OCD Awareness Week

The scale of OCD misinformation

OCD is frequently misrepresented in the media and is often referred to using inaccurate stereotypes. Pop culture, internet trends and everyday conversations regularly reduce the disorder to clean desks, colour-coded notes or hand-washing. One study found that nearly 50% of people don’t believe there is a big difference between someone who has OCD and someone who is highly organised or has obsessive habits [Community Mental Health Journal].

Another study found that only 1 in 5 TikTok videos where someone is talking about the disorder are actually accurate and almost 30% were actively misleading [Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking]. Not just that, but videos involving stereotypical behaviours received more engagement in the form of views, likes and shares than ones showing authentic and accurate representations of OCD.

What is OCD?

The most effective way to tackle misinformation is by improving awareness and education about what the disorder is and what it’s not. The section below will cover the main symptoms of OCD.

The two primary symptoms of OCD are intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive actions (compulsions).

Obsessions
These are intrusive and unwelcome thoughts that continuously occupy your mind. They are challenging to ignore and can be disturbing.
Common obsessions include:

• Contamination fears: Worries about harming someone or making them ill due to contamination or lack of caution. Routine activities like shaking hands or visiting someone’s house can trigger intense fear or phobias. This is where the stereotype around cleanliness and germ avoidance stems from.
• Intrusive thoughts: Consistent, distressing thoughts that may be violent, sexual or guilt-inducing. They can cause unwanted mental images or urges, causing atypical impulses, anxiety or even depression.
• Constant doubt and the fear of harm: A persistent sense that something is wrong, accompanied by the fear that a negative event is imminent.
• Excessive responsibility: An overwhelming fear of causing a serious incident due to a past action or inaction, leading to a constant sense of responsibility.
• Perfectionism: The belief that even minor mistakes or omissions, such as honest errors or forgetfulness, are unacceptable.

Compulsions
These are repetitive actions or behaviours that ease the anxiety triggered by obsessions. These actions are repeated until a sense of relief is achieved. Compulsions can be physical or mental.

Common compulsions include:

• Checking: Frequent checking of things to ensure they are secure, such as lights and appliances being turned off or doors being locked.
• Repeating: Engaging in repetitive movements or routines, like going in and out of doors or tapping, touching or blinking repeatedly.
• Counting: Repeatedly counting in a specific way to go through a sequence or reach a ‘safe number’.
• Excessive washing: Frequent handwashing due to contamination fears, often accompanied by elaborate cleaning rituals, which can have physical, emotional and financial consequences.
• Hoarding: The compulsive need to hold onto specific items because of personal significance or belief, even when it causes clutter and discomfort in the living space. Hoarding behaviours are recognised as a separate mental health condition called hoarding disorder, but it can also co-occur with OCD.