Why do you think OCD is so misunderstood? We wrote a good post on this topic:

I haven’t read the article yet, however personally I think one reason why OCD is so misunderstood is because if you don’t have OCD yourself, I understand why it would be so difficult for you to understand it. Many of the fears people have from OCD may sound irrational or silly, but guess what? Many of us with OCD (perhaps not all) are able to recognize how irrational our fears are, yet that doesn’t make them any less real to OCD sufferers. For me personally, I am not even able to fully understand OCD myself, despite suffering with it for many, many years. It is not a rational disorder, it often doesn’t make sense. So I believe until more research is done on OCD and what causes it, I think OCD will remain a misunderstood disorder. Also, the way it is portrayed in the media, absolutely doesn’t help to make OCD more understood, which is a shame.

I read the article and one more thing I wanted to say is that it really bothered me when someone had said the words to me “You are OCD”. (This is taken out of context a bit, but this was after I told this person I had OCD). Anyways, this is not true. I am not OCD. I have OCD, but OCD is not who I am. It does not define me as who I am as a person. I think people who don’t understand OCD, might sometimes see it as a defect in someone else’s personality, which there can be people who have obsessive personalities, but that is not what OCD is.

I think ocd is misunderstood because a great deal of it is internal and dealing w the synapses in the brain meaning it’s not visible to the naked eye of another individual. Even with exuding physical obsessions, I think people assume instead of trying to think what’s occurring at that moment. Considering people can’t feel our anxiety n stress and see the chaos running thru our brains, I think since they can’t experience the extreme pain we go thru they don’t understand the true severity of OCD. Putting all the stigmas aside, I think most people are uneducated and Misinformed due to the fact that if it doesn’t affect them, they aren’t going to take the time to research it. Even our closest family members and friends (mine being a dr) will never fully understand what goes on inside our brains. My friend knows and tells me she is proud of me when I conquer an obsession, but at the same token; I annoy the heck out of her and put a lot of pressure on her unintentionally due to my inability to have restraint in waiting and not being impulsive.

@Kelce87: Even the physical aspects of OCD (the compulsions), we with OCD often try to hide that and not let other people see if we can help it. So I feel like the majority of OCD is not seen to other people; the internal thoughts, or the external compulsions.

People who don't have it just don't get it, they think you can just get over it!? Like say things like 'just don't check' if it was that easy then I wouldn't be here...