O is for OCD Neat Freaks
About 1-2% of the general population has OCD, or about one in every five hundred people. Although the disorder is fairly uncommon, it's gained a higher profile in recent years, due to mental health activists, increased medical understanding of the illness, and portrayals in popular culture.
Those pop-cultural representations, however, are a mixed blessing. While characters with the disorder are not portrayed as villainous (as people with other psychiatric conditions often are), the incorrect portrayal of symptoms can cause a great deal of confusion both for people with the disorder and those who are trying to understand it.
Fictionland's OCD inhabitants are unvarying in their symptoms. Every single one is obsessed with neatness, order, routine and cleanliness. In reality, only about a third of people with OCD have obsessions related to germs or cleanliness, and only ten percent have obsessions about symmetry or tidiness. In fact, up to a third of people with OCD are compulsive hoarders.
And contrary to popular culture, outward compulsions are not a defining feature of the disorder. Typically, they are just a mechanism for keeping the primary anxiety and obsession at bay. In fact, it's estimated that between half and two thirds of people with OCD have the 'purely obsessive' subtype, in which people do not act out any rituals.
If you're curious about the disorder, the Wikipedia page is a good starting point to gather information.
Those pop-cultural representations, however, are a mixed blessing. While characters with the disorder are not portrayed as villainous (as people with other psychiatric conditions often are), the incorrect portrayal of symptoms can cause a great deal of confusion both for people with the disorder and those who are trying to understand it.
Fictionland's OCD inhabitants are unvarying in their symptoms. Every single one is obsessed with neatness, order, routine and cleanliness. In reality, only about a third of people with OCD have obsessions related to germs or cleanliness, and only ten percent have obsessions about symmetry or tidiness. In fact, up to a third of people with OCD are compulsive hoarders.
And contrary to popular culture, outward compulsions are not a defining feature of the disorder. Typically, they are just a mechanism for keeping the primary anxiety and obsession at bay. In fact, it's estimated that between half and two thirds of people with OCD have the 'purely obsessive' subtype, in which people do not act out any rituals.
If you're curious about the disorder, the Wikipedia page is a good starting point to gather information.
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