 3 years later, it's still the only "damage" to the car.

Buttons840• 5 years ago

I internally say to myself, the first time a new possession is scratched or damaged in some small way, "congratulations, now you are free from the burden of trying to keep this thing perfect". It half helps.

mav3rick2• 5 years ago

I wish there was a forum to chat about this with other people. I feel like few with empathize with these feelings most would just laugh at me. Many do.

aidenn0• 5 years ago

Note there is OCPD[1], which is much closer to the pop-culture view of OCD.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive%E2%80%93compulsive_p...

leksak• 5 years ago

So many things here that reminds me of my obsessions and compulsions with food.

01100011• 5 years ago

I've always assumed I had OCD but never sought help so I've never been officially diagnosed. I'm officially 'agitated depressed' which as I understand it is the old name for type II bipolar.

Since I was a kid I had problems with lines when walking. My right foot always had to cross over first, and completely(i.e. not step on the line). I remember in my teenage years starting a counting ritual where I had to turn on an off a lightswitch a certain number of times, usually 3 but not always(always odd though) when I entered or exited a room. I had a praying phase, despite being sort of an atheist, where I had to pray 3 times a day for an extended time just to quiet the thoughts of imminent doom. Lots of other rituals but I've mostly forgotten them by now. I remember having issues with 'doorways' like if there was a support cable from a telephone pole over a sidewalk I would do everything I could to avoid it.

Fast forward to my mid 20s and I became a rather heavy pot smoker. That allowed me to confront my fears since I was basically too lazy to endure all the rituals. I had some relief but over a few years the rituals slowly came back in minor forms. For a while I could only turn one way in bed. I still have to have every knife in the house pointing away from the bedrooms. I don't have checking rituals, I just handle it when I see it. Most of my compulsions have some sort of abstract rule behind them, like spoons facing away from most of the house(because they're taking away), my wallet sits with the money coming towards me on my desk, etc. It sounds absolutely insane and stupid when I verbalize it, but it's a constant fight to keep my brain from making up these sorts of arbitrary rules.

I don't know if 'neat freak' type OCD folks feel the sense of extreme doom that I get when I resist a compulsion. I haven't discussed my experiences much with other people. Apparently OCD 'runs in my family' but I don't think that's backed up by a diagnosis. I know my family and I have essential tremor, tics and depression. My uncle thought we all had Tourettes but he was an odd ball(very likely autistic) and didn't get taken seriously.

I feel like overcoming some of my OCD was a mixed bag. Some of that obsessive, abstract, rules based thinking made me a better engineer. It was also something I could occasionally harness for good, like getting compulsive about brushing my teeth or cleaning.

hpen• 5 years ago

I suffer from many mental health conditions including OCD, and I'll tell you it is no fucking joke. It has caused severe problems in my life. Only now that I'm getting treatment have things ever went well in my life.

princevegeta89• 5 years ago

I hate it when someone uses this term in light or funny contexts. As a teen I first got completely destroyed by this problem. I never knew why I was getting so many extremely intrusive thoughts. It hurt my self-respect and dignity. It turned myself against me. I never knew it was a condition. My academic performance declined, and I developed some habits I never even thought of. I was able to come out of it through focusing on other things like video games and hanging out with friends but it wouldn't go away completely. I felt it was okay though since my stress levels stabilized at that point.

Again in mid twenties, it got me. This time I researched it and found it is called OCD which is a medical condition, yet I did nothing about it nor I spoke up. It devastated me again and I suffered for years. Every single day was full of stress and I remember being sleepless for a few months in a stretch. I started reading books on how to take care of it and recovery was still far away. I became suicidal for a bit but I felt it was a wrong idea because I would let it win over me if I did it.

Finally, I've come to agree that it is okay to have it and not really take it seriously. I found out the point is to have the mind focus on useful things and keep it busy continuously. I've been doing this since last year and life has improved a lot. Today, 99% of my day is free from any OCD compulsions, obsessions and the stress. Yes I do get intrusive thoughts but I discard them and treat them with no more importance than a pile of crap.

If there's any of you out there looking for any help, I am happy to provide some resources that go a long way. Technically I should have seen some professional for this, but I was way too embarrassed to share my situation with anyone else. I urge you all to never make this mistake though.

coldtea2• 5 years ago

Thing don't have the be jokes to be funny - or to be made into jokes.

We have jokes about death, murder, WWII, the big C, and tons of other things besides.

