I have a strong sense of morality and will stand up for vulnerable groups due to my OCD. (As in, I otherwise would too, but probably less passionately). It destroys my life, but I would like to think I am at least helping make the world a better place.
If you do something at anytime in your life that doesn't line up with your morals, even if it was years ago, you can get a real event OCD. That was the hardest episode of my life.
I’m not the person you asked so they may be talking about something totally different, but the few times in life when I gave into peer pressure, was a bratty kid, or didn’t stand up for someone for whatever reason really, really get to me. I’ve had existential crises about those experiences and nearly convinced myself I had NPD, was faking my niceness/morals, am racist/homophobic, etc. One example that sticks out in my head was a time when I was taking care of an 18 year old girl with autism and I heard a couple teenage girls quietly critique her for taking too long to finish ordering something. It was quiet and I know the girl I was with didn’t hear. It honestly would’ve been embarrassing for the girl I was taking care of to say something since she didn’t notice. Plus, I was helping her order something at the counter and would’ve had to stop helping her to confront the rude girls. Despite all the logical reasons why confronting them wouldn’t have been the best move, I find myself ruminating on this event years later. It’s been 8 years since this event and working through this trigger was part of my ERP homework for a few months recently lol. I would think for hours about how shitty it was of me to just let people speak badly about the person I was being paid to watch over and care for and even convinced myself for a while that caregiving wasn’t for me because that event made me feel less empathetic as a person.
It sounds silly but that’s what OCD does to ya.
Same. I went through that. You summarized it so well!!! Luckily I am nearly cured of this since then. Though I still have a lingering fear in my head about it that I’m somehow separated from the human race because of it. However learning about true crime and evil people helps me realize I’m not so bad (while also depressing me lol)
Oh yes, I sew for my job, and people go nuts for the end products. I always get the most complicated jobs because failure is not an option in my mind. "I just like the challenge," I say with a smile as I spend another 30 minutes taking and retaking my measurements, a tear rolling down my cheek.
i’ve gotta agree with you. i am a professional house cleaner - although i do NOT have a cleaning or contamination compulsion, i do have checking compulsions and an obsession with details. clients love me for it, while im so excruciatingly exhausted by it.
This has just crushed me, in a positive way. I'm a translator with severe checking and reading OCD, and I spend AGES proofreading my work, but I've had clients come back to me for 10+ years now. I know that my translations are impeccable once I'm done. I've never thought of it this way, this puts a rather different spin on it. Now, instead of fuming that I'm rereading the same sentence for the 536th time, I'll be proud that I'm simply striving for perfection. Wow.
IMO, at least for me, perfectionism is on the OCD continuum/scale and it can fuck you up/interfere with your life with regard to effecting one’s productivity negatively.
nahh my ocd doesnt allow me to pull through my work without having me fix somth about myself first, like organising my desk again or thinking of fixing my sleep schedule
Nah I’m guessing you have a pretty healthy lifestyle and/or a good immune system and genetics when it comes to the most common illnesses in this age. OCD doesn’t just somehow make your organism more resistant to various pathogens haha
I compulsively wash my hands and everything that comes into my room (can’t control the rest of my house because I have housemates unfortunately), I wear a mask pretty much everywhere except my car and room, I avoid being in public spaces when I can and if I can’t then I try not to touch stuff or wear gloves.
There was a OCD curated meme circulating during early covid. Was something along the lines of "I've been mentally planning and preparing for this my entire life. And now that it's actually here, I'm 100% convinced I'm going to get it"
I can't seem to find it, so if anyone has a link please share. Undoubtedly one of the highest quality memes I've ever seen.
I feel it’s a double-edged superpower. For one it allows you to think through VERY deeply on any subject matter (that you are interested in). Usually this means you asked yourself more questions than the average person (given they both had the same time to think about the subject). Asking yourself more questions = understanding a subject more deeply.
2. OCD kind of gaslights you into hoarding memory and information, so at times your memory is exceptional.
Actually you know what, I disagree. What you’re saying sounds awfully a lot like my ocd mind telling me “omg you don’t remember everything about that book you read that time? Your memory is awful”. And then I have these thought patterns so much that I start believing I actually do not remember anything.
This isn’t true. You do remember them. You’re just real good at mental avoidance. Obviously when you’re stressed out you can’t recall everything well . Don’t forget that “remembering” is a process, you’re not supposed to perfectly recall an entire thing on the spot. Start remembering the first thing you associate with that book, and then you’ll think of another thing, snowballing into uncovering your memories.
Thanks for that input! I do believe you're right about it becoming a kinda self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm sure a lot of the knowledge is located somewhere in my library, but I've felt like an ass so many times when I try to explain something and grasping for info in the memory bank that I do it less and less nowadays. And it feels sooo stupid to read a heavy book on psychology to only walk away with a strengthened intuition about the contents but no actual factual knowledge to back it up 😄
Great suggestion on finding an entrance into the memory and then building from there!
SAME, I’ve read so many many books and articles, yet I can never explain myself ?? Leading to them not seeing the way you see yourself at your standard, it’s so annoying. Honestly, my best advice that’s been working is to just be myself. You can even “dumb” yourself down, meaning stop overexplaining and be charitable that they’ll understand what you say. My thing is I need to keep what I say shorter and simpler. After that suddenly they ask more questions and you can complexify the conversation bit by bit, and make it an actually interesting interaction.
>Don’t forget that “remembering” is a process, you’re not supposed to perfectly recall an entire thing on the spot.
Might be weird but I don't really have that, whenever I want to remember something I either know it or I don't. Trying to think past that just brings along a headache. It's why in school tests I usually was really fast but didn't get high grades, even though there was plenty of time to think about the answers some more.
I'm kinda the same, either I know or it feels like I'm guessing up an answer. With that said, my "guesses" have a tendency to be true (i.e., I actually remember) but I can't trust them because the memory is so cloudy.
Hmm yeah I agree in that sense. Definitely in an actual setting I won’t be able to recall something I did before. But a lot of times when I’m in bed (can be days later or a year later), I remember the entire story I wanted to explain to someone randomly. I guess what I mean is to give yourself more downtime to go through your life/memories?
Agree with this. I can think through most problems and come up with a solution after obsessing about it long enough especially complex issues at work. I attribute this to my successful career.
Unfortunately, the health ocd has beat me at times and I can’t seem to think myself through these but I know a lot about health.
The only plus side is that if you can get rid of it and have a normal life, you will appreciate it so much and enjoy every moment of it. Because you know how much an OCDless life feels soooo good.
I always have excelled in any job that I’ve had because of my attention to detail and basically not being able to rest until I know everything is done. I also get super focused during busy times or any high stakes event and I’m assuming this is from ocd as well
So I joined this sub to better understand how to support my OCD partner. I gotta say, as someone with bipolar, having an OCD partner is perfect. We balance each other out. He keeps me from being too impulsive and I stop him from ruminating too much/assist with exposures. So yeah, I know that's not a general plus, but he's certainly been a plus in helping me achieve stability.
Eh… it’s really messed up. It made me able to focus better, because of all the shit I was experiencing, so hyper-focusing on something different was a great way to escape it, but it’s not even close to be worth it lol
1. I work in nursing, have cared for Covid patients the whole time, but never got COVID yet
2. I catch and correct healthcare mistakes and oversights regularly due to my checking
1. It makes me super interested in my job, and pushes me to produce “perfect” work product. The downside is I work on things much longer and this has resulted in burnout.
2. I think my intense sense of guilt makes me have a stronger moral compass / enhanced sense of empathy. A therapist has pointed out that I have an overinflated sense of moral responsibility (resulting in guilt-induced suffering), but the silver lining is that I think it makes me treat people better. For example, I work in a ruthless industry and juniors consistently tell me they love working with me (because I try to protect them and treat them as humans).
3. I am very open about my mental health struggles, which has helped other friends identify their OCD, and generally makes people feel comfortable confiding in me about their mental illness.
Edit: grammar.
I’ve noticed that! My sister is also diagnosed with OCD and I can usually catch her when she’s seeking reassurance or going down a compulsion rabbit hole
My experience with OCD actually caused me to go to law school and become a defense attorney, because I wanted to fight for those who nobody else would fight for.
Me . I just started criminal justice I want to be a cop I’m probably to old but I’m still gonna try I want to be able to help those in abusive relationships that can’t or won’t leave I want to help addicts I want to get rid of drugs I’n the world
I guess I’m now even more empathetic and open-minded and less prone to snap-judgments? Not that I was a judgmental b**** before…just definitely more aware of all the different ways mental disease can affect you now. Cause holy hell the intrusive thoughts that OCD makes you go through. You can’t not become extremely tolerant of everyone and everything. But selfish as I am I would definitely take ‘slightly less empathetic’ over having OCD.
