The Worst, Most Persistent Myths about OCD

This is what most people think obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) looks like: washing your hands excessively because you’re a germaphobe. Sometimes, people think it’s also needing to have a neat, orderly home, and checking to see if you locked the door way too many times. And while some of this is true for some people with OCD, it misses the majority of individuals with the illness. As psychologist Martin Hsia, Psy.D, said, “OCD takes many different forms that don’t get written about.” The Many, Many Forms of OCD “To paraphrase Tolstoy, in Anna Karenina, famously speaking about families, ‘All people with panic disorder, for example, are alike. Each individual with OCD is different in his or her own way,” said Rodney Boone, PhD, a psychologist and director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Southern California. “In other words, people pretty much panic in very similar ways but people with OCD have obsessions and compulsions that are often quite unique,” Boone said. And the content of their fears is limitless. “OCD fears reflect the broad range of human concerns,” Boone said. This might include everything from death and afterlife to morality and religious practice to disease and disarray, he said. Individuals may fear doing something wrong or embarrassing in front of others, or accidentally offending others, said Devon MacDermott, Ph.D, a New York City psychologist specializing in OCD, trauma, and mindfulness. They may have severe discomfort ...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Disorders General Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Self-Help Stigma Treatment Compulsions Intrusive Thoughts Obsessions Ocd OCD facts OCD myths Unwanted Thoughts what OCD feels like what OCD looks like Source Type: news