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Giving our OCD a name: have you found it helpful?

(20 posts) (9 voices)
  • Started 1 year ago by
  • Latest reply from Cuthbert ffoliott
  • This topic is Not a support question

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    Unregistered

    Hi

    I brought up the subject of giving our OCD a name at the end of last year and it seemed to help a lot of people.

    I do not claim to have invented the idea. Katie d'Ath talked about it in her wonderful presentation at this year's conference. She said it really helps children with OCD. I gather that children tend to see their OCD as an animal or cartoon character.

    I worked out an adult version with my therapist, Morgan, at the end of last year. I was having troubles standing on the drain outside my house and she suggested that if I took what I regard as my strong self with me during my ERP it might work better. We decided what my strong self would be wearing - my favourite coat and dress and that she would be called 'Dr Anne' and it was the strong Dr Anne that did the ERP. I then went on to find a name for the OCD me and that was 'sad glad' in small letters. This helped me considerably. De-personalising the OCD is very empowering as you stop seeing yourself as OCD.

    I know a lot of you picked twin names. So I am wondering if it hleped you as much as it helped me.

    Anne
    xx

    Wed Jul 21 2010 11:11:42 #
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    Unregistered

    Naming it will just make it real. It does not deserve a name.

    Sun Aug 1 2010 21:00:13 #
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    Unregistered

    Jess, I agree with you!

    Mon Aug 2 2010 12:37:08 #
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    Unregistered

    Hi Jess and Tricia

    I can see where you are coming from. Naming your OCD may not help everyone but it does help some. Some of the youngsters at Katie's talk were using it to advantage.

    There is one main reason why it helped me - to overcome denial. For years, I refused to aceept I had this condition. Having watched mum have a most frightening nervous breakdown in my teens and having to partly take over from her to stop our family from falling apart, I was mortified when I was diagnosed with Obsessional Neurosis (the old name for OCD. It made it worse that they said it was fairly rare. I therefore spent years pretending that I did not have it and did not do any of the therapy prescribed.

    Accepting that I have this condition by giving it a name has been an important coping tool for me. Firstly it depersonalises it - it is not the whole me just a condition like any other. Seecondly, the real strong me, Dr Anne can accept I have a condition and can go on to fight it.

    As with all of us, different tools work better than others. this is one of many tools which may help.

    All the best
    Anne

    Tue Aug 3 2010 9:11:15 #
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    Unregistered

    Dear Anne, I realize this technique helps many. I can visualize myself as a child panicking, though, if I had drawn or named some animal or monster and referred to that as my illness. My illness was/is in my head and I think I would have believed a creature had taken over my mind! I think that now at times!!

    I view it differently from you, I would feel that naming it would personalize it, not depersonalize it. My psychologist warned me never to personify OCD. By the way, he still refers to OCD as an obsessional neurosis. It doesn’t bother me, at least it isn’t obsessional psychosis! That reminds me of a psychiatrist’s definition of neurosis and psychosis. He said someone with psychosis believes that two and two make five, whereas someone with a neurosis knows full well that two and two make four, but hate it!

    By the way, my husband made a mistake with the date, in case you are wondering why I am here. Just as well I hadn’t booked a surprise holiday!

    Tricia x

    Tue Aug 3 2010 12:47:55 #
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    Unregistered

    Hi Tricia

    Yes, I had wondered - just as well you did not book a holiday! My husband often changes his at the last minute or takes a day off without saying - throwing the cat into confusion as to why he has not got up at his usual hour. I then get trampled over and/or licked to death til he gets up.

    I do hate that title. But as you say at least it is not obsessional psychosis. One advantage of the designer label is that it did help to de-stigmatise it for me. OCD does not sound to me anywhere near so 'cranky.'

    Anne xx

    Tue Aug 3 2010 13:21:03 #
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    Truddles
    Member

    We have on previous threads talked about celebrities using OCD as a status symbol. Members complained that celebrities claiming to have OCD when they do not have it trivialises what can be an extremely debilitating condition.