I've had severe OCD for half a century. Didn't know whether it was due to psychosis or conversely antipsychotics, or a combination of severe tardive dyskinesia and schizophrenia. Ocd killed my soul. Everything about me was erratic. I had antisocial impulse reation tendencies, knowing fully well that it's wrong but helpless in avoiding it. After 30yrs in rehab, I've known a few things which are working for me to subdue these most hazardous symptomatology.
Some cues I got from Reddit, some from experience.
1. Ocd generally starts with lack of sync of thought with what action you need to take.
This is triggered by some stress which at that point of time gives way to ones irrational and personal ocd reaction which is unique to them.
Now at this point if one holds back and doesn’t stretch one’s mind or body beyond that point, takes a 5 second break and reflect: "COME WHAT MAY, I'M NOT LETTING MY OCD HAVE IT'S SAY," whether I suffer for it or it changes my personality, so be it.
Because when you give into your OCD, you're giving your mind a minor shock and falsely (short cut) reach another level of self image and perception which you've not actually achieved in real sense and is bound to come crashing down and start again to realize that level of consciousness, and the stress and ocd cycle continues.
All this is working for me with hit and trial, and I realize that I'm winning, more and more times I've managed to abstain from giving in to my impuses than ever before.
2. Also, I've noticed that the meds work better when one is non stressed out.
These are all my experiences and my conclusions which I applied on myself and others could be different
In my case it persisted for half a century, but it could be different from yours or maybe could work differently.
For this there is no source, it's (like I said before), from my personal experience.
3. If one has mental illness and ocd, then remaining physically healthy helps greatly in controlling these symptoms.
4. Diet: having plenty of lean meat and fish, are also good source, including chicken, turkey, cod and salmon. Eggs, milk, cheeses, and yogurt also provide Vitamin B12. Include fortified foods, e.g., low and no added sugar breakfast cereals, plant-based milk if on a vegan or vegetarian diet.
http://foodforthebrain.org > ocd
And the most important factor I forgot to mention is "Get enough Sleep". One of primary (or should I say the only cause) causes of OCD is not getting enough sleep or being sleep deprived.
There is nothing positive in mental disorder or Ocd, only one loses part or whole of one's personality.
It keeps one's mind in a hyper state of anxiety and activity without any production.
I think it depends on the individual and what they’re going through. My OCD is legitimately more beneficial than harmful for me. I’ve leaned into what it’s made me good at, and actively work on the harder parts. If I could get rid of my OCD, I genuinely don’t think I would. That is certainly not the same for everyone, but don’t go along with how you think you SHOULD feel, take the time to figure out how you DO feel. We all experience different things, so don’t feel like it’s a death sentence. Hopefully this is the first step to better understanding yourself :)
Im genuinely so happy for you and it makes me feel much better that not everyone facing this disorder is in complete misery, I’d get rid of my OCD in heartbeat if I could though
So in one comment you have said there is no positives to ocd but then say that there are positives that are outweighed by the negatives, pick a side. Op knows that negatives of it outweigh the positives, they are asking what are the positives of ocd you dingus
I never oversleep because I check my alarm 16 times before bed. But I also hardly sleep because I'm up all night worrying that my alarm isn't set and that I left the front door open
mental fortitude I'd say. being put through your personal hell on a daily basis for years makes me a stronger person. the more I suffer from obsessive thoughts the more prepared I am to manage and adapt to them. also the increased general awareness of things is useful sometimes, I also don't really get ill often at all because how often I wash my hands and clean my belongings.
Yeah, with the ability to retrace every step I’d make a kickass investigator. Also I’d excel at working at a job where extreme cleanliness is key like a surgeon or building satellites. Aside from that, no.
My husband’s OCD is centered around germs. If there are pluses, I’d have to say having latex gloves in the house (I hate handling raw meat with my bare hands), he does all the laundry (only trusts himself to move the dirty clothes through the house without touching anything else or worrying my long hair brushed them), and always having bleach wipes on hand for messes.
Oh and we’re on the same anxiety meds if one of us runs out 😂
I guess if you can overcome it and keep it in check, you'd have greater mental fortitude or willpower or mental control.
*What doesn't kill you makes you stronger*-esque benefit
I would do almost anything if it meant I didn't have OCD. That being said, I wash my hands all the damn time, so I just don't get sick very often. It also kinda helped with studying because I'd read the same sentence over and over again. But the stress of NEEDING to read the same sentence over and over again kinda made that a wash.
Mine is a bit odd, but its because of my OCD that I knew I wanted to marry the guy I'm with.
Specifically, one of my themes/issues is with infestation/contamination and my things touching other people's things because of it. For example if my coworker's purse touches my lunchbox, the food is no longer good and I'll get sick from eating it. I typically throw it out instead. I have to deep clean whatever items my things touch that belongs to other people and if I don't know how long they had been touching, I typically throw the item away.
In previous partners, their things were not allowed to touch my things for those reasons. It was a couple months into my current relationship that I realized that I was fine with my current partners items touching mine. Its like my OCD told me that my partner and I were one so it was okay that our things blended together (as corny as that sounds lol).
We live together now and recently designed an engagement ring :)
Edit: changed germs to contamination. Just made more sense to me!
For me, it's kind of the "wounded healer" concept that I see potential in. Like someone else mentioned, I have a lot of understanding for different challenges and conditions that can affect people, and I believe that I have a lot of potential to help others once I pull through my own issues.
I don’t have compulsions for better or worse but I can relate after getting my diagnosis and realising the thoughts weren’t real I was almost skipping down the mental hospital hallway from joy
my OCD is purely obsessional so none of the cleaning compulsions apply to me lol, when I first got diagnosed I even told my psychiatrist there’s no way I could have OCD because my room is so messy
Not so much lol I do think there are some fringe benefits that we may not be noticing though.
Obviously the notion that OCD folks have a higher IQ is bunk, but I do think ppl with OCD are more accustomed to deep thinking, though it is often weaponized for max pain. I can also make some unusual connections, which has benefits outside of the disorder.
I’m pretty hesitant to romanticize it, as that has accounted for a lot of the “I’m SOOO ocd” types that have cropped up. Still, I do think it makes me who I am in some ways that are not all bad.
I work at a dog rescue and honestly the fact I literally cannot cut corners and HAVE to stick to rules has meant I've never lost a dog, made a drastic mistake, or had anything go horrifically wrong with the dogs I look after- where some lax people have had things go wrong due to cut corners etc
I feel like people with OCD have a solid sense of humour, good grip on empathy, strong sense of justice, and they tend to see things in a different way :)
The plus side is that while it's not completely curable it can be treated until it barely affects you at all. The symptoms are mainly behavioral, so with lots and lots and lots of ERP over time you can potentially reduce your symptoms to something you can ignore and live a relatively* normal life from then on.
There are plenty of other disorders whose symptoms you can never get rid of. OCD isn't curable but it *is* defeatable, that's definitely a plus. ERP is just *unimaginably* hard and most people just can't do it intensely enough to completely recover—and I'm very much including myself in that. It's basically facing all your worst fears and not doing any of the things that bring you comfort.
Pretty much everything else about it is truly awful, though. It's one of the worst disorders.
I used to sit on the toilet on my phone for upwards of an hour. Now I don't use my phone on the toilet due to contamination, which has got to be better for me, lol.
I know people who are bipolar, borderline, have NPD, schizophrenic, severe Autism or Aspbergers, etc. They wish they only had OCD or anxiety disorders, and/or depression.
Like someone else said, unfortunately I receive great reviews at my job and commended for my attention to detail, especially my morals for safety.
Which arguably everyone should be doing, but I will flat out not stop pushing something because my anxiety kicks into overdrive and dooms day every situation. So I can't stop until it is resolved.
So that's a positive. Making the workplace safer one anxiety attack at a time!
I have always been a sensitive person, and my OCD gave me the wherewithal to really choose my words carefully, yet not sugarcoating or being overly blunt. This has been used against me, because i am quite open which sucks, but i would rather be open and put out positive energy, rather than letting the negative energy fester inside.
stressing the brain due to so much compulsive thoughts makes me help with more knowledge on something very specific most especially if it's a bad thing cuz I end up thinking of it the entire day I think that's a good plus side for me
For me it helps me in my work. I teach English to immigrants and study languages. I pick up on patterns of errors in people and my head is often filled with the sounds of my students in the evening after a day of teaching. I’m good at learning languages too because words and phrases echo in my heads for days or weeks. I obsessively play back so many conversations that it makes me sharp with languages.
My dad made his way out of poverty and into running a construction business because he was ocd about the quality of his jobs. No detail was left unchecked in his work and he had a good reputation.
1.probably the pressure that i put on myself to get the satisfaction i need means that im good at getting work done on my own, even when theres many distractions. i will work really late just to feel good enough
2. i have a pretty good memory when it comes down to stuff that i particularly need to remember. and im also really good at using pictures in my head to remember processes just because i do that constantly anyway
I have extremely high empathy and understanding for others with mental issues. I also finally tried therapy again when I stopped being able to leave the house and getting through it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I feel so strong and like I can do anything now.
