OCD is Not an Adjective
This week, October 11–17, 2026, is OCD Awareness Week. The purpose of this week is to break down the stigma and misconceptions surrounding OCD. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is often misinterpreted as just being neat or clean, but in reality, it’s so much more than that. Once a person learns more about what OCD actually is, they’re like, “OH, that’s OCD?!”
If you have OCD, it might feel like you can’t say a certain word, almost as if you are in Harry Potter and mentioning the one they do not name (Lord Voldemort) creates incredible stress.
You might think the ‘wrong’ thought while doing a task and have to redo the task until the thought is just right.
You might have your own cup or set of utensils that nobody else is allowed to touch. Or you might be so worried about hitting something on the ride home from work that you ruminate about every pothole and drive your route again just to double-check and make sure you didn’t hit anything.
When someone comments about how they like their room clean and calls it “so OCD,” or says they’re “a little bit OCD” about their cupboards just because they like them organized… that doesn’t quite match what a person with OCD experiences and the intensity of anxiety that shows up for them. OCD is not a personality trait or quirk.
The big difference is that OCD is usually unwanted. People don’t often love their OCD.
For those who don’t know what OCD is, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is basically a chronic mental health condition that involves distressing or unwanted thoughts, urges, or images that create a lot of anxiety. These are followed by compulsive behaviours, actions, or avoidance in an attempt to reduce the anxiety.
Neuroscience research shows that OCD is driven by dysfunction in specific brain networks, most notably the corticostriatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) loops. In simple words, there is a glitch in the brain that doesn’t allow a person to properly assess risk and filter information, and they get stuck in a loop.
“OCD can make someone become intensely afraid that they could do, want, or be something that goes against their deepest values. The intrusive thoughts feel so distressing precisely because they are unwanted and inconsistent with who the person is. But OCD demands certainty: ‘How can I be 100% sure I would never do that?’ That’s why OCD is sometimes called the ‘doubting disorder.’” Source: https://iocdf.org/programs/ocdweek/
With all that being said, I just want to clarify that I myself do not have OCD. However, as a psychotherapist trained in ERP therapy, working alongside and supporting those who do struggle with OCD, I witness the amount of stress that OCD can come with and how misunderstood it really is.