Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Awareness

:warning: Potential Triggers :warning:

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Hello! This is my first post here, and i wanted it to be for the Awareness Week Challenge that is currently going on.

#Awarechall

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What was the topic?

I've chosen Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) for the topic.

Why did you choose this topic?

I have OCD (Real Event OCD to be specific), and i thought it would be a good time and idea to talk and spread awareness about it.

Why does this topic need awareness?

There has and still is a lot of misinformation going around about it, and i wanted to clear some stuff up, as it's a serious disorder that shouldn't be brushed off as a simple problem.

If you're ionate about this, why?

I feel like more people need to know what OCD truly is, as it not only helps the affected people but also helps people without it to understand the disorder better.

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder, that causes reoccurring, unwanted thoughts ("Intrusive thoughts"), causing the affected person do something repeatedly, or causing them to be in great distress, as they can't get the thoughts out of their mind.

People dealing with intrusive thoughts often worry that they might not be a good person, based on the negative thoughts that pop into their head (violent thoughts; sexual thoughts; worrying thoughts). Intrusive thoughts can be triggered through visual or audible stimulation, that can additionally dig up past memories (which is the main cause of stress in people suffering with Real Event OCD, as they have extreme trouble letting go of the past). They are most of the time exaggerated, as the affected person has extreme guilt, with them also fearing of losing control and/or acting on the thoughts.

To correct the misinformation going around: Evenness and exactness is tied to OCD, but can often be mistaken for perfectionism and vice versa, as they share similar patterns at first. While perfectionism involves arranging things in a particular way, evenness and exactness in OCD (called compulsions, and often being caused by the intrusive thoughts) are much more intense, as they can hinder daily life, like leaving the house to go to work for example. Also, saying something like "I'm kinda OCD" is not only grammatically, but also factually wrong. You either have it, or you don't.

Minor things that can still hinder daily life include: Fear of losing things; Fear of forgetting important information; Trouble deciding whether to keep or discard things

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Sources / Learn more about OCD:

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