sOCD

I can’t be the only one who has seen after school specials (and maybe a little slice of the show Obsessed) about OCD.  Because I would have sworn 5 years ago that you have to wash your hands a jillion times a day to be actually diagnosed with OCD.  Now, though, we toss this term around so much that it’s another word for fastidiously tidy or full-of-habits.   Anyone who hints at rigidity is OCD.  I’m going to propose that we call these people (approximately 96% of us) sOCD (prounounced So-CD).  The small 's' is for “sort of”.  Because we all want to be OCD, it’s true, but you can’t always get what you want.

 

We could use sOCD like this: 

“Wow your desk is so clean – you are totally sOCD!”

“I am sOCD, I keep my kitchen spotless.”

“I am a little bit sOCD about where I keep my toothbrush – sorry!”

“My dad is sOCD that the bills in his wallet are organized perfectly in descending denominational order.”

See?  It works!  And while we are at it, we will together coin a new term that won’t trivialize or mock the agonizing anxiety disorder that is legit OCD.  

Recently I actually learned a thing or two about The Real OCD word.  I myself, through this experience, have realized that I just have sOCD by the way – sorry to disappoint for those who know me well.  I learned this on the occasion of my kid being sent home from school for barking.  In class.  And singing uncontrollably.  In the hallway.  The embarrassment and self-loathing that has been a hallmark of this child’s life because of the vast reach of The Real OCD is staggering.  

When we whisked this sweetie pie out of school and to the psychiatrist, the good doc asked this: “Have you ever harmed yourself or thought about it?”.  The silence that ensued was so lengthy that it dripped with meaning.  It was clear that the answer was yes.  And the answer was yes because apparently handwashing is just a teeny tip of the OCD iceberg.  There are mental obsessions and tics and rigidities and habits and fears and obsessive homework-checkings.  It is an anxiety monster unleashed with desperate tries at controlling anything that might be controllable.  And it is terrifying.  And real.  And not for everyone. 

So I am now completely sOCD about such activities as finding the right medications, the right therapists, and the best positive reinforcement system.  I am sOCD about making sure that the school bag is packed with 23* pencils before a school day launches.    

And that is all before setting off for work in the morning where I think I’ll start my day with a nice desk wipe-down.

*Number not exaggerated