Slices of Human Propriety

Let's take a deeper cut. OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. No, I'm not talking about when you are frustrated because the laundry isn't folded right or you always have to have the dishes stacked. I'm talking about serious obsessions and compulsions that leave you bound to a task for anywhere from half an hour to much longer. Not just because you're anal and want something to be done a certain way, but because if you feel like you don't do it the "right" way that something bad will happen. Imagine every time you washed your hands turning on the faucet and letting it run until it's scorching hot. But that's not the worst part. Hot water kills germs right? Now imagine sticking your hands under and letting it run over your skin until you can't stand it. Your hands become dry and cracked all because you "know" that if you don't do it that something bad will happen and you'll get germs. You didn't wash sufficiently. That's just part of the day. How many times a day do you wash your hands? Quite a few. And there's more? Oh yes. If you don't shut your curtains justttt right until they're perfectly overlapping someone in your family will die. If you don't breathe a certain way the former will happen. Or maybe because you didn't sweep every speck off the floor someone will die in a car accident. OCD can take its form in more ways than you can imagine. What makes OCD different from your every day anal person? The fact that you feel like you can't control it and it consumes your life for one thing.

Are people with OCD crazy? Not at all. Have you ever gotten really anxious? Say maybe you're hoping someone will ask you out, or maybe you're worried you'll make a fool of yourself at school giving your speech. That's what people with OCD feel like but it's taken to the extreme. It's overwhelming anxiety about "what might happen." Why do they perform compulsions? Because it's a way of feeling like there's control over the situation. It's a way to subside the anxiety. "If I trace over these letters 10 times perfectly in black ink then no one will die." People with OCD know it's ridiculous, but the anxiety can't be assuaged unless the compulsion is performed.

It's upsetting because people don't understand. But they could if they wanted to. We all deal with things in our own way. We're all people with hopes, dreams, ambitions, and fears. We all have lessons to learn, and for some of us OCD is a way to learn multitudes. Some people are liars, martyrs, door mats, people pleasers etc. everyone has something. It's an Insane Truth.