OCD is a disorder accompanied by obsessive thoughts and followed by compulsive rituals. In general, it’s like having millions of thoughts and not being able to get rid of them until you do a ritual that is specific for your own compulsion. The more attention is given to the compulsion, the more complicated and specific it becomes.
Like many other disorders, OCD does not come out of nowhere. Psychologist Cristiane Abes da Costa says that people have a lot of characteristics that are involved in this process. Each individual is born with an organic matter (some may be genetic) and physical characteristics that are going to contribute to the development of the disorder. “We are born with this package and we are inserted in a society that has a history and things happening, for example the pandemic. This will certainly influence this package that I already brought, only added to my life story and my experience, influencing what I am today”, said Costa.
The reality is that the last generations are more and more anxious. Thoughts come and go really fast, and it’s becoming completely normal. However, if you are having these thoughts and developing behavior patterns to relieve the anxiety and fear that are built around them, that’s when you have to watch out for the signs. “The person thinks about it so much and develops so many behavior patterns (rituals) that they get stuck and end up depriving themselves of their life activities. This is the limit”, says the psychologist.
Overall, mental disorders have a tendency to go unnoticed. This behavior generates a vicious cycle where people decrease another person’s disorder, making it even worse. Unfortunately, OCD became a very general disorder. Most representations in movies or TV shows about OCD are people with obsessive behaviors related to cleanliness and organization. These representations give the idea that these tendencies are the only ones related to OCD. However, there is so much more involved. That’s what Costa explains: “Several times, those cleaning compulsive behaviors are diminished. I imagine it happens because they are behaviors that sometimes are compatible with what we expect as a society from each other. Different from a person who destabilizes mood. It has a bigger impact on others, which makes us pay more attention”.
At last, it’s important to demystify the idea that OCD is just about cleaning and organization. It’s a lazy concept that helps to generalize disorders. Now it is the time to acknowledge that disorders are very much complex because each individual is also complex. The human body has its own way of working, and studies are being made each day about new discoveries. Keep yourself well-informed and remember that mental health is just as serious as any other thing related to health.
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The article above was edited by Lethicia Lioi.
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