I recently graduated from college... and during my last two years of college - I struggled with OCD. Many of my obsessions are covert (hidden) and the compulsions are hidden well. As mentioned in my blog last May, I have dealt with this since elementary school and have been on medication for it for an extended period of time in my teens and early 20's. However, I got off the medication for it when I was almost 22 years old. OCD affects more than my own personal life, it also affected academics and made my college career feel like a rollercoaster at times. I never really noticed any problems academically other than I was distracted during testing. But a couple of years ago, I started bombing tests - however, it was only certain classes - the ones I wanted to do well in. During my fall semester of senior year, problems were arising - including the time I spent 3 hours on a test - and I was so stressed out that I didn't do well on it at all (and had to drop the class ultimately). Towards the end of the semester I confided in my neuroscience professor that I was obsessing that I was failing her class (I knew it was irrational - but it was a big step for me) and had calculated and recalculated my grade to quell the incessant thoughts - and it was a matter of reassuring me that I was close to a B in her class. In addition to the testing and numerical obsessions, I have also had obsessions/compulsions related to body image (repeatedly trying on clothes because I thought I wouldn't be able to wear them again and checking my teeth).
This past semester was huge with me confiding in several professors and even family (previously it had only been mentioned to a counselor and a couple of friends) about the impact of obsessions/compulsions on academics and I have been able to gain insight on how to work on that for graduate school. Also having the awareness has allowed me to be able to control the intensity of the intrusive thoughts and compulsions before they become distressing. Lastly, the support I had from friends, family, and professors was great - they encouraged me, listened to me explain my thought loops that were distressing, and genuinely loved me. I also learned I was a lot stronger than I thought when it came to living my life and succeeding.
I also recently learned from another perspective that OCD symptoms are ways of coping (as with other disorders) with things (i.e. stimming in autism, hyperactivity with ADHD, etc.). I also learned from Dr. W (the last few years since Behavior Modification) that it is important to not always label these disorders - but rather focus on the person and even the reasons behind the symptoms (antecedent - behavior - consequence (ABC)). These disorders are legitimate, but helping the person should be more important - through helping them to manage stress (which can ultimately lead to increased symptoms), social support (THIS IS SOOOO IMPORTANT), and medical/psychological interventions (medications, hospitalizations, therapies). In our society, mental illnesses have been seen as a burden or as "bad" but they really aren't and shouldn't be labeled as such.
In addition to the struggle I have with OCD, I also learned about other people's battle with various disorders ... I have met many people who are functioning well despite their battles with depression. One of them hasn't been able to receive the appropriate help but has a good support system, yet she is doing well in her classes and plans to go for the BSN program that was recently started. I met another person who also has OCD and Tourettes - it was an awesome moment when he told me and was surprised to know I knew what Tourettes was. He is doing well academically aside from the two disorders... these are only a few of the experiences that I have learned about... This has helped me with coping with these obsessions and compulsions.
There are many disorders that are classified as mental illnesses including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder (I and II), schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder, addiction, and personality disorders (and probably others I am failing to mention). These disorders can be very mild (allowing for a fully functional life) to severe (where the individual needs constant supports). With the right treatments and appropriate healthcare a person can be a successful individual and member of society.
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