By Harrison Abbott
Obsessive compulsive disorder, also known as OCD, is a mental health condition that affects millions worldwide. It involves intrusive thoughts known as obsessions that lead a person to perform repetitive behaviors known as compulsions. I am one of these people.
I first showed signs of OCD when I was three years old and was officially diagnosed when I was thirteen. OCD is a lifelong condition that is unpredictable and untamed. According to the International OCD Foundation, it takes an average of 7-8 years for someone to receive a diagnosis and sufficient treatment after exhibiting OCD symptoms. For those recently diagnosed, it can seem overwhelming, especially as it can compound with symptoms. After years of suffering and struggle, knowing where to begin is difficult. It takes strong mindfulness to overcome OCD’s advances. Everyone with OCD has the power to do this, but maybe not the information.
Knowing what you're up against is vital. If you’ve recently been diagnosed or are exhibiting these symptoms, here’s some insight into what it's like to experience OCD.
OCD is like a faulty security system. It should only sense dangers that could negatively impact the body, but it doesn’t. The first sign is that OCD can’t distinguish between real and false alarms. Imagine somebody burns a steak, creating a lot of smoke but no fire; the smoke alarm goes off. The smoke alarm perceives danger and begins to alert, but the people inside the house know there isn’t a fire. Similarly, OCD will detect minor things and treat them as immediate dangers.
A big trigger for my OCD when I was first diagnosed was cleanliness. My body would detect that my hands were dirty and immediately set off “alarms” in my mind that I needed to go and wash my hands. Why? Because it was worried that if I touched something with these dirty hands, it would become permanently contaminated, making it unsafe to touch. This spiral of thoughts, known as rumination, resembles the constant high-pitched squeak of a persistent smoke alarm. The hand-washing? This was the compulsion that I needed to perform to shut off the smoke alarm. Most people who don’t have OCD wouldn’t see dirt on their hands as a life-or-death situation, but to my OCD, it was. OCD can’t tell the difference between a real and a false alarm. For someone with OCD, anything can raise that alarm.
Unfortunately, the smoke alarm isn’t the only faulty part. The motion sensor is also not working right. A faulty motion sensor detects any movement and signals it as immediate danger. Even if it's just a car driving by, the motion sensor will raise the alarm to the rest of the security system. Similarly, OCD picks up any kind of “movement” and alerts the body to avoid it completely. A good example of my OCD is when somebody coughs. Even if this person isn’t sick and coughs straight into their elbow, my OCD tells me, “You need to get away from this person or you’ll get very sick.” Would I get sick if this person coughed directly into my mouth?
Probably yes. Would the building with the faulty motion sensor be damaged if that car were to drive straight into it? Probably yes. This illustrates that OCD perceives any “movement” it detects as harmful and will try to get the body to avoid it at all costs. It’s important to combat this by leaning into the things that OCD tries to make you avoid. If it's telling me to stay away from that person, I’ll walk over there and give them a big high-five. Avoidance is the compulsion here, and leaning in is the only way to prevent these intrusive thoughts.
This can be tough when the security system is low on battery. Whenever a smoke alarm is low on battery, it makes a loud chirp noise to get your attention for a battery change. The same goes for OCD. The more tired someone with OCD is, the harder it becomes to recognize that the intrusive thoughts aren’t relevant. Without a charged “battery” to be mindful, OCD recognizes your vulnerability and, like a smoke alarm, keeps “chirping” to get your attention.
This is just the way the security system was installed. The smoke alarm is too close to the stove, the motion sensor is too close to the road, and the batteries are always running low. That’s how people with OCD are. They can’t help it, but they can have power over it. It took hundreds of hours of therapy for me to learn the difference between normal and intrusive thoughts. The most important thing this therapy taught me was the power of insight. Being able to analyze the security system’s alarms and assess its validity is challenging. My treatment required me to continuously practice assessing the alarms my OCD was raising while also working to not give the false alarms any further thought, no matter how piercing the chirping was. This process is called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, and I can attest that it was one of the most arduous things I have ever done in my young life. I can also attest that it works. The hard work is worth it.
The skills ERP taught me are immensely important in daily life with OCD. I am so thankful for the people who helped me along this journey and hope that some of this information can help you or someone you know that might be experiencing this condition. And with this, I hope you too can realize that the security system is faulty. When it chirps at you, don’t give it any thought. It's just a false alarm. Being mindful of how OCD works is an important first step in confronting this condition. If you’re experiencing symptoms of OCD, know there is help out there, and if you’re already receiving treatment, know you’re not alone in your journey.
About the Author:
My name is Harry Abbott and I am a junior at Waukee High School in Waukee, Iowa. In school I participate in Cross Country, Choir, and Tennis, and in my free time love to hang out with friends and family, ski, and cheer on my favorite sports teams (Go Cyclones and Cubs)!
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