silenthillmutual:
silenthillmutual:
i genuinely think ocd is incredibly underdiagnosed bc i will see people posting what are obvious rituals, compulsions, intrusive thoughts, spiralling, hyper morality, etc and its like Have You Considered This Might Be An Issue
it isnt actually good or normal to have moral dilemmas every day about which posts you reblog. it isnโt actually good or normal to check and recheck every message you send โjust in caseโ you sent porn instead of a โhi how are youโ. it isnโt actually good or normal to believe that your day will only go well if you have a specific keychain or whatever with you. like iโm not going to diagnose you but i do think some of you need to look into obsessive-compulsive disorder beyond โha ha funny man wash his handsโ portrayals.
I always tell people that even if theyโre not pursuing diagnosis they should at least look at OCD support organizationsโ pages on moral scrupulosity because that mindset is one you can literally see people developing in real time online.
I find this can help chip away a bit at stigma and confusion for people who have misconceptions that rituals canโt be mental (much of what people will describe as โchecking for thought crimesโ sounds a LOT like a mental ritual), as well as guide them towards tools for breaking the cycle of intrusive thoughts, obsession and ritualโor at the very least help persuade them that rituals reinforce, rather than โfixโ those obsessions.
Like I do absolutely think people, especially ones who have access to counseling already, should raise and ask about these issues, including โIโm wondering if I might have OCD becauseโฆโ (that is part of how I got diagnosed!), but these resources can be helpful for those who maybe havenโt had that kind of thought pattern before but encouraged themselves to do so because of social pressure to the point where they now have to un-learn it (essentially where itโs become disordered thinking) but will maybe balk at the idea of diagnosis because it hasnโt always been like that, or similar situations.
I try to emphasize that tools like this are open to anyone for whom they might be helpful, whether or not they have diagnosed OCD. Especially because some people who may get a diagnosis in future can still educate themselves now, and perhaps work towards one that way.
But for real, since Iโve started talking about OCD on my blog Iโve had literally half a dozen people talk to me (anon or not) about โโฆoh shit I had no idea OCD could look like [xyz thing]โ and have The Realization, some of whom I know got diagnosed later and others of whom felt empowered to look into it when they hadnโt before because they were worried that seeking help with scrupulosity would be โappropriating OCD experiencesโ (people struggling with scrupulosity being scrupulous around needing help is definitely a bigger thing than I realizedโitโs not just stigma or ignorance!).
Which is why I try to emphasize that everyone can and should take some time to learn about this stuff! The worst that can happen is you go โhm that doesnโt describe my experienceโ and you still know more about OCD and are better-prepared to support people who do have it.