OCD is not Adjective....

This is something that really gets on my nerves!
I get so cross when I see it on tv, social media or in the 'real world' someone saying they 'are so OCD'! Gah!
Why, oh why, do people feel its ok to use it as an adjective? I mean you and I know its not...right?
You don't go around saying 'oh god i feel so bad, I'm totally cancerous' Nope you dont nobody says it! 
'Oh my gosh Im soooo in an anaphylactic shock right now? ( my son is allergic to peanuts) Leukemic? Diabetic? Motor Neurone Diseased? 
Nobody says these words as an adjective because...well, it's just plain rude and ignorant isn't it!?

This is the kind of nonsense I see on social media ALL the time!

I think one of the biggest culprits is...

THE MEDIA.
(Not all media, but sadly the most predominant offences are made by mainstream tv)

It's the media's portrayal, I'm sure someone just started it for a laugh but what they've actually created is a Monster. 

A Monster that trivialises the true horrifying reality of someone who lives with OCD. A Monster that in my opinion can be just as debilitating as OCD itself!
Mental Health is a hard enough subject to talk about as it is.
Many people find it embarrassing, humiliating and downright awkward to explain to someone else, be they Doctors, Family or Friends. Making it into an adjective just makes it so much harder. People are ignorant to the real meaning of OCD and all it encompasses.
If you try to explain to a co-worker or new friend, you may get met with 'oh yeah I'm so OCD I just have to have all my shoes lined up/ tins facing the right way in the cupboard'...insert anything here...I'm sure you've heard some corkers in your time....
They are probably lovely people, they are no doubt a supportive person, someone you think well of, but the thing is they have been grossly misinformed about Mental Health. 
Yes the tins in the cupboard thing is a form of OCD, as is lining up your shoes, but the reason they do it, is not because they think if they don't do it exactly right that their family will die in an horrendous car crash and that it will always be forever their fault! 
No? 
Didnt think so, they probably like it like that because, it looks smart, they are pernickety or maybe just have a really small amount of OCD in their nature. 

Or Calpol in the UK...

True OCD is completely and utterly soul destroying. It is one of the most debilitating Mental Health Illnesses. It means you can't perform simple everyday tasks without them being attached to some awful thought or feeling, it means you feel responsible for the whole damn world & you can't function normally in a very frightening world. OCD has only come to real light in the past 30 years or so. In my lifetime, its gone from being not so well known by psychiatrists because of it being the 'secret disorder', to becoming much more understood and tackled. However, right now in this day in age, where we have such utter rubbish as Channel 4's 'Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners' which is so full of utter ****, it makes me want to throw stuff at my television! It upsets me, angers me and makes me feel like an idiot. 

Is that how it makes any other sufferers feel?

I know that the 'hoarders' in the show have most likely got OCD, as hoarding is a part of OCD, I have it to some extent, and, as I've progressed through my journey I have been able to let things go and clean out boxes of saved birthday cards etc. I know that some of the people may well have a more common theme of OCD for example 'cleanliness' but I'm rather hard pressed to believe these people have really had hard core, hospitalizing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
I personally could never represent OCD in such a way. I think the cleaners in the program are probably just 'neat niks'. There isn't anything wrong with that at all, its nice to take pride in things but it is not OCD...

I and many, many others have been doing our best for years, to raise the profile of individuals with OCD. There are some wonderful charities and individual journalists that are doing the most wonderful, awe inspiring work to battle the stigma.

Check out the links below.

Mind       OCD Action    Mental Health Foundation

 I myself have been in a magazine speaking my truth about OCD post natally and I am due to be in another article soon as a 'follow up' to that one. 

I want everyone to know what OCD is and by putting myself out there, hopefully inspire others and let you all know that recovery IS possible.

You should not have to hide your OCD for fear of ridicule, you must promise me to speak up and ask for help. 
Go to any of the above links to start your own recovery or get to your GP. Mind has some great pdf's and resources for 'breaking the ice' with Doctors.

 I guarantee you are a wonderful person who deserves every piece of help you can get!

Peace & Love,

Lizz xoxoxo