The Student Room Group

'Oh yeah, I have OCD' - No! You don't!

Recently I have been getting more and more annoyed with people who run around making a huge vocal deal of turning plug switches off, or straightening wonky pictures because of their 'OCD'.
For the most part, these people do not have OCD, nor understand what it is to have one. OCD, generally means obsessive thoughts or worries that a sufferer tries to deal with via compulsions (ie: hand washing or repeating actions). This is not the same as preferring even to odd numbers, disliking unused plugs being switched on nor as wanting to keep your hands clean.
These people are saying it for attention, with little understanding that true OCD can ruin a person's life. People with OCD rarely attract so much attention to it nor see it so light-heartedly. Nor does their 'OCD' come and go depending on how much attention they want that day.
Yes, everybody has their own quirks. I really don't like it if an album on my ipod doesn't have album artwork and I used to be really particular about the books on my desk being all lined up. That is NOT full blown OCD.
Does anybody agree? Or even notice this happening?

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I've that noticed people like to diagnose themselves with all sorts of problems. Quick internet searches make people think they can label themselves as they see fit.

It annoys me a little when I hear people say things like "I'm so depressed" or "you know I'm totally bipolar". I don't just been a one off comment, but frequent excuses. How can half the teenage population in my town have a full blown disorder? It doesn't anger me really though. If anyone has ever been depressed or has OCD I can understand why it might hack them off.
There is a huge difference between "liking" things to be straight and being unable to sleep if things aren't straight. I hate people saying "I'm so OCD" when they don't know what it means. Almost annoys me as much as when people say "I'm so depressed" when they've only been feeling down for ten minutes.
Reply 3
Original post by xoxAngel_Kxox
There is a huge difference between "liking" things to be straight and being unable to sleep if things aren't straight. I hate people saying "I'm so OCD" when they don't know what it means. Almost annoys me as much as when people say "I'm so depressed" when they've only been feeling down for ten minutes.


Sorry, who made you chief of diagnosis?
Reply 4
I hear this happening all the time at school, and I agree.

Original post by kate1212
Nor does their 'OCD' come and go depending on how much attention they want that day.


:ahee:
Recently I have been getting more and more annoyed with people who run around making a huge vocal deal of turning plug switches off, or straightening wonky pictures because of their 'OCD'.
For the most part, these people do not have OCD, nor understand what it is to have one. OCD, generally means obsessive thoughts or worries that a sufferer tries to deal with via compulsions (ie: hand washing or repeating actions). This is not the same as preferring even to odd numbers, disliking unused plugs being switched on nor as wanting to keep your hands clean.
These people are saying it for attention, with little understanding that true OCD can ruin a person's life. People with OCD rarely attract so much attention to it nor see it so light-heartedly. Nor does their 'OCD' come and go depending on how much attention they want that day.
Yes, everybody has their own quirks. I really don't like it if an album on my ipod doesn't have album artwork and I used to be really particular about the books on my desk being all lined up. That is NOT full blown OCD.
Does anybody agree? Or even notice this happening?


People like to narrate. Given this, do you really expect people to go around all day saying 'oh my god, I can't stop turning these light switches off and reorganising these numbers and straightening these pictures'? It's clear that when people say 'oh my god i'm so OCD' they are just exaggerating to make it easier to say all those things at once. It's just human nature. I'm sure most of these people realise that they don't actually have OCD.

Yeah I agree 100 percent, I'm pretty OCD about when people use the term in the wrong context.


Also, lol.
Reply 6
Original post by Guybrush Sheepgood
People like to narrate. Given this, do you really expect people to go around all day saying 'oh my god, I can't stop turning these light switches off and reorganising these numbers and straightening these pictures'? It's clear that when people say 'oh my god i'm so OCD' they are just exaggerating to make it easier to say all those things at once. It's just human nature. I'm sure most of these people realise that they don't actually have OCD.

I disagree. Some of the people do believe they have it when they do not and it belittles how bad actual OCD can be. In my experience, these people usually say something along the lines of, "I have OCD. I'm so obsessive about light switches being turned off and...", giving a full blown explanation of their "symptoms", so it's not about them trying to condense it down so it's easier to say.