    So I was shocked and not amused to find OCD being called a designer label. It’s a medical term not a designer label. So many of us, myself included struggle on a daily basis to accomplish the most basic of daily tasks and so to hear it being likened to a fashion accessory horrifies me. It’s definitely a step backwards.

    Yes, OCD is a neurosis as opposed to a psychosis. A psychosis being a mental health condition where the patient loses touch with reality or has a distorted view of reality, this can present as delusions or hallucinations. But a neurosis is a mental health condition where the patient is distressed and unable to cope with anxiety or conflict, they haven’t lost touch with reality and so don’t have either delusions or hallucinations.

    If we want to remove the stigma (destigmatise) associated with any condition we can only do it by changing attitudes and not by merely changing the name. We can all play our part in helping to change attitudes.

    Tricia, I like the psychiatrist’s definition of neurosis and psychosis. I also agree with you that naming the OCD personalises it as opposed to depersonalising it.

    Trudy

    Tue Aug 3 2010 17:31:04 #
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    swan
    Member

    I agree with trudy i certainly dont see ocd as a designer label. A designer label is something people pay a hhigh price for because they want it. With ocd we pay a high price but not through choice

    Tue Aug 3 2010 18:07:59 #
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    Unregistered

    Dear Trudy and Swan

    I am extremely sorry that my throw away phrase offended you. I do not see OCD as a designer disease but just found the name more aceptable after years of being bullied simply for being ill. I would never write anything on this forum aimed at hurting another OCDer. I am well aware of the effect of unkindness on our OCD. It can push our symptoms throught the roof.

    As you both know, I have had severe OCD for 40 years and am doing my very best to end stigma, increase awareness and bring sufferers together.

    I do hope we can drop this now.
    Anne

    Tue Aug 3 2010 18:20:03 #
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    Unregistered

    Dear Anne, I realize this technique helps many. I can visualize myself as a child panicking, though, if I had drawn or named some animal or monster and referred to that as my illness. My illness was/is in my head and I think I would have believed a creature had taken over my mind! I think that now at times!!

    I view it differently from you, I would feel that naming it would personalize it, not depersonalize it.

    I agree. Though I know one techniqe is to pretend that the horrid OCD thoughts is really a stupid cartoon character, like Donold Duck or something, and make it as stupid as possible so you'll just laugh and not believe it. Apparently you have to be quite far recovered to be able to do this. I did try it once last year, but it just scared me.... I think if you did something like that, you'd have to make someone up though as you'd get frightened of characters you liked then.... Not nice. I went through a tramatic experiance were my OCD wouldn't let me watch SpongeBob. UGH, I was so depressed without my fix of all things yellow and spongey!!

    We have on previous threads talked about celebrities using OCD as a status symbol. Members complained that celebrities claiming to have OCD when they do not have it trivialises what can be an extremely debilitating condition.

    So I was shocked and not amused to find OCD being called a designer label. It’s a medical term not a designer label. So many of us, myself included struggle on a daily basis to accomplish the most basic of daily tasks and so to hear it being likened to a fashion accessory horrifies me. It’s definitely a step backwards

    I have one thing to say about that.

    GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

    I betcha it's all the celebs I hate like that Paris Hilton.

    I agree with trudy i certainly dont see ocd as a designer label. A designer label is something people pay a hhigh price for because they want it. With ocd we pay a high price but not through choice

    That's a really good way of phrasing it actually.

    I do hope we can drop this now.
    Anne

    Whoops.... Erm, this post wasn't made by me it was made by.... *looks around room for someone to blame* the teddy bear!!

    If you haven't noticed, I rarely take things seriously. I do when it's important though.

    Anyways, I can understand how naming OCD would help someone realise it wasn't them, but for me it just makes it seem like a real person. Though different things work for different people.

    Tue Aug 3 2010 21:42:14 #
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    Truddles
    Member

    Don't worry Jess, it's fine to post so you don't have to blame the teddy bear

    Tue Aug 3 2010 21:54:31 #
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    Unregistered

    Oh okay...