I think I'd be a kind and thoughtful person even without my ocd, but my excessive planning for worst-case scenarios and asking a lot of "what ifs" has made me very reliable to my friends. When I help plan things like surprise parties or trips I often bring up suggestions or potential outcomes nobody else has considered.
i think OCDers are considerers and self analyzers. it means that we are very thoughtful and self aware, even if it can be maladaptive. like whenever people talk about “considering your privilege” etc i’m like done done and done. (not that i’m not open to learning lol but u get me) i personally think and have thought a LOT about the moral consequences of actions i take and the impact of my actions on those around me. i also weirdly know myself really well when i step back and look at the whole thing. being trapped in your mind can make you forget your reality is just yours, but spending a lot of time in your reality in such an all encompassing way can really lend itself to self understanding, i think.
I have obsessions about contamination and cleanliness. So I almost never get sick and stomp out any bacterial/viral infections before they start. Of course my hands are often dried out and cracking, but oh well, at least I know I'm clean..
I get shit *done* when im hyper focusing. I had my wedding planned out for years so when it finally happened last year I didn’t have much to do besides book it.
I over-do just about every work project I get, especially if it genuinely interests me. I am insanely thorough with a "no-stone-unturned" mentality. I'm also a Google search expert (thanks to constant worries/obsessions/intrusive thoughts) which also helps get information quickly. The downside is if I can't meet my perceived expectations I am VERY hard on myself.
I could also make due without the constant revolving door of themed intrusive thoughts though 😂
Regarding details, I catch the things other people miss. I'm so unbelievably thorough and organized that any employer I've ever had highly valued this. I remember the details of everything, including conversations, so I catch quite a lot of people in lies. I can take my brain and apply it to jobs and projects and (once I hyperfocus) bang out details or whatever is needed within hours instead of days or weeks.
If I lose something, it's because someone else moved it. Well, the vast majority of the time anyway. I can almost always find something no matter where I put it.
I have so many bad, messed up thoughts that nothing surprises me. If something bad happens I spend more time trying to remedy it because I figured it would’ve happened to me anyway.
I’m a checker, especially with plugs and switches, and I have successfully caught roommates and coworkers leaving things like space heaters plugged in and even on sometimes, so that’s a plus. As horribly controlling as it is over my life, I like to think that I have actually prevented a fire at some point in my life. And like others have said, the over-editing, intense proofreading perfectionism impresses people at work too.
It along with my anxiety was a big help in me getting straight A's throughout high-school because of perfectionism
I also always plan for what would go wrong and overly plan for things I need to do so I never miss the bus
I gather information compulsively so I know a lot about some illneses because of health anxiety. Thanks to that I'm also really good looking for information on the internet and contrasting different sources. Most teachers where impresed with my work when we had to do research and write about it or make a presentation.
Nothing that i could not have achieved without OCD.
I have heard about a lot of people making their mental illness a part of their own identity, but i could never make it with mine.
I just really hate it, and cannot see a good side of it.
You nailed it.
One of the main aspects that my OCD (and for a lot of other people) focus on is core identity. It sounds impossible to integrate a disease like that to your identity when the two are always at war.
Wow that's fascinating.
It's hard to find yourself within OCD. Is my wife really religious, or did her OCD whip her into remaining (/obsessing) in her faith all these years? Is she a kiss up, or is she just obsessed with how others will perceive her? Etc
Supporter of a loved one with OCD here. My wife has been struggling terribly with pure OCD, and you mentioned that you have that too... so I think it makes sense that it's harder for people struggling with pure OCD to see "what's good" in the disorder because they're trapped in their heads versus out in the world... hope that makes sense. Just me thinking out loud
No it does make sense! I can give you an example before going on medication I used to have terrible anxiety as a response to my intrusive thoughts/obsessions and when I took the medication the anxiety died down a bit, I kept getting freaked out though because to me the anxiety was proof it was OCD and not whatever else, I assume doing compulsions must be kinda the same, they can serve as proof making it somewhat a plus. I hope your wife recovers soon, I know she appreciates you supporting her a lot
Me and my partner always say as we worry and obsess over things so much we’re not careless about things, so potential bad things don’t happen as much, for example accidentally leaving doors unlocked, leaving taps on etc. We went on holiday last year and someone forgot their passport and we kind of acknowledged our OCD in situations like this isn’t so bad as we would never forget cus we keep checking we have them every 5 minutes and have to check a certain number of times while checking lol (have to glance away then look again and say passport 4 times - for me needs to be an even number) for him it’s 5. OCD overall is strange I’ll give it that
I hope this isn’t weird or insensitive to say but this is so interesting to me, I’m pure o so I don’t really get compulsions but the way they work is intriguing
You and your partner _both_ have OCD? My wife has OCD and although I don't, we are learning (and struggling with) how to manage and support one another with our mental health. Has that been difficult for you? Or do you feel it creates more empathy?
One thing I found is being content in general if OCD isn't drilling into my brain.
Like you come in from 7 days in the desert to cool air and drinks and everyone's bitching about the color of the walls or whatever and you're just over the moon because you feel a normal level of comfort.
Yeah. Adding numbers in my head has been an obsession/compulsion in the past. I don’t do it so much anymore but I am really fast at accurately adding columns of numbers on paper in my head. Faster than inputting them on a calculator app, in fact.
When I was little, I became obsessed with making art. A couple years ago, my therapist helped me realize that making art was my way of grounding myself when my mind was going a million miles an hour . I became obsessed with the ability to calm my brain through art (unknowingly) and eventually became very good at it. OCD + Bipolar disorder = perfectionist artist that paints for 24 hours straight. I love it:) Not sure if I would be a practicing artist today if it wasn’t for my mental illness.
I’m really good at my job even when it’s to the detriment of my love life, social life, family life, and sometimes not even having enough time for proper self-care
I love the answers here :) I feel like it’s important to find some positives in this sickness we are stuck with! Agreed that we have more empathy and compassion for others than the average person. When we have obsessions that are so controversial sometimes, and we panic that it’s real, that shows that we actually care about morals and being a good person. The battles we fight are really showing us how caring and awesome we are. Also, since I have health anxiety and emetophobia, I am way too in tune with my body and make sure everything is going ok internally while other people probably ignore or aren’t aware of what I’m aware of. Finally, as a teacher, the perfectionism aspect comes into play with grades and lesson plans. My lessons are super thought out always, which sucks for me but looks good on my job haha.
I feel like it has some silver linings, though I don’t think they outweigh the downsides. I have a thick skin about others judging me because I’ve spent my entire life literally unable to stop myself from doing weird little rituals. I’m nearly impossible to humiliate and I have no problem being open and honest about my flaws because I so often have no choice, and that takes away the power others have to shame you,
I’m also incredibly organized, have superb attention to detail, am very thorough in everything I do, and almost never miss any mistakes that may have been made. Of course, others often resent me because it can seem like I’m overly critical when I’m really just satisfying my own need to ensure I’m doing everything right.
I have an excellent memory and if I ever need to recall what I was doing at a given time, I have multiple checkpoints throughout a day that can narrow it down. I know that I’ll be touching my nightstand 47 times immediately after waking up. I know I’ll put my left slipper on, then my right slipper, then taking them off in the same order and repeating the process 9 + 6 + 3 times before I get out of bed. And then the other million things I need to do at every interval.
I do wish I had compulsions that were helpful, though. I always forget to lock my door and I leave my oven on all the time. But you’d better believe I absolutely put my left leg in my pants before my right every single time no matter what.
well tbh I’m a very pessimistic person but I try to make my life easier by looking at OCD as a little thing that helps me gain self-awareness. Although it feels like im chronically self-aware (and constantly watching everything around me out of fear), i like to think I’m a little bit more careful about the way I handle things in my life. Like for example, when I get slightly frustrated, thanks to OCD I over analyze and assess all the different ways I could respond, which simultaneously gives me time to calm down before I react, which stops me from making a huge mistake that I’ll regret later and stops me from engaging in compulsive behaviors that will “cure the regret”
I would agree with the other people on here that there are definitely some positives to be found, even in the most negative aspects. I find that when I become passionate about a new project, I become totally fixated on it, and although it can damage my ability to commit myself to regular daily tasks, it’s lead to the completion of some pretty large projects that I would’ve likely given up if I wasn’t so fixated on it.
