I have a lot of pet peeves, but one that gets my blood boiling every time is when people make light of OCD. It’s such a stigmatized disorder, and it’s commonplace for people to make jokes about it. If we’re ever represented on TV, it’s a running gag about how much of a neat freak we are (which…
I’ve been doing research on OCD for a
Sports Medicine class mini project. I haven’t gotten much yet, but I do agree it shouldn’t be taken lightly. I watched this episode of Dr. Phil where this one woman had OCD, and the girl said she can’t have her sister out there otherwise she thought the audience would all think her sister was prettier, resulting in a panic attack. Her tics where trying to be prettier than her sister.
It was interesting because Dr. Phil took about 3 minutes of the episode to tell the audience not to laugh if her behavior seemed bizarre, because it’s a serious medical disorder and can cause panic attacks if she was exposed to a tic of hers.
Exposure therapy is kind of bullshit. Why do that. You’re afraid of spiders, lets but a spider on your arm for an hour and you can’t remove it. If it bites you and injures you, but you shake it off, we need to keep him on longer next time because you failed.
Why would you put someone through that. It’s cruel and just causing more issues
Well, because exposure therapy actually works for many people. And of course, my therapist can only set up exposures if I am fully consenting, or else that would be unethical.
So yes, exposures are hell. They are an hour or less of hell, and people need to know that so they understand OCD is serious, but that hour of hell is a big payoff. A lot of things that used to spark a reaction in me no longer do, or do so much weaker.
I mean, I can even sit I a room with a paper hanging over the desk! Before any of my therapy, I would have been on the ground panicking if I weren’t allowed to fix it.
So don’t get me wrong, exposure therapy is helpful to those who consent and are willing to do it. It’s hell in the moment and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but it does work.