How the Media Get OCD All Wrong

Shopping is one of my favourite things to do, but recently I was browsing a popular clothing store when I had come across a T shirt which made me particularly angry. This T shirt was white with striking black font that read, "I have CDO, it's like OCD but all of the letters are in alphabetical order." The day I found this, after shopping, I was going to a counselling appointment for my OCD, which has previously made me feel so down and alone I have considered suicide.

And I know I am not alone, 1.2% of the population suffer from the illness, and it is listed as one of the top 10 most distressing mental illnesses there is to have. This would mean that the general population, media included, would take it seriously, right? Wrong. These examples I will mention below will explain why not.

1. 'Images that will drive your OCD crazy' posts

These posts are usually published to popular sights such as Buzzfeed and include images of misaligned items. Whilst many are bothered by things such as one tile being a different colour to others, or pencils slightly misaligned, it has very little to do with OCD. Some sufferers have issues with symmetry, but it is not a slight inconvenience to them, it's incredibly stressful and often is partnered with intrusive thoughts and obsessions

2. Obsessive ------ disorder

The blank space here is for a variety of t shirts, mugs, tea towels, hoodies, etc. that I have found online. Examples include obsessive cat disorder, obsessive Christmas disorder, and obsessive cake disorder. The knock on effect of these makes the term OCD into slang, something that people think they can joke about the illness or make light of it. In my opinion, this is completely wrong. Jokes about cancer, diabetes, or terminal illnesses are rarely if ever heard. But are jokes about mental illness any different? I believe we should take them just as seriously.

3. The general OCD ideal

For me, the TV, internet, and general western media portray OCD as an illness associated with 2 things: being neat and tidy, and being obsessively clean and sanitary. As mentioned above with the tidiness aspect of the disease, it is true that a small proportion of those struggling with OCD are extremely unsettled by uncleanliness whether it is real or perceived. However, this is only a small aspect of the disease.

Whilst researching for this article, I had come across an OCD Action figure, which came with his own sanitizing wipe, surgical masks, and latex gloves to 'stay clean'. As well as this, many tv shows have shown actors portraying OCD characters mercilessly scrubbing surfaces and vacuuming for hours upon hours.

It is hard to say exactly when this had become an issue, and why mental illness hasn't been treated in the same respect as physical ones, but it is easy to state the effect it has on individuals. In my opinion, the impact of this means that less people suffering from OCD realise that there is something wrong, they may be less likely to get help and most certainly less likely to open up in case they are taken for a joke.

Although this article has focused primarily on OCD, it is obvious that the same can be said for a variety of other mental illnesses—if not all of them. I had this epiphany whilst coming across a canvas bag that said "depresso" which had an image of an espresso with a sad face on it. Not to forget the popular line "I'm Bipolar. I hate it, it's awesome."

This is not to say that things aren't improving. Over the past couple of years, I have noticed that the publicity surrounding mental health issues and support networks available are increasing. Recently, whilst watching the Pride parade, three mental health based charities had floats. The year before—I counted zero.

As for what you can do to fight against the issues talked about in this article, it is important to call out those writing and sharing these articles, or wearing and producing the merchandise. Furthermore, you can become a member of a variety of mental health charities such as MIND and maybe (if you're feeling up to it) be open about your own problems to show others they're not alone.