If you had a college counselor tell you that you have OCD and even said he would play my story on an OCD commercial if he could, would you say I have been diagnosed? He technically can’t diagnose because he works for a college (even though he has a PHD in counseling). I’ve also been prescribed zoloft from my doctor for ocd but she didn’t technically diagnose me either. I always feel slightly ashamed for talking about ocd on social media because I haven’t TECHNICALLY been diagnosed. Can anyone relate to this or can give their opinion on if they think it matters that I haven’t been officially diagnosed? Then again, I’m not even sure what that process looks like.

I also haven't been officially diagnosed yet as I see a private therapist who cannot diagnosed me so whilst they have told me I definitely have it, I need to wait to be diagnosed by the NHS. Don't feel ashamed though, it is something that you experience and a diagnosis will not change your experience. At the end of the day, it is just a label ?

I mean...I've been diagnosed with compulsive behavior but not OCD yet because I've not seen an OCD therapist. However I still call it OCD because that's easier to explain. I would go to a therapist that specializes in this illness to get a correct diagnosis. And don't feel ashamed! This is just a part of who you are :)

diagnosis is actually kind of a weird concept. having an “official diagnosis” can mean a lot of things, and there’s not always a strict guideline for it. for example: my partner has adhd, and has struggled their whole life with schoolwork and focus. so much so that they were pulled from school by their parents and homeschooled until college. adhd ruled their life, and a therapist of theirs diagnosed them as a young teen using the DSM-5 (google this if interested). they had a diagnosis from a therapist and a lifelong history documented, but when they got to college, they were denied academic help for adhd because they had not been given one specific test. but because they had already been diagnosed, the university mental health system wouldn’t perform this test on them. seems backwards huh? i guess what i’m trying to say is that “official” diagnosis is a concept that is used to withhold resources from people who need them. sure there are people out there who may fake having something or be wrong about their diagnosis, but it doesn’t sound like you are one of them. and even if your counselor and doctor are wrong/unqualified (i doubt it though) your symptoms are still something you face. many with ocd start as self diagnosed because our obsessions can be to shameful to discuss even with a doctor, and that’s ok! what matters is that coping mechanisms for used ocd help us. ok i’m done! sorry for the long response!!!

Thank y’all so much. That was really helpful. I just didn’t want to make people think I’m one of those people who are just throwing ocd around when she hasn’t been diagnosed. Then again, I know that’s my ocd talking. I’ve struggled with 8-10 themes. I know I have it but I advocate on twitter a lot and don’t want to be discredited because I haven’t been diagnosed if that makes sense

@Jen22 I wouldn't think you would be discredited, I used to talk quite a lot about OCD on Twitter too. I ended up coming off Twitter because it became a compulsion! I'm sure the people on Twitter will realise that your experience with OCD is valid, usually people will be able to tell if you are just throwing the term around and you definitely don't sound like someone who is! I wouldn't worry about that ?

But how do you know you have been diagnosed? Do you know the process of that?