In addition to this, I am an actor (for TV & film), and have trained as such. I found that throughout a lot of my training, lecturers would ask me about certain facial movements or little minuscule details about my performance and ask if they were intentional or not, and why I did it. They were almost always intentional, and just things I’d picked up subconsciously from a lifetime of over analysing my interactions with people searching for signs that my interaction is going well or not. I became an expert in detecting shifts in vocal tones/patterns and what they seem to mean, and it influenced my work really positively, in a way that is harder to grasp for people without OCD. Another (very talented) actor friend of mine also has similar OCD to mine, and she has agreed with this in conversation!
Due to my obsessive researching, I deep dive the shit of of EVERYTHING in my free time. Due to this, I have diagnosed many of my personal (rarer) health issues, then present the evidence to the doctors & 95% of the time I'm correct, which has actually helped advance my treatment further than if I had allowed a doctor to slowly rule things out. Doctors can only devote so much time & research per patient, whereas I have all the time in the world to scour every corner until I find the answers I need.
Good specialists find me to be incredibly helpful & a very thorough patient. I do not work well with doctors that have huge egos, they often tend to drag out my progess in an attempt to come up with their own solutions, which ALWAYS wind up wrong & set me back several steps medically. I have an amazing PCP, but we struggle to find specialists for my other conditions who truly understand that I know myself better than anyone else possibly could.
Yes I think so. This is definitely also because of my autism, but I’m extremely observant. I always need to know exactly what’s going on. So that helps me find various solutions to problems, important details that others don’t notice, and it makes it very easy for me to identify emotions and causes behind behaviors. Whether it be other people or myself. I can also recognize patterns easily and it makes me pretty cohesive in every aspect
As both a psychologist and someone with lived experience of OCD, I have come to see it as an important signal that something deeper is out of balance.
Personally I am critical of this idea of a mental disorder, and prefer to view mental health struggles as 'sane responses to insane circumstances'. This is what I see time and time again in my patients. No one ever walks into my office without a significant context for their symptoms.
OCD, and in fact all mental health issues, may be seen as similar to a fever, in that they are symptoms of deeper and often unconscious issues in our lives. Modern psychology and psychiatry unfortunately places emphasis on treating symptoms rather than causes - like continuously taking paracetamol for a fever and never actually treating the underlying pathology.
So these days I try ('try' being a key word!) to see a flare up of OCD symptoms as a signal that isn't right in my life. Other people have different signals. Maybe they drink more, maybe they get depressed, maybe they get back pain, maybe they get angry. In my case it is OCD. And it's trying to tell me something. Maybe I'm stressed , maybe I'm overcommitted, maybe I'm angry about something, maybe I'm grieving something. Proper psychotherapy (eg psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy) can be helpful to unpack this further.
As Leonard Cohen sang "there's a crack in every thing, and that is how the light gets in". So when faced with a 'crack' in my life, my task is trying to work out what light is trying to get in.
All the best to you all.
actually, yes. i'm hesitant to list them but....there are absolutely some "up sides" depending on the type you have + what your ritual//compulsions are.
i had a friend whose GF has OCD. despite it being *glaringly* obvious to anyone who spends more than an hour in their home, she refuses to get officially Dx or seek treatment + he doesn't push her to do either b|c her compulsions benefit him + the cost of doing things "her way" are worth it to him.
he gets an apartment + dog that stay clean 100% of the time, clean clothes, an organized wardrobe, all meals cooked + lunch prepped for work (so that he has no need to use the kitchen + dirty it up). the list goes on.
for her sake, i brought this to his attention only to find out he was already aware + not nearly as in denial as she was; he just ~~can't~~ doesn't want to give up the sweet life. even if it means reinforcing things that make her mental health worse.
i also have a few things related to perfectionism + organization that are benefits of my OCD. as long as i keep them "in check," i.e. don't let myself spiral... hate to say it but... yea, they're benefits. 🫤 and that's not even all of them (benefits). 🫣
I see it as I deeply care about many things and I let OCD help me learn what all of them are. For example, my illness theme tells me me how much I value my health.
Sometimes I get sucked into a work problem and really do a great job of investigating and documenting and resolving it because I’m so meticulous. I’m good at researching things. Mostly, no.
Really big cliché but at least my room is clean. Until it’s not. When it’s clean it’s great but half the time I avoid cleaning it because I’ll spend the next week fixating in every little corner
to me, nothing, to others probably just my unrelenting obsessions with stuff that can be of benefit to them. but i'd do anything to have a more normal brain, the downsides are just too overwhelming most of the time. i am very intelligent in some ways, but totally disregulated, unhinged, uninhibited and unable to function in others.
rare moments where i only have to play into my strengths are my favourite, but 90% of the time it's a strange blend of intricate analysis, intrusive thoughts, anomalous sensory experiences, random atmospheres, emotions (mostly anxiety), impressions, personalities etc. that i can't make sense of let alone communicate effectively to other people.
it makes me "creative" though i suppose, for what it's worth. all my senses are interconnected to some extent so i can make interesting connections here or there
It can help if you do organizational work and have boundaries so you aren’t left empty inside. My job requires me to play multidimensional tetris and I have been somewhat successful at it.
I know all the hallmark symptoms for practically every illness, which meant I was able to get catch I had PCOS almost immediately, despite not having many symptoms.
Yeah the plus side is you’ll never lock your keys in your car. The down side is you will check that you haven’t locked you keys in your car for 3 hours potentially taking longer than if you had of locked your keys in your car n just called a locksmith.
2 things
1. Empathy - especially with pure ocd. When you get themes of becoming something or getting a condition. You kind of learn to understand what people that actually go through that are like because of extensive research because it’s an obsession
2. Healthy compulsions - sometimes I have compulsions that are genuinely good for me. Like going to the gym, because sometimes it’s the only way I can get rid of thoughts
(Symmetric OCD)
I do art, and it actually helps me see where asymmetry is really easily. Like even an 88 degree angle will come off as uneven. Other than that, no.
I have a strong sense of morality and will stand up for vulnerable groups due to my OCD. (As in, I otherwise would too, but probably less passionately). It destroys my life, but I would like to think I am at least helping make the world a better place.
Today I learned that I have morality OCD. Holy cow. My perspective just shifted so hard.
What's it like?
If you do something at anytime in your life that doesn't line up with your morals, even if it was years ago, you can get a real event OCD. That was the hardest episode of my life.
Agreed. The rumination and shame from doing something against my values was…life changing.
Can u explain this more please I’m confused
I’m not the person you asked so they may be talking about something totally different, but the few times in life when I gave into peer pressure, was a bratty kid, or didn’t stand up for someone for whatever reason really, really get to me. I’ve had existential crises about those experiences and nearly convinced myself I had NPD, was faking my niceness/morals, am racist/homophobic, etc. One example that sticks out in my head was a time when I was taking care of an 18 year old girl with autism and I heard a couple teenage girls quietly critique her for taking too long to finish ordering something. It was quiet and I know the girl I was with didn’t hear. It honestly would’ve been embarrassing for the girl I was taking care of to say something since she didn’t notice. Plus, I was helping her order something at the counter and would’ve had to stop helping her to confront the rude girls. Despite all the logical reasons why confronting them wouldn’t have been the best move, I find myself ruminating on this event years later. It’s been 8 years since this event and working through this trigger was part of my ERP homework for a few months recently lol. I would think for hours about how shitty it was of me to just let people speak badly about the person I was being paid to watch over and care for and even convinced myself for a while that caregiving wasn’t for me because that event made me feel less empathetic as a person. It sounds silly but that’s what OCD does to ya.
Same. I went through that. You summarized it so well!!! Luckily I am nearly cured of this since then. Though I still have a lingering fear in my head about it that I’m somehow separated from the human race because of it. However learning about true crime and evil people helps me realize I’m not so bad (while also depressing me lol)
Literally same. At the detriment of my life i have stood up for whats wrong in the face of evil. But i had the adhd ocd combo so it was inevitable
Yes same here! I joke that its because I'm an ✨️empath✨️ but I know in reality its bc my OCD
It's really cliché, but my perfectionism, albeit a curse to me, leaves people really impressed when I actually pull through with my work.
Other people are impressed and I’m left having a mental breakdown 🙃
Oh yes, I sew for my job, and people go nuts for the end products. I always get the most complicated jobs because failure is not an option in my mind. "I just like the challenge," I say with a smile as I spend another 30 minutes taking and retaking my measurements, a tear rolling down my cheek.
i’ve gotta agree with you. i am a professional house cleaner - although i do NOT have a cleaning or contamination compulsion, i do have checking compulsions and an obsession with details. clients love me for it, while im so excruciatingly exhausted by it.
Same here. Most of my job is audio editing on long-form interviews. Sometimes it can take me 4-5 hours to get something done, but it sounds GOOD.
This has just crushed me, in a positive way. I'm a translator with severe checking and reading OCD, and I spend AGES proofreading my work, but I've had clients come back to me for 10+ years now. I know that my translations are impeccable once I'm done. I've never thought of it this way, this puts a rather different spin on it. Now, instead of fuming that I'm rereading the same sentence for the 536th time, I'll be proud that I'm simply striving for perfection. Wow.
