Compulsive Destruction

One. 

One Acronym. OCD.

Two. 

Two C’s. Common and Chronic.

Three. 

Three little letters. O.C.D.

Four. 

Four times I have checked the locks.

Five. 

Five Common Issues. Cleanliness/Order, Counting/Hoarding, Safety/Checking, Sexual Issues and Religious/Moral Issues.

Six. 

Six times I have washed my hands before food.

Seven. 

Seven types of Anxiety.

Eight. 

Eight times I have counted the candy bars left in the jar.

Nine. 

Nine Syllables. Ob-sess-ive Com-pul-sive Dis-or-der.

Ten. 

Ten minutes I have spent trying to figure out how to write this blog. Ten times I have re-started this blog.

OCD has apparently thought to be developed from a combination of both genetic and environmental factors.

The factors specific to OCD are:

• Biological Factors and
• Environmental/Learned Behaviours.

The Biological factors are related to the levels of serotonin in ones brain. Further studies are being conducted.

Environmental/Learned Factors include watching/learning the behaviours from parents or direct conditioning from this around you in adolescence.

There is treatment available, but it’s just that. Treatment.

OCD cannot be cured. It’s debilitating for some and minor for others.

OCD can come in many forms and vary in levels of strength. For some, it can be the need to have their pens straight on the desk. For others, the clothes in their wardrobe to be colour co-ordinated. Other more severe forms include washing hands multiple times, checking the locks on the doors several times before bed, counting the brush strokes when doing their hair. It can be debilitating. It is debilitating.

Much like other mental illnesses, you have to research. You have to know what you’re researching. They don’t make it easy to find.

It is almost as if the world is trying to cover up the fact that there are sufferers of OCD, GAD, PTSD and every other mental illness that people of all ages, ethnicities, religious groups etc can face everyday, at any given time.

You are not alone, close to 3% of Australians suffer from OCD in their lifetime, and around 2% in every 12 months.

Symptoms of OCD can begin from the age of 6 or 7, but tend to fully develop in adolescence, continuing well into adulthood.

It’s important that warriors like us shed light on the things that are important to us. It is important that we don’t let the world dim our spark, or try to hide the problems that we face everyday.

It’s important that you can understand what your OCD entails, and seek the appropriate assistance for OCD.

Please. Please don’t claim to have such an illness, that you don’t. Its compulsive destruction.

“no-one knows what its like, I have to do these things or something bad will happen”

I have OCD. But it does not have me.

Don’t let it have you too.