Heck, if a joke doesn't touch some deeper/dark truth, mortality, fragility, etc, it's not much of a joke, it's more into "man slips on a banana" territory.

vbsteven3• 5 years ago

I agree we should be able to make jokes about deeper life issues, humor is a coping mechanism for many. But it's more nuanced than that.

Like in the article when a woman jokes "I'm so OCD" when arranging pens by color whilst in the presence of someone whose life is basically directed by the condition (and thus causes a lot of suffering), it can be very offensive, and the comment could be taken as demeaning.

I had similar feelings when r/WSB used the term autism as a joke to describe themselves. They were focusing on one or two stereotypical traits of the condition to make jokes about while ignoring all the other traits/struggles/behaviors that people with the actual condition struggle with every day of their lives.

These supposedly lighthearted jokes can attack a persons sense of self-worth, leading to (even more) depression, anxiety, suicide

coldtea2• 5 years ago

As someone with the autism struggles, I get where you're coming from.

I think the world is the world though, and it's best for people with the issue to be more thick-skinned than to expect (or regulate) others to change such behavior.

By overprotecting ourselves and expecting others to be kind all the time, we create a self-fulfilling prophesy of more depression, anxiety etc when the world doesn't give us that.

And by regulating this (or legislating this), we create an even more toxic environment where everyone is faux-polite, and anxious of saying the wrong thing or making the wrong joke.

pid_0• 5 years ago

People who say “I’m so ocd” aren’t making a joke though. They think that is what ocd actually is, quirky and cute.

WSB is using the term autist ironically and it’s completely self aware.

wave_function• 5 years ago

For what it's worth, banana peels were a serious matter too

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/can-you-slip-banana-pe...

skissane4• 5 years ago

I don't know if many people here would have ever heard about the concept of Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP). People who have BAP have significantly more autistic traits than the average person, but not quite enough to merit a diagnosis of ASD. BAP is the subclinical manifestation of ASD. It is common in close blood relatives of people diagnosed with ASD (such as parents and siblings.) It also occurs at a quite elevated rate in STEM professions. Probably a lot of people here have it. It is worth pointing out that it is not a disorder, it is a phenotype. The fundamental difference between BAP and ASD, is that in ASD the autistic traits impair functioning to the point that they become the legitimate focus of clinical attention, in BAP they don't reach the point of being impairing (or else, the impairments are so mild they are not worthy of clinical attention.) The boundary of whether ones functioning is so impaired as to be worthy of clinical attention is inherently a bit of a subjective judgement call, and is going to vary from clinician to clinician; BAP and ASD are on a continuum with each other, and there is no precise boundary between the two.

But actually other disorders have subclinical manifestations, not just ASD. Some researchers study subclinical ADHD, which has a similar relationship to ADHD as BAP has to ASD. Other study subclinical schizophrenia. And there is also study of subclinical OCD. (One big difference is that subclinical ASD has a distinctive name, whereas I don't think the subclinical manifestation of any other disorder has been given a distinctive name.)

Many people see ASD traits in themselves, even to the point of engaging in self-diagnosis, even if they don't actually meet the criteria for formal diagnosis. Yet, most of these people probably actually do have BAP, they just don't understand the BAP-vs-ASD distinction. Well, you could make the exact same point about OCD – many of the people who claim (even if somewhat light-heartedly) that they have OCD, but don't actually do so, may well actually have some degree of subclinical OCD, but they don't understand the subclinical vs clinical distinction.

rvieira• 5 years ago

This is realy a great point.

I don't know if I have OCD (I never considered my behaviour debilitating anyway) but I do have these ridiculous rituals before going to bed that take a considerable amount of time (checking if the oven is turned off, checking for open doors, windows, electrical plugs, etc). When travelling, I take pictures of plugs, appliances, taps, etc so that during the flight I can check them, if unsure.

And although I never said out loud "I have OCD" or gave it too much thought, I noticed that many people I know will gratuitously say "I have OCD" when what they mean is "I'm a perfectionist" or "I like paying attention to details".

EEor• 5 years ago

From one OCD sufferer to another, you have it.

anilgulecha• 5 years ago

A meta note on language: Everyone has a pet language peeve(s) and would like everyone else to adhere to it. But when people need to express an emotion and can't grasp a ready word, they make do with a similar one. Some of these make-dos end up infuriating a small subsection.

My pet-peeve is disclosure vs disclaimer (why would you want to discredit what you're saying when all you want to do is call out potential bias!).

All of this to say I can empathize with the article author's stand, but I don't recall the last time a word went into disuse because someone complained.

OCD Is Not a Joke

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