Funny how just a few weeks after I wrote my last post ranting post about COVID-19 and OCD, the media stereotyping became worse. When I first saw the title of the WSJ article ‘We All Need OCD Now’, I was certain I’d misread something. No one could have been so irresponsible as to actually write that in a reputable newspaper.
Right?
Wrong.
I really don’t want to link to the article, but here’s the tweet, if you’re so inclined. (At least you can see I’m not making this up!)
The worst part? It’s written by a psychiatrist. Who treats OCD at Stanford. And far be from me to disagree with a psychiatrist, but…well, having this for a while now (which he doesn’t!), I’m going to do it anyway. This entire article and argument is so, so wrong, for two major reasons.
The benefits of having OCD don’t outweigh the drawbacks
OCD can lead to suicide. It’s frequently diagnosed along with depression. It can lead to a shortened life expectancy.
I’m not going to dive deep into the numbers. But as of this date, the best fatality rate we have for COVID-19 in the US is running around 1%. It’s likely less than that. When you consider that the mortality rate for persons with OCD is already higher than the general population, you have to wonder why anyone who wants to live would want both.
And that’s just the worst case scenario. Even ignoring death, you still have the anxiety, the fear, the job loss, the increased risk of substance abuse. It can debilitating. It ruins lives. It’s not cute, it’s not a quirk, and it’s not something to be jealous of because you think it’ll protect you from a virus. I promise you, it will affect your life in ways you wish you didn’t have to experience.
Not all of us suffer from contamination OCD.
Yeah, I’ll admit it – I’m one of those disgusting people who ramped up my cleanliness once the pandemic kicked into high gear. It’s not that I didn’t wash my hands after using the bathroom, but I wasn’t humming ‘Happy Birthday’ twice and using hand sanitizer after I pumped gas.
Why not?
Because not everyone with OCD compulsively cleans.
Suggesting OCD would reduce the risk of acquiring COVID-19 is so illogical you have to wonder what the writer (who is, again, a psychiatrist! who deals with OCD!) was thinking. Is the entire article, especially the headline, meant to be sensationalist? If that’s the case, it’s not only inaccurate, but irresponsible. I’ve mentioned that this stereotype is one reason it took me so long to get a diagnosis and treatment – why would we perpetuate it?
I don’t know if this article was that widely disseminated. Maybe it hasn’t been. Or maybe you’ve read it. But if you have, please don’t think OCD is something to aspire to. Please don’t think it’ll protect you from COVID-19.
Because it’s not and it won’t.
Further reading: https://www.ocduk.org/response-to-wall-street-journal/