Hand washing can be done in three easy steps: soap hands and scrub between fingers, rinse lather under running water, and dry with a towel. Others, however, not only go through three steps. They go through three soaps.
Persistent to wash away the germs, Jack Nicholson may have immortalized Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in playing the character of novelist Melvin Udall in the movie As Good As It Gets. Meanwhile, some people fail to understand the difference the D makes between OCD and the now widely used adjective “OC.”
Anal-retentive
During a busy academic week, the Atenean’s room may have piles of textbooks and pieces of scratch paper scattered on his study table. Nicole’s* room, however, glares with neatness. Her notes are neatly written and are scheduled to be rewritten. Her blouses, too, are arranged in her closet—according to the length of their sleeves.
Of five siblings, Nicole, a junior, is the only one who prefers to clean her room herself. She says, “I don’t want the maid fixing anything. For example, I usually put my book in this particular place, like beside my bed. If it is not there, I get frustrated.”
Though her friends have repeatedly teased her of being extremely OC, Nicole says it does not offend her. “I like it when people tell me, ‘Wow, you’re neat,’” she says. “I’m finding a balance. [I know] when it is helpful and when it is harmful.”
Janyn Chua (II AB Comm) also admits to being very particular when it comes to her personal belongings. “Everything has to be organized,” she says. Her colored markers are testimonies to her orderliness. She arranges them according to the colors of a rainbow with their tips pointing in one direction.
Being OC has been helpful with school work, says Janyn. “Chapters in my books are already marked with Post-it. [That way,] I’m not confused and I can look back on it [a chapter] easily.”
But being too organized means that her days are marked to the minute. “I live by [a] schedule,” says Janyn. She sometimes finds herself checking her schedule even while talking to friends. “[When] people talk to me, I’m [thinking], from nine to 10, I should do this.”
She says living within her self-imposed schedule is sometimes difficult and bothersome. “[Sometimes] it’s not fun anymore,” she says. “It’s like [I] don’t live spontaneously.”
The real OC
In the cases of Nicole and Janyn, a simple disruption in the routine may cause a minor aggravation. When it comes to people with actual OCD, however, serious mental distress may be at hand.
Catherine*, a junior, has a cousin who was diagnosed with autism at age three. Alongside her cousin’s condition, he had some peculiar behaviors as well. “He’ll go down from his room then turn the light switch on and off eight times,” she says in Filipino.
Catherine says her cousin has a penchant for extreme orderliness. She recalls how her cousin checks the photo albums in their living room shelves everyday. “The slightest centimeter that you move it, he will fix it,” she says.
After taking up a course on general psychology, Catherine realized that her cousin’s ritualistic behavior was a symptom of OCD. “[Everything has] to be organized in a certain way or [done a] certain number of times that if he does not follow, his day will be ruined.”
Mark* (AHS ‘07) admits to also having some uncontrollable compulsions symptomatic of OCD. He learned that he has OCD while still in grade school. Back then, he counted excessively and skipped lines on sidewalks. “At first it was just a playful kind of activity, but eventually it became tiresome,” he says in Filipino.
Knowing that his case is mild, Mark says he is able to suppress and even completely stop surrendering to his compulsions. However, obsessive thoughts still jump at him even when doing something as harmless as walking home.
Recently, Mark says the most pronounced obsession he has is cleanliness. “I go to [the bathroom], wash my hands twice, then [wash them with] alcohol, then wash again.” In a mission of keeping everything germ-free, he says he washes the alcohol bottle as well.
Anxiety in excess
Psychology Instructor Dr. Manuel Cuenca Jr. says OCD involves two separate conditions. “Obsession is more of the mental thought [while] compulsion is more of the doing,” he says. “[OCD] is the combination of excessive thoughts [that] cause so much anxiety. [The individual is then compelled to] relieve [it by doing] a compulsion.”
According to authors Richard Halgin and Susan Whitbourne in Abnormal Psychology, there are four dimensions in classifying the symptoms of OCD. These are repetitive checking compulsions, the need for symmetry, hoarding-related behaviors, and obsessive cleanliness.
The difference between someone with the disorder and someone who is simply OC is the excessiveness of their obsessive thoughts or routinely compulsions, says Cuenca. “[Though] all of us have obsessive compulsive traits, it becomes a disorder when it interferes with your regular activities and normal functioning,” he says.
In the Ateneo, Guidance Counselor Jovie Valle says OCD is a rare condition. She has so far dealt with only one student diagnosed with the disorder. “He filed a leave of absence for a semester because he changed his medication and could not handle the side effects,” she says in Filipino. However, Valle says the student was able to go back to school after the side effects wore off.
Brace yourself
Today, being OC is almost always seen as a commonplace trait in some people. When it comes to the real disorder, however, Valle says it may be viewed as just another condition that can be treated with proper medication or therapy.
“OCD [is] something that people are not really aware of, so the tendency is to not understand the people who have it,” says Valle. “It is always easy to label people, [but] you [first] have to understand them [completely].”
For Mark, it becomes easier for him to deal with his condition because of family and friends. In between ignoring his intrusive thoughts and keeping his compulsions on a more rational level, they support him in any way they can. “My friends sometimes [even] tease me [about my OCD] but it is all in good fun,” he says.
Melvin Udall may have had anti-depressants and a waitress to help him deal with OCD. But what does it really take to overcome the obsessions and the compulsions? Experts seem to agree that taking it step by step is the way to go. Maybe for a first attempt, being able to step on a crack on a cobblestone walkway is more than as good as it gets.
*Names have been changed to protect the individuals.