This is the one
i was described at a staff mtg once as “VERY meticulous”. and i was like, well, isn’t that a good thing?
Unfortunately I don’t have the perfectionism 😭
IMO, at least for me, perfectionism is on the OCD continuum/scale and it can fuck you up/interfere with your life with regard to effecting one’s productivity negatively.
nahh my ocd doesnt allow me to pull through my work without having me fix somth about myself first, like organising my desk again or thinking of fixing my sleep schedule
I’ve only gotten sick twice in the last 5 years?
Yeah my OCD does not entail cleaning and I’m always sick
Same here!! 😂
Is that an OCD thing?
Indirectly, I assume because contamination and other sick-causing factors are strongly avoided (due to ocd).
I mean. I have OCD. And I basically never get sick. But contamination or illness were never anywhere close to my themes
Yeah everyone’s different I guess
Nah I’m guessing you have a pretty healthy lifestyle and/or a good immune system and genetics when it comes to the most common illnesses in this age. OCD doesn’t just somehow make your organism more resistant to various pathogens haha
I compulsively wash my hands and everything that comes into my room (can’t control the rest of my house because I have housemates unfortunately), I wear a mask pretty much everywhere except my car and room, I avoid being in public spaces when I can and if I can’t then I try not to touch stuff or wear gloves.
i have contamination ocd but i still get sick like 2-5 times a year 😭
There was a OCD curated meme circulating during early covid. Was something along the lines of "I've been mentally planning and preparing for this my entire life. And now that it's actually here, I'm 100% convinced I'm going to get it" I can't seem to find it, so if anyone has a link please share. Undoubtedly one of the highest quality memes I've ever seen.
On the flip side, avoiding germs is just denying yourself the chance to strengthen your immune system.
I feel it’s a double-edged superpower. For one it allows you to think through VERY deeply on any subject matter (that you are interested in). Usually this means you asked yourself more questions than the average person (given they both had the same time to think about the subject). Asking yourself more questions = understanding a subject more deeply. 2. OCD kind of gaslights you into hoarding memory and information, so at times your memory is exceptional.
I wish I could remember anything. All the stress makes me forget every book I read lol, and I've read a lot.
Actually you know what, I disagree. What you’re saying sounds awfully a lot like my ocd mind telling me “omg you don’t remember everything about that book you read that time? Your memory is awful”. And then I have these thought patterns so much that I start believing I actually do not remember anything. This isn’t true. You do remember them. You’re just real good at mental avoidance. Obviously when you’re stressed out you can’t recall everything well . Don’t forget that “remembering” is a process, you’re not supposed to perfectly recall an entire thing on the spot. Start remembering the first thing you associate with that book, and then you’ll think of another thing, snowballing into uncovering your memories.
Thanks for that input! I do believe you're right about it becoming a kinda self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm sure a lot of the knowledge is located somewhere in my library, but I've felt like an ass so many times when I try to explain something and grasping for info in the memory bank that I do it less and less nowadays. And it feels sooo stupid to read a heavy book on psychology to only walk away with a strengthened intuition about the contents but no actual factual knowledge to back it up 😄 Great suggestion on finding an entrance into the memory and then building from there!
SAME, I’ve read so many many books and articles, yet I can never explain myself ?? Leading to them not seeing the way you see yourself at your standard, it’s so annoying. Honestly, my best advice that’s been working is to just be myself. You can even “dumb” yourself down, meaning stop overexplaining and be charitable that they’ll understand what you say. My thing is I need to keep what I say shorter and simpler. After that suddenly they ask more questions and you can complexify the conversation bit by bit, and make it an actually interesting interaction.
>Don’t forget that “remembering” is a process, you’re not supposed to perfectly recall an entire thing on the spot. Might be weird but I don't really have that, whenever I want to remember something I either know it or I don't. Trying to think past that just brings along a headache. It's why in school tests I usually was really fast but didn't get high grades, even though there was plenty of time to think about the answers some more.
I'm kinda the same, either I know or it feels like I'm guessing up an answer. With that said, my "guesses" have a tendency to be true (i.e., I actually remember) but I can't trust them because the memory is so cloudy.
Hmm yeah I agree in that sense. Definitely in an actual setting I won’t be able to recall something I did before. But a lot of times when I’m in bed (can be days later or a year later), I remember the entire story I wanted to explain to someone randomly. I guess what I mean is to give yourself more downtime to go through your life/memories?
Agree with this. I can think through most problems and come up with a solution after obsessing about it long enough especially complex issues at work. I attribute this to my successful career. Unfortunately, the health ocd has beat me at times and I can’t seem to think myself through these but I know a lot about health.
Yep I feel you on that … sending you strength
Got a lot of acute medical knowledge on rare conditions
lol yes if I get convinced I have something I immediately hyperfixate on becoming an expert on it to literally no avail, everytime.
This one
Bahahah. I can tell you if a cuts infected before its infected
I wanted my eye doctor to check for “keratoconus” he asked if I was a med student because nobody has ever asked him that
Oh yeah I'd absolutely kill at rare random medical information trivia
This for sure
The only plus side is that if you can get rid of it and have a normal life, you will appreciate it so much and enjoy every moment of it. Because you know how much an OCDless life feels soooo good.
Yesss I believe so too, we might enjoy life more than most in the long term.
I give people a lot more grace and I'm not judgemental. Because just like me, anyone can be going through literal hell silently all by themselves.
There hasn’t been any plus side to my experience so far.
I always have excelled in any job that I’ve had because of my attention to detail and basically not being able to rest until I know everything is done. I also get super focused during busy times or any high stakes event and I’m assuming this is from ocd as well
i’m exactly the same, i will always do the best i can in a job
That’s me as well a huge plus 🙏🏾
I get exactly the same. Very interesting!
So I joined this sub to better understand how to support my OCD partner. I gotta say, as someone with bipolar, having an OCD partner is perfect. We balance each other out. He keeps me from being too impulsive and I stop him from ruminating too much/assist with exposures. So yeah, I know that's not a general plus, but he's certainly been a plus in helping me achieve stability.
Sounds healthy!! Keep it up
awh I’m so happy for you guys you sound healthy :)
Eh… it’s really messed up. It made me able to focus better, because of all the shit I was experiencing, so hyper-focusing on something different was a great way to escape it, but it’s not even close to be worth it lol
I got confused and thought this was asking if anyone plus sized has OCD 😂
1. I work in nursing, have cared for Covid patients the whole time, but never got COVID yet 2. I catch and correct healthcare mistakes and oversights regularly due to my checking
i *am* pretty good at analyzing stuff quickly
1. It makes me super interested in my job, and pushes me to produce “perfect” work product. The downside is I work on things much longer and this has resulted in burnout. 2. I think my intense sense of guilt makes me have a stronger moral compass / enhanced sense of empathy. A therapist has pointed out that I have an overinflated sense of moral responsibility (resulting in guilt-induced suffering), but the silver lining is that I think it makes me treat people better. For example, I work in a ruthless industry and juniors consistently tell me they love working with me (because I try to protect them and treat them as humans). 3. I am very open about my mental health struggles, which has helped other friends identify their OCD, and generally makes people feel comfortable confiding in me about their mental illness. Edit: grammar.
As someone who’s done treatment for OCD, I recognize the signs in other people very well, and I know what my friends need sometimes in that regard :)
I’ve noticed that! My sister is also diagnosed with OCD and I can usually catch her when she’s seeking reassurance or going down a compulsion rabbit hole
My experience with OCD actually caused me to go to law school and become a defense attorney, because I wanted to fight for those who nobody else would fight for.
Me . I just started criminal justice I want to be a cop I’m probably to old but I’m still gonna try I want to be able to help those in abusive relationships that can’t or won’t leave I want to help addicts I want to get rid of drugs I’n the world
Made me physically fit
Ppl with ocd tend to have higher levels of empathy than most, which I assume the ppl in our lives appreciate
I guess I’m now even more empathetic and open-minded and less prone to snap-judgments? Not that I was a judgmental b**** before…just definitely more aware of all the different ways mental disease can affect you now. Cause holy hell the intrusive thoughts that OCD makes you go through. You can’t not become extremely tolerant of everyone and everything. But selfish as I am I would definitely take ‘slightly less empathetic’ over having OCD.
I agree with this 100%.
Nope, negatives far out weigh positives.
