In all the panic and anxiety about COVID-19 lately, there seems to be a little confusion lately about what OCD is and isn’t, so I figured a little bit of explanation was in order. See, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in this in the past few years, and once you figure out what OCD is, it’s all too clear what it isn’t. And unfortunately, what it isn’t is paraded all over social medial in times like this. So here we go, with the lecture part first.
You are not “a bit OCD” because you wash your hands for the whole two minutes it takes to sing “Happy Birthday.”
You are not “a bit OCD” because you stocked up on hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes.
You are not “a bit OCD” because you refuse to shake hands.
Yeah. That’s right. None of that, precipitated by an actual pandemic and not something inside your mind, is OCD.
OCD is seeing your newborn’s brains on the front steps, because you dropped him and it’s your fault. It’s using the garage door or forcing someone else to carry him instead, even though you know you’re being irrational.
It’s knowing that if you don’t check on him every multiple times a night, he’ll stop breathing.
It’s driving thirty miles out of your way to avoid a particular bridge so you can’t drive off it (not that you ever would—but OCD doesn’t care about that).
It’s being so convinced that your writing is terrible, even in the absence of any actual proof, that you ask for reassurance over and over—and then not understanding why you feel worse than you did before.
It’s not trusting anyone’s answers.
It’s not trusting your own mind.
It’s undergoing therapy that’s incredibly disruptive to your job because no one in town is an expert at treating it. And you need an expert, even if they’re forty minutes away.
It’s spending thousands of dollars and undergoing psychiatric and psychological evaluations just for a chance at getting your FAA medical certificate renewed.
It’s getting better and then having people tell you that you’re “too blasé” about potentially catching COVID-19, but see, your exposure therapy worked like it was supposed to, and you can’t emotionally afford to go back where you were, so you’re going to remain outwardly blasé.
And sometimes (though I’ve never experienced it), if your brain really likes this germ theme, and you get caught in an obsessive-compulsive loop, it’s about scrubbing your hands until they’re raw and bleeding, until you’re late for work so many times that you can’t hold down a job.
What isn’t it?
It’s. Not About. Washing. Your. Damn. Hands. Per. The. CDC’s. Guidance.
So wash your hands. Use hand sanitizer when you can’t. Cover your cough.
But don’t think any of it means you have OCD.
One thought on “About All Those Handwashing Comments…”