The sort of odd thing about OCD is that everyone is familiar with it, but no one seems to have any idea what it actually is. It's entered the vernacular as a description of someone who is overly meticulous and perfectionistic, which doesn't match the clinical definition at all. I think there are a lot of potential reasons for this. For one, it's relatively uncommon affecting only 2-3% of the population. That said, diabetes affects around the same percentage of the population, though, and everyone knows what it is.
I think the bigger reason is that it's never portrayed particularly clearly or accurately in the media. To be sure, this is a difficult task, because so much, if not all, of OCD, happens in the sufferer's head. A couple of common mistakes are made. The first is to confuse OCPD (obsessive-compulsive personality disorder) with OCD. Outwardly OCPD and OCD can appear similar, but the main difference is that OCPD sufferers don't realize that their behaviors are odd and don't make sense. It's much easier to portray OCPD since it isn't something the sufferer is ashamed of and tries to hide. The second mistake--or perhaps omission--is is to focus solely on overt compulsions, usually cleaning and washing compulsions. In reality, OCDers actually perform from a much wider variety of compulsions: praying, tapping, checking, hoarding, counting, as well as a host of mental compulsions.
I've been watching Emma Pillsbury on Glee with some interest for a while. She has OCD, which has for the most part been disappointing. She obsessively cleans to get rid of germs and doesn't seem to understand it's weird until late in second season. In second season she goes to a psychiatrist who tells her if she takes a low dose of an SSRI her symptoms will get better. Two weeks later, she tells Will that she's better and that her SSRI worked. At this point, I was pretty disappointed. First of all, it wasn't really clear she had OCD in the first place. Second of all SSRIs are not magic, particularly not at low doses when treating OCD.
The most recent episode, "Asian F," however was a little bit more accurate. Emma experiences a relapse after a stressful dinner with her parents. Also, Emma tells Will that one of her compulsions is praying in her head all the time and when that doesn't work, she prays out loud. Indeed, stress triggers OCD and mental compulsions, including praying, are a very real and common symptom of OCD. The only disappointing bit was Will offered to pray with Emma. I suppose this makes sense, but hopefully at least of of their characters will figure out that performing compulsions (or assisting in the performance of compulsions) only makes OCD worse.
I think the bigger reason is that it's never portrayed particularly clearly or accurately in the media. To be sure, this is a difficult task, because so much, if not all, of OCD, happens in the sufferer's head. A couple of common mistakes are made. The first is to confuse OCPD (obsessive-compulsive personality disorder) with OCD. Outwardly OCPD and OCD can appear similar, but the main difference is that OCPD sufferers don't realize that their behaviors are odd and don't make sense. It's much easier to portray OCPD since it isn't something the sufferer is ashamed of and tries to hide. The second mistake--or perhaps omission--is is to focus solely on overt compulsions, usually cleaning and washing compulsions. In reality, OCDers actually perform from a much wider variety of compulsions: praying, tapping, checking, hoarding, counting, as well as a host of mental compulsions.
I've been watching Emma Pillsbury on Glee with some interest for a while. She has OCD, which has for the most part been disappointing. She obsessively cleans to get rid of germs and doesn't seem to understand it's weird until late in second season. In second season she goes to a psychiatrist who tells her if she takes a low dose of an SSRI her symptoms will get better. Two weeks later, she tells Will that she's better and that her SSRI worked. At this point, I was pretty disappointed. First of all, it wasn't really clear she had OCD in the first place. Second of all SSRIs are not magic, particularly not at low doses when treating OCD.
The most recent episode, "Asian F," however was a little bit more accurate. Emma experiences a relapse after a stressful dinner with her parents. Also, Emma tells Will that one of her compulsions is praying in her head all the time and when that doesn't work, she prays out loud. Indeed, stress triggers OCD and mental compulsions, including praying, are a very real and common symptom of OCD. The only disappointing bit was Will offered to pray with Emma. I suppose this makes sense, but hopefully at least of of their characters will figure out that performing compulsions (or assisting in the performance of compulsions) only makes OCD worse.
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