No one gets it

I was asking my mom a question because I’ve been reflecting a lot on childhood behaviors potentially having been undiagnosed anxiety and OCD (I’m diagnosed now as an adult). When I asked, she told me I am dramatic and that I’m so obsessed with having a disorder but that “you’re fine” and therefore, being overdramatic. Then she said she has characteristics but that these things don’t bother her. And I asked her if there was a fear associated with it like “do you do it because you’re afraid something bad will happen? Like you count the number of steps and it has to be a number of steps otherwise someone you live will die and then you had that thought so now you have to knock on wood over and over again just to prevent it from happening?” And she said “why would I think that? That’s irrational” and I told her “that’s OCD it’s an irrational thought that you obsesses over and a compulsion to relieve the anxiety, and both cause distress and affect your daily life” and when I tried explaining it to her she told me “that’s not ocd”. And now I’m here worried, as I’m writing this, that someone is going to read this and say that I said something wrong. And I’m not trying to discount anyone’s experiences. I just feel like a lot of people who don’t actually have OCD say they do. I just feel like no one else around me understands it and ever will. And I want a group where I can just talk about those frustrations with it- but all the OCD groups I find are just about skills or ERP. None involve “wow I hate this. Why does it have to be me?” That I think we be more therapeutic than learning skills. Being able to actually connect with someone about it. Idk, am I crazy?

Barrettbjorn

Date posted: 13h

It’s not your responsibility to make her understand. It sounds frustrating since you are trying to get some info on your families medical history, but at the end of the day if they don’t want to understand it they’re not going to. She sounds similar to my father haha. If you ever want to rant to me I’m here!

A Foolish Sa...

Date posted: 13h

Well, let me be the first here to tell you that you are not crazy. Furthermore, when it comes to explaining what Ocd is to people who have either never heard of it or have but only in a limited capacity, just know that you need to be patient with them because they basically won’t be able to sympathize with someone who has Ocd until they themselves are able to understand what it is. Essentially, it’s kind of like a “if you know then you know” type deal when it comes to sympathizing with someone who has Ocd. Thankfully, on this app there are plenty of people here who happen to have Ocd, are comfortable enough sharing and talking about it with others, and are also willing to listen to you and talk to you about your experiences with Ocd. Finally, as someone who has been diagnosed with Ocd and is currently in therapy and is taking medication for Ocd let me tell you that I completely understand everything that you wrote above, as I have also had very similar experiences unfortunately. So just remember that you are never truly alone and that we are all on this journey together 🙂

A Foolish Sa...

Date posted: 13h

Also, as Madelynnpapaleo just commented, it’s not really your responsibility to make other people understand Ocd and how it affects you. Other people will only understand when they are feeling ready to understand, otherwise it’s not worth your time and energy 🙂

Anonymous

Date posted: 13h

I feel this! I tend to maintain friendships better with other people with severe mental health disorders. Even if they dont have OCD. Especially ones where there is a level of irrational thought or even periodic psychosis. Oh also people that study/ studied psychology. Even if they dont have experiential knowledge of these conditions they tend to understand that the brain can do very strange things. I met a lot of these ppl when I worked at a MH non-profit (pre-ocd diagnosis) and am still good friends with some of them. I hope you find your people.

Anonymous

Date posted: 9m

People do get it, but, it may not be people close to you. Mental health is still undergoing a lot of research and understanding in our modern age. Don't distress yourself with making others understand, just prioritize the people and spaces that do understand and allow them to help you live the best quality of life you deserve - the most important thing of them all.

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