ThreeLittleBirds
- Date posted
- 5y
OCDiscoOCDisco
- Date posted
- 5y
OCD may be a disability, and it is certainly disabling, but it does NOT mean you don't deserve a job, or that you are broken, or that you are wrong. The world can see us however they want but we can and will live with this disability and function just as well as anyone else. OCD isn't our identity, it is just one small part of a larger whole that makes up any human being. The world may call you disabled but you are not un-able.
ThreeLittleBirdsThreeLittleB...
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you for this, it’s hard to connect this mental illness with my concrete life. Since being diagnosed my ocd hasn’t come up on any official document. So being asked about it on a job application shook me core. It’s a trigger to think of this as a disability. I’ve worked hard to perform at work and in my spare time I suffer in silence. I’ve made a choice to not let this affect me and for an official platform to declare ocd as a disability just makes me want to cry. It feels like it diminishes my worth, I feel stigmatized.
OCDiscoOCDisco
- Date posted
- 5y
@ThreeLittleBirds I know, I'm dreading getting into a job again myself after failing to follow up an application (which was my "it's OCD" moment). Just remember that though you are struggling with OCD, your worth as an employee and as a human being is not diminished, and labels like disabled are just used to put you in a neat box- they have no idea how it will really affect anything! They probably still think all OCD is is flicking the lights on and off!
ThreeLittleBirdsThreeLittleB...
- Date posted
- 5y
@OCDisco You’re so right best of luck to us both!!! There needs to be a network that helps people with mental illness get a job. How cool would it be to work with other people who have ocd lol anyways we still gotta push forward and work hard like everyone else. And I hope we are treated the same as everyone else.
Mike1234Mike1234
- Date posted
- 5y
I wouldn’t answer the question. It’s no ones business but your own. Most people with ocd don’t even know they have it and work in high paying jobs. Today, the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation says that the average OCD individual spends more than 9 years searching for help, and is diagnosed by 3 to 4 doctors before finally getting the right diagnosis.
ThreeLittleBirdsThreeLittleB...
- Date posted
- 5y
I put that I didn’t have any disabilities. I strongly believe that the only ones who needs to know I have ocd are me and my doctor.
Sunrise22Sunrise22
- Date posted
- 5y
You’re no less deserving of a job than someone in a wheelchair or someone who walks with crutches. No one would say that that person doesn’t deserve the job. Employers ask this question for a variety of reasons. They may want to know if you’ll need reasonable accommodations, which by law they’re required to provide so that you can do your job. But more than likely, they’re asking whether you have a disability so that they can make sure they’re adhering to employment laws, i.e. that they’re complying by not discriminating against those with a disability when considering who to hire for a position.
ThreeLittleBirdsThreeLittleB...
- Date posted
- 5y
In a rural state with few jobs admission seems like the possibility of elimination even if it’s against the law.
Sunrise22Sunrise22
- Date posted
- 5y
@ThreeLittleBirds Ain’t that the truth - my job has me working with a lot of people in rural areas and I feel like unfortunately a lot of employers are not following the law regarding disabilities
Sunrise22Sunrise22
- Date posted
- 5y
You don’t have to answer this question and you don’t have to tell your employer that you have a disability unless you find that you need an accommodation to keep doing your job. In that case, a letter from your doctor can lay out what you need to continue working but they do not need to state what your disability is.
Related posts
Kammy
- Date posted
- 18w
This is draining
I started dealing with OCD when I became fixated on health issues, particularly the fear of contracting a life-threatening disease. If I experienced any kind of medical symptom, no matter how small, that even remotely hinted at something potentially fatal, it would drive me crazy, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. Then one day, I started having intrusive thoughts about accidentally hitting someone with my car, and I would end up driving in circles to check if I had. Eventually, I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of new obsessive thoughts and compulsions. One day, while I was at the park, a squirrel came near me, and for some reason, I felt like it attacked me. I Googled it and learned that squirrels could carry rabies, which spiraled me into a deep fear of rabies. I became consumed with the thought I received a bite from a squirrel, raccoon, or bat any time I’m in areas that trigger me. It started off only being inside then transferred to even being in my own home. This made me obsess over every physical sensation in my body, compulsively checking to make sure nothing was wrong. One compulsion that I hated the most would to be putting rubbing alcohol on me to make sure that I had no open wounds. Every day feels like I’m walking around in a fog of anxiety, constantly worrying that I won’t even make it to old age. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that I just want it all to end. It stresses me so bad at times to where my brain feels like I’ve been studying all day.
Sam0506
- Date posted
- 9w
Should I share my ocd diagnosis with new employer?
I posted the other day about my subtype of staring ocd but I’m supposed to start a new job next week. I work in wellness/beauty and will be seeing people half naked. It doesn’t trigger me as I’m treating clients but only when I’m not supposed to be looking (like normal interactions). It happens when people wear very revealing clothes or are super curvy and my eye goes to that area. It also happens when people are adjusting themselves and my eye goes to their hands. It’s very embarrassing and I quit my last job because of this and I don’t want to make more people feel uncomfortable. It left me very depressed and hopeless. It’s such a frustrating type of ocd to deal with because it impacts me financially and socially. I just want to feel okay. Anyways, I’m writing this because I’m wondering if I should share with my new employer about this issue so I don’t weird anyone out or keep it to myself? I’m not sure what to do. I need money as I have a mortgage and two kids and would like to help my husband. I’m currently on Zoloft 50mg, have done therapy but this is such a hard type to treat as it’s not the cleaning type. I know I’m not supposed to ask for advice about what to do but I need to know so I can make a decision and not get cold feet.
HOY
- Date posted
- 8w
Wild
It kinda mind boggling to me how OCD can even cause stuff to happen to us physically as well. And it all feeling real. It only reminds me how flawed our bodies really are. If people were to hear of our situations they'd call us names and choose to stay ignorant. People fear what they cannot understand. Before this I could have possible have been one of them, but here I am. OCD really goes for anybody. Does not matter what ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation you are. It is a twisted disorder that likes to make others lives harder. If I were to tell myself before this that this would happen, I would'nt believe it. I was convinced I am evil, I cried for weeks. I had to sleep in my parents bedroom for a period of time cause I couldn't face the darkness alone. This application helped me greatly during this, cause I learned just as much about OCD as I did about myself. At the same time I get saddened cause I see people going through the exact same, or much worse. If any who come across this post have any questions for me, u can feel free to do so
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