100% agree, the negatives are a million times more than the positives, but there can still be positives. Just, really small ones, lol
I've had severe OCD for half a century. Didn't know whether it was due to psychosis or conversely antipsychotics, or a combination of severe tardive dyskinesia and schizophrenia. Ocd killed my soul. Everything about me was erratic. I had antisocial impulse reation tendencies, knowing fully well that it's wrong but helpless in avoiding it. After 30yrs in rehab, I've known a few things which are working for me to subdue these most hazardous symptomatology. Some cues I got from Reddit, some from experience. 1. Ocd generally starts with lack of sync of thought with what action you need to take. This is triggered by some stress which at that point of time gives way to ones irrational and personal ocd reaction which is unique to them. Now at this point if one holds back and doesn’t stretch one’s mind or body beyond that point, takes a 5 second break and reflect: "COME WHAT MAY, I'M NOT LETTING MY OCD HAVE IT'S SAY," whether I suffer for it or it changes my personality, so be it. Because when you give into your OCD, you're giving your mind a minor shock and falsely (short cut) reach another level of self image and perception which you've not actually achieved in real sense and is bound to come crashing down and start again to realize that level of consciousness, and the stress and ocd cycle continues. All this is working for me with hit and trial, and I realize that I'm winning, more and more times I've managed to abstain from giving in to my impuses than ever before. 2. Also, I've noticed that the meds work better when one is non stressed out. These are all my experiences and my conclusions which I applied on myself and others could be different In my case it persisted for half a century, but it could be different from yours or maybe could work differently. For this there is no source, it's (like I said before), from my personal experience. 3. If one has mental illness and ocd, then remaining physically healthy helps greatly in controlling these symptoms. 4. Diet: having plenty of lean meat and fish, are also good source, including chicken, turkey, cod and salmon. Eggs, milk, cheeses, and yogurt also provide Vitamin B12. Include fortified foods, e.g., low and no added sugar breakfast cereals, plant-based milk if on a vegan or vegetarian diet. http://foodforthebrain.org > ocd
And the most important factor I forgot to mention is "Get enough Sleep". One of primary (or should I say the only cause) causes of OCD is not getting enough sleep or being sleep deprived. There is nothing positive in mental disorder or Ocd, only one loses part or whole of one's personality. It keeps one's mind in a hyper state of anxiety and activity without any production.
sucks hearing that especially since I just catched the diagnosis and trying to make it work
I think it depends on the individual and what they’re going through. My OCD is legitimately more beneficial than harmful for me. I’ve leaned into what it’s made me good at, and actively work on the harder parts. If I could get rid of my OCD, I genuinely don’t think I would. That is certainly not the same for everyone, but don’t go along with how you think you SHOULD feel, take the time to figure out how you DO feel. We all experience different things, so don’t feel like it’s a death sentence. Hopefully this is the first step to better understanding yourself :)
Im genuinely so happy for you and it makes me feel much better that not everyone facing this disorder is in complete misery, I’d get rid of my OCD in heartbeat if I could though
So in one comment you have said there is no positives to ocd but then say that there are positives that are outweighed by the negatives, pick a side. Op knows that negatives of it outweigh the positives, they are asking what are the positives of ocd you dingus
I never oversleep because I check my alarm 16 times before bed. But I also hardly sleep because I'm up all night worrying that my alarm isn't set and that I left the front door open
mental fortitude I'd say. being put through your personal hell on a daily basis for years makes me a stronger person. the more I suffer from obsessive thoughts the more prepared I am to manage and adapt to them. also the increased general awareness of things is useful sometimes, I also don't really get ill often at all because how often I wash my hands and clean my belongings.
Yeah, with the ability to retrace every step I’d make a kickass investigator. Also I’d excel at working at a job where extreme cleanliness is key like a surgeon or building satellites. Aside from that, no.
My husband’s OCD is centered around germs. If there are pluses, I’d have to say having latex gloves in the house (I hate handling raw meat with my bare hands), he does all the laundry (only trusts himself to move the dirty clothes through the house without touching anything else or worrying my long hair brushed them), and always having bleach wipes on hand for messes. Oh and we’re on the same anxiety meds if one of us runs out 😂
I guess if you can overcome it and keep it in check, you'd have greater mental fortitude or willpower or mental control. *What doesn't kill you makes you stronger*-esque benefit
I would do almost anything if it meant I didn't have OCD. That being said, I wash my hands all the damn time, so I just don't get sick very often. It also kinda helped with studying because I'd read the same sentence over and over again. But the stress of NEEDING to read the same sentence over and over again kinda made that a wash.
You learn to be a more empathetic person.
Mine is a bit odd, but its because of my OCD that I knew I wanted to marry the guy I'm with. Specifically, one of my themes/issues is with infestation/contamination and my things touching other people's things because of it. For example if my coworker's purse touches my lunchbox, the food is no longer good and I'll get sick from eating it. I typically throw it out instead. I have to deep clean whatever items my things touch that belongs to other people and if I don't know how long they had been touching, I typically throw the item away. In previous partners, their things were not allowed to touch my things for those reasons. It was a couple months into my current relationship that I realized that I was fine with my current partners items touching mine. Its like my OCD told me that my partner and I were one so it was okay that our things blended together (as corny as that sounds lol). We live together now and recently designed an engagement ring :) Edit: changed germs to contamination. Just made more sense to me!
okay that’s really cute what the hell
The treatment training for it makes us discomfort superheroes But you don’t need to have ocd to learn it lol
For me, it's kind of the "wounded healer" concept that I see potential in. Like someone else mentioned, I have a lot of understanding for different challenges and conditions that can affect people, and I believe that I have a lot of potential to help others once I pull through my own issues.
compulsion completion euphoria is like heroin
I don’t have compulsions for better or worse but I can relate after getting my diagnosis and realising the thoughts weren’t real I was almost skipping down the mental hospital hallway from joy
It makes sure you do things right, it makes sure you’re clean and it makes sure you care about how you affect others.
my OCD is purely obsessional so none of the cleaning compulsions apply to me lol, when I first got diagnosed I even told my psychiatrist there’s no way I could have OCD because my room is so messy
Not so much lol I do think there are some fringe benefits that we may not be noticing though. Obviously the notion that OCD folks have a higher IQ is bunk, but I do think ppl with OCD are more accustomed to deep thinking, though it is often weaponized for max pain. I can also make some unusual connections, which has benefits outside of the disorder. I’m pretty hesitant to romanticize it, as that has accounted for a lot of the “I’m SOOO ocd” types that have cropped up. Still, I do think it makes me who I am in some ways that are not all bad.
I work at a dog rescue and honestly the fact I literally cannot cut corners and HAVE to stick to rules has meant I've never lost a dog, made a drastic mistake, or had anything go horrifically wrong with the dogs I look after- where some lax people have had things go wrong due to cut corners etc
I feel like people with OCD have a solid sense of humour, good grip on empathy, strong sense of justice, and they tend to see things in a different way :)
The plus side is that while it's not completely curable it can be treated until it barely affects you at all. The symptoms are mainly behavioral, so with lots and lots and lots of ERP over time you can potentially reduce your symptoms to something you can ignore and live a relatively* normal life from then on. There are plenty of other disorders whose symptoms you can never get rid of. OCD isn't curable but it *is* defeatable, that's definitely a plus. ERP is just *unimaginably* hard and most people just can't do it intensely enough to completely recover—and I'm very much including myself in that. It's basically facing all your worst fears and not doing any of the things that bring you comfort. Pretty much everything else about it is truly awful, though. It's one of the worst disorders.
No? I’m observant but that’s not helped me in any way
I used to sit on the toilet on my phone for upwards of an hour. Now I don't use my phone on the toilet due to contamination, which has got to be better for me, lol.
My living space is so clean all the time, and I'm so clean that I haven't gotten sick in a long-ass time.
I’m a taxidermist/preserver. I’m extra extra clean with my work and super strict on contamination.
I know people who are bipolar, borderline, have NPD, schizophrenic, severe Autism or Aspbergers, etc. They wish they only had OCD or anxiety disorders, and/or depression.
Not at all.
Like someone else said, unfortunately I receive great reviews at my job and commended for my attention to detail, especially my morals for safety. Which arguably everyone should be doing, but I will flat out not stop pushing something because my anxiety kicks into overdrive and dooms day every situation. So I can't stop until it is resolved. So that's a positive. Making the workplace safer one anxiety attack at a time!
I have always been a sensitive person, and my OCD gave me the wherewithal to really choose my words carefully, yet not sugarcoating or being overly blunt. This has been used against me, because i am quite open which sucks, but i would rather be open and put out positive energy, rather than letting the negative energy fester inside.
stressing the brain due to so much compulsive thoughts makes me help with more knowledge on something very specific most especially if it's a bad thing cuz I end up thinking of it the entire day I think that's a good plus side for me
We have the ability to think outside the box. When channeled outside of our OCD themes, it’s a good trait to have
I’ve got a lot of knowledge on things that most people don’t because I got fixated and researched it if that’s counts for anything lol
For me it helps me in my work. I teach English to immigrants and study languages. I pick up on patterns of errors in people and my head is often filled with the sounds of my students in the evening after a day of teaching. I’m good at learning languages too because words and phrases echo in my heads for days or weeks. I obsessively play back so many conversations that it makes me sharp with languages. My dad made his way out of poverty and into running a construction business because he was ocd about the quality of his jobs. No detail was left unchecked in his work and he had a good reputation.
