What People Misunderstand
03 of 07Exploring the cycle beneath the stereotypes.
When a preference becomes a source of distress
Liking a clean house, noticing one detail off in a design or preferring foods to stay separate can all happen for many reasons. Look at what happens if the person leaves things as they are. Can they move on, or does the discomfort keep pulling them back to check, fix, repeat or avoid something? How much time does it take, and what does it interrupt? Those questions tell you more than the behaviour alone.
It isn’t something you can just stop
Someone may know they’ve checked the door and still feel an overwhelming urge to check again. How convinced people feel by their fears can also vary.
It often hides
Many people with OCD become experts at hiding it. Rituals can happen silently, or be squeezed into moments when no one is watching. From the outside, someone may look fine while spending hours a day caught in the loop.
It isn’t who you are
OCD can feel like it has taken over your life. But it is something you experience, not who you are.
