With an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans aged 18 and older suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, many people exist in our society without people noticing. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.
All of the signs of OCD had been there for years, and I never would have realized it because I was stereotyping what the symptoms of OCD were. I came to the assumption that it was about washing hands with scalding hot water 30 times to kill all the germs or having to turn a light switch on and then off again a dozen times before entering a room.
The stereotyping can be attributed to some inaccurate depictions of OCD, which gave me an incorrect picture of this mental disorder. The other problem is that calling someone OCD has become something of a dual compliment and insult.
If someone acts like a perfectionist, an obvious insult would be asking if he or she has OCD. If someone has done something with an incredible amount of detail, someone might ask if he or she has OCD. I had actually been called OCD a few times over the years because of a couple of art projects I did, hand drawing hundreds if not thousands of individual leaves on a tree.
While I am generally a private person (and this article goes completely against my nature), on rare occasions I do inform people that I have OCD, which is normally followed by questions similar to:
“Do you really have to wash your hands that many times?”
“Is it true you think you can’t step on a crack, or it will actually break someone’s back?”
“But your room is always so messy; shouldn’t you be cleaning it more?”
“Does this mean you are a hoarder? Do you have a storage container somewhere with hundreds of newspapers?”
The problem is, these questions don’t really apply to me. My fiancée jokingly wishes I had different symptoms of OCD maybe then I would do the dishes more. I also wash my hands an adequate amount, but because of a short stint as a pizza chef where I washed them constantly, I have never washed them to a great extent. I am also not a hoarder. In fact, I love to throw stuff away, and more than once I’ve ended up throwing something away that I need later.
After reading all this, someone might be curious of my symptoms, but unfortunately I like to keep them private. I will say, however, that I find it very difficult to go more than a week without cutting my nails.
The problem with stereotyping about mental disorders is the inaccurate picture it paints. Not everyone suffering from depression is suicidal, and some people suffer from the illness for years without ever having those thoughts.
People with schizophrenia are labeled as violent, irresponsible or having multiple personalities when it is entirely possible for them to be productive members of society. Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live fame boasted not only the longest tenure on the show, but was able to take his medication and have a successful career.
What I’ve taken away from this whole experience is an understanding that stereotyping about mental illness is a bad thing. It gives an inaccurate picture and is actually pretty damaging. In the end, I am fortunate to have an amazing supportive family and fiancée who is willing to look past any of my symptoms and support me in all my endeavors.
http://www.westerncourier.com/opinions/mental-health-series-don-t-stereotype-symptoms/article_4626e9dc-2e8d-11e2-95f5-0019bb30f31a.html
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