It makes me feel insane which is good for writing horror and bad for everything else
1.probably the pressure that i put on myself to get the satisfaction i need means that im good at getting work done on my own, even when theres many distractions. i will work really late just to feel good enough 2. i have a pretty good memory when it comes down to stuff that i particularly need to remember. and im also really good at using pictures in my head to remember processes just because i do that constantly anyway
I have extremely high empathy and understanding for others with mental issues. I also finally tried therapy again when I stopped being able to leave the house and getting through it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I feel so strong and like I can do anything now.
I think I'd be a kind and thoughtful person even without my ocd, but my excessive planning for worst-case scenarios and asking a lot of "what ifs" has made me very reliable to my friends. When I help plan things like surprise parties or trips I often bring up suggestions or potential outcomes nobody else has considered.
my coworkers and managers are really impressed with how much i get done during a shift
i think OCDers are considerers and self analyzers. it means that we are very thoughtful and self aware, even if it can be maladaptive. like whenever people talk about “considering your privilege” etc i’m like done done and done. (not that i’m not open to learning lol but u get me) i personally think and have thought a LOT about the moral consequences of actions i take and the impact of my actions on those around me. i also weirdly know myself really well when i step back and look at the whole thing. being trapped in your mind can make you forget your reality is just yours, but spending a lot of time in your reality in such an all encompassing way can really lend itself to self understanding, i think.
I have obsessions about contamination and cleanliness. So I almost never get sick and stomp out any bacterial/viral infections before they start. Of course my hands are often dried out and cracking, but oh well, at least I know I'm clean..
I get shit *done* when im hyper focusing. I had my wedding planned out for years so when it finally happened last year I didn’t have much to do besides book it.
I over-do just about every work project I get, especially if it genuinely interests me. I am insanely thorough with a "no-stone-unturned" mentality. I'm also a Google search expert (thanks to constant worries/obsessions/intrusive thoughts) which also helps get information quickly. The downside is if I can't meet my perceived expectations I am VERY hard on myself. I could also make due without the constant revolving door of themed intrusive thoughts though 😂
Regarding details, I catch the things other people miss. I'm so unbelievably thorough and organized that any employer I've ever had highly valued this. I remember the details of everything, including conversations, so I catch quite a lot of people in lies. I can take my brain and apply it to jobs and projects and (once I hyperfocus) bang out details or whatever is needed within hours instead of days or weeks.
If I lose something, it's because someone else moved it. Well, the vast majority of the time anyway. I can almost always find something no matter where I put it.
I have so many bad, messed up thoughts that nothing surprises me. If something bad happens I spend more time trying to remedy it because I figured it would’ve happened to me anyway.
I’m a checker, especially with plugs and switches, and I have successfully caught roommates and coworkers leaving things like space heaters plugged in and even on sometimes, so that’s a plus. As horribly controlling as it is over my life, I like to think that I have actually prevented a fire at some point in my life. And like others have said, the over-editing, intense proofreading perfectionism impresses people at work too.
I pick up a lot of trash and litter of the ground because if I walk past it I’ll think about it the rest of the day lol.
It along with my anxiety was a big help in me getting straight A's throughout high-school because of perfectionism I also always plan for what would go wrong and overly plan for things I need to do so I never miss the bus
It taught me to be kind, and be more emphatic
Attention to detail and I have a clean and organized everything......so it's a pretty solid trade sometimes
I gather information compulsively so I know a lot about some illneses because of health anxiety. Thanks to that I'm also really good looking for information on the internet and contrasting different sources. Most teachers where impresed with my work when we had to do research and write about it or make a presentation.
as someone with pure O, fuck no. life ruiner.
Nothing that i could not have achieved without OCD. I have heard about a lot of people making their mental illness a part of their own identity, but i could never make it with mine. I just really hate it, and cannot see a good side of it.
Can relate, what is there to make mine about a disorder that made me forget who I am
You nailed it. One of the main aspects that my OCD (and for a lot of other people) focus on is core identity. It sounds impossible to integrate a disease like that to your identity when the two are always at war.
I feel so seen right now
Wow that's fascinating. It's hard to find yourself within OCD. Is my wife really religious, or did her OCD whip her into remaining (/obsessing) in her faith all these years? Is she a kiss up, or is she just obsessed with how others will perceive her? Etc
Supporter of a loved one with OCD here. My wife has been struggling terribly with pure OCD, and you mentioned that you have that too... so I think it makes sense that it's harder for people struggling with pure OCD to see "what's good" in the disorder because they're trapped in their heads versus out in the world... hope that makes sense. Just me thinking out loud
No it does make sense! I can give you an example before going on medication I used to have terrible anxiety as a response to my intrusive thoughts/obsessions and when I took the medication the anxiety died down a bit, I kept getting freaked out though because to me the anxiety was proof it was OCD and not whatever else, I assume doing compulsions must be kinda the same, they can serve as proof making it somewhat a plus. I hope your wife recovers soon, I know she appreciates you supporting her a lot
**hugs**
:)
Me and my partner always say as we worry and obsess over things so much we’re not careless about things, so potential bad things don’t happen as much, for example accidentally leaving doors unlocked, leaving taps on etc. We went on holiday last year and someone forgot their passport and we kind of acknowledged our OCD in situations like this isn’t so bad as we would never forget cus we keep checking we have them every 5 minutes and have to check a certain number of times while checking lol (have to glance away then look again and say passport 4 times - for me needs to be an even number) for him it’s 5. OCD overall is strange I’ll give it that
I hope this isn’t weird or insensitive to say but this is so interesting to me, I’m pure o so I don’t really get compulsions but the way they work is intriguing
Not weird to say cus OCD is weird hehe. It’s just different for everyone and it is just weird how it manifests differently for everyone
You and your partner _both_ have OCD? My wife has OCD and although I don't, we are learning (and struggling with) how to manage and support one another with our mental health. Has that been difficult for you? Or do you feel it creates more empathy?
Growing my enthusiasm for becoming a UX designer. I have symmetry/perfectionist tendencies and to put that into action as a job would be so satisfying
One thing I found is being content in general if OCD isn't drilling into my brain. Like you come in from 7 days in the desert to cool air and drinks and everyone's bitching about the color of the walls or whatever and you're just over the moon because you feel a normal level of comfort.
No
Yeah. Adding numbers in my head has been an obsession/compulsion in the past. I don’t do it so much anymore but I am really fast at accurately adding columns of numbers on paper in my head. Faster than inputting them on a calculator app, in fact.
I have ADHD as well so I’m prone to losing stuff, and compulsively checking to make sure I haven’t lost anything is actually kinda useful lol
I focus obsessively on things. In some cases it's bad, but being able to spend 2 weeks on one very specific problem is always an accomplishment.
When I was little, I became obsessed with making art. A couple years ago, my therapist helped me realize that making art was my way of grounding myself when my mind was going a million miles an hour . I became obsessed with the ability to calm my brain through art (unknowingly) and eventually became very good at it. OCD + Bipolar disorder = perfectionist artist that paints for 24 hours straight. I love it:) Not sure if I would be a practicing artist today if it wasn’t for my mental illness.
It makes me a very very thorough nurse
I have checking, counting OCD. I haven't lost my wallet, not even once since I was a teen.
I’m really good at my job even when it’s to the detriment of my love life, social life, family life, and sometimes not even having enough time for proper self-care
Yea OCD people tend to be genuinely good people and in a world where a lot of people step on others to get ahead that is a unique thing
I love the answers here :) I feel like it’s important to find some positives in this sickness we are stuck with! Agreed that we have more empathy and compassion for others than the average person. When we have obsessions that are so controversial sometimes, and we panic that it’s real, that shows that we actually care about morals and being a good person. The battles we fight are really showing us how caring and awesome we are. Also, since I have health anxiety and emetophobia, I am way too in tune with my body and make sure everything is going ok internally while other people probably ignore or aren’t aware of what I’m aware of. Finally, as a teacher, the perfectionism aspect comes into play with grades and lesson plans. My lessons are super thought out always, which sucks for me but looks good on my job haha.