Some of these people may actually have OCD and if they're genuinely concerned they have it, they should probably see a doctor. However, if you suggested to most of these people to go see a doctor, I'm fairly sure their response would be "Nah, it's not that bad", in which case it probably isn't OCD, so they shouldn't claim to have it.
Reply 7
For somebody who did suffer quite bad OCD (and when I say bad, it really took over my life) it really annoys me when people make a big song and dance out of it. There were points when I couldn't sleep because of locks not being done, having to redo essays because the wrong colour was on the page, I even had a panic attack during one of my rehearsals (I left the room so I didn't cause a scene) over something that I would be really obsessive with. Counselling for nearly a year really did help this, however I do occasionally have relapses. So I was out the other day and I heard someone say "I'm really OCD about things like this" when it was clear that the person said it to get the groups attention. It honestly annoys me :sigh:
Reply 8
I agree with other people, it really does annoy me. They think having to count in a certain order every now and again is OCD. Well let me tell you, it's not! I have severe OCD which has been diagnosed and let me tell you, it takes up about 4 hours a day, if not more. It really does bother me when people make jokes about it too when they don't have it because they've never experienced it...
Reply 9
I agree. I have had OCD. I also have to double check stuff - not because of OCD; but because of memory issues.
I thought people were using it as an expression that wasn't intended to be taken literally.

eg. Jake's so mental, he parties hard every night. It doesn't mean he's actually mentally ill.

In the same way, saying I'm so OCD about xyz doesn't, for me at least, mean someone's actually trying to convince people they have this mental health disorder. If my flatmate said to me "sorry but can you tidy up after yourself a bit more, you know I'm a bit OCD about the kitchen being clean" I would assume she was using this in a figurative sense, almost like an expression, rather than informing me of a genuine health issue and/or attention seeking.

That's just my interpretation though, of course. I can see how this exaggeration/misuse of the term is inappropriate and offensive to those who have genuinely experienced these issues, too.
Original post by Ladyliesel
It annoys me a little when I hear people say things like "I'm so depressed" or "you know I'm totally bipolar". I don't just been a one off comment, but frequent excuses. How can half the teenage population in my town have a full blown disorder? It doesn't anger me really though. If anyone has ever been depressed or has OCD I can understand why it might hack them off.

Depression isn't really a disorder though, it's a mood which is an eponymous symptom of a disorder.
It annoys me when they do that - using an illness to describe a quirk or an emotion. Calling yourself "feeling a bit depressed" is ok I suppose, but it's like when people say "Oh, I have a bit of depression" when they're sad is stupid, and so is saying "I have OCD" when they like things to be a certain way. I like things to be in a pattern, that doesn't mean I have OCD. My mom has severe OCD so it annoys me when people trivialize it - it's the same with depression, which I have suffered with in the past.

When people are feeling ill, they don't say "I'm feeling a bit cancerous" or "I have a little bit of cancer today", do they? Why is this any different?
Reply 13
I'm CDO. It's OCD but in the correct order, as it should be!


(Sorry, heard it a few days ago and made me laugh, couldn't help myself...)
I've had to deal with severe OCD since I was a child. Stuff like this can get pretty annoying. For instance, there was one girl in my class last year who would say 'I have to have all my work in the correct order, I swear I have OCD' whilst laughing about it.

It's wrong that people triviliase issues which still aren't being taken seriously but I guess it's also important not to simply dismiss claims either. Those people who do make these sort of comments without suffering with it probably don't fully understand the illness. I don't think that they mean to cause offence, it's just a way of getting across a point effectively.
Original post by Infallible
Sorry, who made you chief of diagnosis?


Probably the same person who made you an utter a-hole.

I'm not diagnosing anyone, all I said was I don't like it when people throw words around without knowing what they fully mean. As is everyone else in this thread, so why you chose my post to pick on I don't know.
"I have dyslexia so therefore you must treat me in a weird way from everyone else."

No. My best friends older brother had this and became a doctor.

I hate it when people over inflate conditions.

Being dyslexic varies from people to people, you can't just assume all of them are dumb and therefore not challenge them.

You want equal, well then make it equal.
Reply 17
As an ex-sufferer of OCD this really annoys me. I try and tell people what the condition really is but it seems that they are not interested in knowing, either because they like calling themselves sufferers or because they believe the common 'stereotypes' of OCD. They really don't understand the seriousness of the condition and the effects it has on people. My years with OCD were the worst, the distress it caused making me almost suicidal. I really wish people knew more about the condition :mad:
completely agree. i have a thing where i dont like the cupboards in my kitchen to be open, so whenever i go down i walk around pushing them shut. one of my mates saw me doing it and tried to say i must have OCD... its just a lil habit iv picked up, everyone has some. calling it OCD is kinda insulting to people who actually do have OCD
I have OCD when it comes to being tidy. e.g I cant have certain things slanted on a table.

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