do you think ocd is something i should let my teachers know i have? my ocd gets in the way of my work sometimes especially during english class, reading is especially hard to do and doing a lot of writing really triggers my perfectionism. i just don’t know whether it’s something to tell my teachers or not. part of me thinks yes bc maybe it’ll help teachers understand that some things might be a little more tough for me and obviously i’m not looking for any like pity or excuses or anything just like letting them know that i might need some extra help sometimes or just for them to be a little patient with me or let me have a little break on my desk to maybe stop writing for a few minutes and just take a few deep breaths you know what i mean? what do you guys think?

What do you think about telling your family you have or think you have OCD?

How open are you about your OCD to friends, coworkers, bosses, professors, in-laws, etc.? As I learn more about OCD, I realize that it’s a huge part of who I am- for better or worse. Given the choice, I would choose not to have it of course. But the community and sense of identity I’ve gained since my diagnosis and meeting fellow OCD peeps is kind of special to me. I don’t know how to present myself to people. In some ways, I kind of want to tell everyone I have to interact with regularly that I have OCD as a little disclaimer. It would save a lot of explaining and awkwardness. But I also hate self disclosing and don’t like to answer a lot of questions or have to educate people on OCD when they assume I must live like Monk since I have OCD 😐 I also don’t want to be known as the weird girl who over shares or makes something their whole personality.. and if I were to be up front about my OCD, I don’t want people to think I’m one of those, “omg I’m soooo OCD! I have to make sure all my labels face out!!” type of people. When do you choose to let people know about your OCD? Is it something you keep to yourself, or is it something you “take pride in” and are up front about? Are there certain people you tell (like boss, college advisor, etc.) and others you don’t disclose that to? How much of your identity is OCD?

Are there any new teachers out there struggling to manage supporting your students during these challenging times as well as being overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts and physical symptoms. My thoughts tend to be centered around my own performance: the OCD tells me that everything that doesn’t go exactly to plan is my fault and I deserve to feel ashamed. Comment if you’re a teacher struggling with OCD. It would be nice to know that we aren’t alone.