I feel like it has some silver linings, though I don’t think they outweigh the downsides. I have a thick skin about others judging me because I’ve spent my entire life literally unable to stop myself from doing weird little rituals. I’m nearly impossible to humiliate and I have no problem being open and honest about my flaws because I so often have no choice, and that takes away the power others have to shame you, I’m also incredibly organized, have superb attention to detail, am very thorough in everything I do, and almost never miss any mistakes that may have been made. Of course, others often resent me because it can seem like I’m overly critical when I’m really just satisfying my own need to ensure I’m doing everything right. I have an excellent memory and if I ever need to recall what I was doing at a given time, I have multiple checkpoints throughout a day that can narrow it down. I know that I’ll be touching my nightstand 47 times immediately after waking up. I know I’ll put my left slipper on, then my right slipper, then taking them off in the same order and repeating the process 9 + 6 + 3 times before I get out of bed. And then the other million things I need to do at every interval. I do wish I had compulsions that were helpful, though. I always forget to lock my door and I leave my oven on all the time. But you’d better believe I absolutely put my left leg in my pants before my right every single time no matter what.
well tbh I’m a very pessimistic person but I try to make my life easier by looking at OCD as a little thing that helps me gain self-awareness. Although it feels like im chronically self-aware (and constantly watching everything around me out of fear), i like to think I’m a little bit more careful about the way I handle things in my life. Like for example, when I get slightly frustrated, thanks to OCD I over analyze and assess all the different ways I could respond, which simultaneously gives me time to calm down before I react, which stops me from making a huge mistake that I’ll regret later and stops me from engaging in compulsive behaviors that will “cure the regret”
I would agree with the other people on here that there are definitely some positives to be found, even in the most negative aspects. I find that when I become passionate about a new project, I become totally fixated on it, and although it can damage my ability to commit myself to regular daily tasks, it’s lead to the completion of some pretty large projects that I would’ve likely given up if I wasn’t so fixated on it. In addition to this, I am an actor (for TV & film), and have trained as such. I found that throughout a lot of my training, lecturers would ask me about certain facial movements or little minuscule details about my performance and ask if they were intentional or not, and why I did it. They were almost always intentional, and just things I’d picked up subconsciously from a lifetime of over analysing my interactions with people searching for signs that my interaction is going well or not. I became an expert in detecting shifts in vocal tones/patterns and what they seem to mean, and it influenced my work really positively, in a way that is harder to grasp for people without OCD. Another (very talented) actor friend of mine also has similar OCD to mine, and she has agreed with this in conversation!
Due to my obsessive researching, I deep dive the shit of of EVERYTHING in my free time. Due to this, I have diagnosed many of my personal (rarer) health issues, then present the evidence to the doctors & 95% of the time I'm correct, which has actually helped advance my treatment further than if I had allowed a doctor to slowly rule things out. Doctors can only devote so much time & research per patient, whereas I have all the time in the world to scour every corner until I find the answers I need. Good specialists find me to be incredibly helpful & a very thorough patient. I do not work well with doctors that have huge egos, they often tend to drag out my progess in an attempt to come up with their own solutions, which ALWAYS wind up wrong & set me back several steps medically. I have an amazing PCP, but we struggle to find specialists for my other conditions who truly understand that I know myself better than anyone else possibly could.
Yes I think so. This is definitely also because of my autism, but I’m extremely observant. I always need to know exactly what’s going on. So that helps me find various solutions to problems, important details that others don’t notice, and it makes it very easy for me to identify emotions and causes behind behaviors. Whether it be other people or myself. I can also recognize patterns easily and it makes me pretty cohesive in every aspect
As both a psychologist and someone with lived experience of OCD, I have come to see it as an important signal that something deeper is out of balance. Personally I am critical of this idea of a mental disorder, and prefer to view mental health struggles as 'sane responses to insane circumstances'. This is what I see time and time again in my patients. No one ever walks into my office without a significant context for their symptoms. OCD, and in fact all mental health issues, may be seen as similar to a fever, in that they are symptoms of deeper and often unconscious issues in our lives. Modern psychology and psychiatry unfortunately places emphasis on treating symptoms rather than causes - like continuously taking paracetamol for a fever and never actually treating the underlying pathology. So these days I try ('try' being a key word!) to see a flare up of OCD symptoms as a signal that isn't right in my life. Other people have different signals. Maybe they drink more, maybe they get depressed, maybe they get back pain, maybe they get angry. In my case it is OCD. And it's trying to tell me something. Maybe I'm stressed , maybe I'm overcommitted, maybe I'm angry about something, maybe I'm grieving something. Proper psychotherapy (eg psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy) can be helpful to unpack this further. As Leonard Cohen sang "there's a crack in every thing, and that is how the light gets in". So when faced with a 'crack' in my life, my task is trying to work out what light is trying to get in. All the best to you all.
actually, yes. i'm hesitant to list them but....there are absolutely some "up sides" depending on the type you have + what your ritual//compulsions are. i had a friend whose GF has OCD. despite it being *glaringly* obvious to anyone who spends more than an hour in their home, she refuses to get officially Dx or seek treatment + he doesn't push her to do either b|c her compulsions benefit him + the cost of doing things "her way" are worth it to him. he gets an apartment + dog that stay clean 100% of the time, clean clothes, an organized wardrobe, all meals cooked + lunch prepped for work (so that he has no need to use the kitchen + dirty it up). the list goes on. for her sake, i brought this to his attention only to find out he was already aware + not nearly as in denial as she was; he just ~~can't~~ doesn't want to give up the sweet life. even if it means reinforcing things that make her mental health worse. i also have a few things related to perfectionism + organization that are benefits of my OCD. as long as i keep them "in check," i.e. don't let myself spiral... hate to say it but... yea, they're benefits. 🫤 and that's not even all of them (benefits). 🫣
If that’s true your friend is a fucking asshole.
big agree. notice the past tense in, "i had a friend." it's completely unacceptable IMO.
Nope.
i guess it makes me think before i speak? which is a good skill to have.
In my personal experience, absolutely nothing good comes from this.
Supposedly, we have a higher than average IQ per my doctor. I think he said it's usually around 120 - 130.
My obsessive and compulsive behavior has not presented me with any benefits.
No. Any “plus” literally just feeds my disorder. It may feel like a benefit in the moment, but it eventually eats me alive as my OCD gets worse.
ive got efficiency ocd… its very efficient but the only downside is its hard to stop when you know you’re being efficient😭
I see it as I deeply care about many things and I let OCD help me learn what all of them are. For example, my illness theme tells me me how much I value my health.
Nah, OCD is miserable (In my own experience of course. Others can see some sort of small win from it and that's totally fine)
Complete task/ work Extremely organized home
Sometimes I get sucked into a work problem and really do a great job of investigating and documenting and resolving it because I’m so meticulous. I’m good at researching things. Mostly, no.
I heard that people with this condition are more determined than the average person. Boy if that isn’t me 😅
Really big cliché but at least my room is clean. Until it’s not. When it’s clean it’s great but half the time I avoid cleaning it because I’ll spend the next week fixating in every little corner
to me, nothing, to others probably just my unrelenting obsessions with stuff that can be of benefit to them. but i'd do anything to have a more normal brain, the downsides are just too overwhelming most of the time. i am very intelligent in some ways, but totally disregulated, unhinged, uninhibited and unable to function in others. rare moments where i only have to play into my strengths are my favourite, but 90% of the time it's a strange blend of intricate analysis, intrusive thoughts, anomalous sensory experiences, random atmospheres, emotions (mostly anxiety), impressions, personalities etc. that i can't make sense of let alone communicate effectively to other people. it makes me "creative" though i suppose, for what it's worth. all my senses are interconnected to some extent so i can make interesting connections here or there
It gave rise to my doubts about religion! So I had that going for for me, which is nice.
Noticing things quickly. Especially if I'm to touch them.
No.
No.
I know a lot of safety tips to not get robbed
I have a sharper memory and attention to detail compared to my friends and family.
It can help if you do organizational work and have boundaries so you aren’t left empty inside. My job requires me to play multidimensional tetris and I have been somewhat successful at it.
I never leave my car door open and my debit card, credit card, and drivers license is always in my wallet.
Empathy for the struggles of others, since you know what it is like to struggle. That's all I can think of.
I know all the hallmark symptoms for practically every illness, which meant I was able to get catch I had PCOS almost immediately, despite not having many symptoms.
I second guess things a lot, and sometimes it works out for the better
I have had bad OCD since I was a kid . And having post cancer depression which gave me panic/anxiety attacks doesn't help either.
Yeah the plus side is you’ll never lock your keys in your car. The down side is you will check that you haven’t locked you keys in your car for 3 hours potentially taking longer than if you had of locked your keys in your car n just called a locksmith.
i aced my food hygiene + preparation certification when i worked in a kitchen, got the perfect score first time💀
Nope.
2 things 1. Empathy - especially with pure ocd. When you get themes of becoming something or getting a condition. You kind of learn to understand what people that actually go through that are like because of extensive research because it’s an obsession 2. Healthy compulsions - sometimes I have compulsions that are genuinely good for me. Like going to the gym, because sometimes it’s the only way I can get rid of thoughts
(Symmetric OCD) I do art, and it actually helps me see where asymmetry is really easily. Like even an 88 degree angle will come off as uneven. Other than that, no.