    Tue Aug 3 2010 22:02:31 #
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    john999
    Member

    Speaking from a recent personal experience naming OCD does work I'm currently undergoing CBT and I was becoming engulfed and the past of me that's not OCD was becoming assimilated by the other and I was actively encouraged by the therapist to name the OCD which whether its the placebo effect or not doesn't really matter what does is that I believe it is. Can I also just say that subjecting another member I.e Gladis to feel that her opinion has no validity is not helpful to any of us,were all aloud to our opinions and don't forget people were all on the same side.

    Fri Aug 6 2010 12:24:55 #
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    Unregistered

    I don’t believe anyone was saying that about, Anne. We were merely expressing our opinions. Some people obviously find naming their OCD helpful, others do not.

    As for the words ‘designer label’, I am sure Anne meant no offence at all. As she has clarified, it was a throw away remark. The problem with this is that some so-called celebrities do appear to be using the term as a designer label. If you have a few quirks or habits it seems to be the in thing to say ‘Oh, I have OCD!‘ Of course, these habits are totally unrelated to the suffering of actual OCD and that‘s when offence is taken.

    Fri Aug 6 2010 12:35:12 #
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    Unregistered

    P.S. I meant to say some so-called celebrities seem to use the term OCD as a designer label. It now appears to have spread to the rest of the population, which means our condition is taken even less seriously.

    Fri Aug 6 2010 14:48:57 #
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    Unregistered

    Of coruse, OCD is nothing really. It's just a bit of hand-washing here and there, maybe a bit of counting. Nothing to make a big deal about, it's not like it's a paper cut or a cold or anything mega serious like that.

    (I was being sarcastic.)

    Fri Aug 6 2010 17:22:31 #
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    swan
    Member

    john999 whilst i agree that Anne has a right to express her view so do the rest of us. Sometimes a comment which may bother one person may not another but we are have right to say what we think including yourself.

    Sat Aug 7 2010 18:06:30 #
  18. Avatar Image

    stus
    Member

    Hi

    When my ocd gets really bad i do say to myself "Its OCD", this works for a while as it lets me step aside for a short time and be able to think more. However i then find myself calling it ocd all the time so this maybe fueling it.

    i guess if it works for you then it cant be a bad thing... im still testing this method out lol

    Fri Aug 13 2010 20:47:48 #
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    Tess
    Member

    Hello Swan
    I agree with you that we all have the same rights to express our views on this forum. We all have the same rights to express our views to another person face to face but we don't always do it because we can see the effect it will have on the other person. If someone says "does my bum look big in this" and you think "it's so enormous it's just blotted out the sun" do you say it to their face?? no, you tell a white lie to aviod hurting their feelings.
    Most memebers of this forum, including myself, suffer from OCD which makes us overly sensitive and afraid of criticism to the extent that we can misinterpret what people say to us and an innocuous comment can come across very easily as personal criticism. I have been hurt many times on this forum to the extent that I now rarely post. So whilst we have a right to express our views I would temper this right by saying we do not have the right to bully, intimidate or otherwise deeply upset other forum users by what we post.

    Mon Aug 16 2010 9:31:12 #
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    Cuthbert ffoliott
    Moderator

    I love this thread, for the honest and serious posts. Thanks to Tess for bumping it up a bit.

    Tess, I like your bum joke. And yes, people with OCD can be oversensitive and prone to misinterpret a rough remark or a put-on by a friend. We can ruminate for a long time about how that was meant, and how earnestly we should take it. Whereas others simply dismiss it within the minute, even when it was really something out of order.

    And: I too intensely hate it when some ignorant celeb states that he/she has OCD, when it's blatantly untrue; when it's just done to spice up interest a bit. Other conditions (AIDS, being in a wheelchair, multiple sclerosis, cancer) are surely not abused in this way.

    Oh well, I hate celebs who are famous just because they're famous anyway.

    Mon Aug 16 2010 9:50:28 #

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