What Not to Say to Someone with OCD | Praise Podcast

Like the episode entitled, What Not to Say to Someone Struggling with Depression, there are some things you just don't want to say to someone dealing with OCD. Tune in!

#bible #anxiety #depression #stress #mentalhealth #ocd #neurodiverse #neurodivergence #Christianity #faith #mentalhealthawareness #support

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00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 Like the episode entitled,

00:00:01 --> 00:00:04 What Not to Say to Someone Struggling with Depression,

00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 there are some things you just don't want to say to someone

00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 dealing with OCD.

00:00:10 --> 00:00:10 Tune in.

00:00:13 --> 00:00:14 Hello,

00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 and welcome to Momo 634,

00:00:16 --> 00:00:21 the daily podcast chock full of faith-filled inspiration and motivation.

00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 Please like, share, and subscribe.

00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 Momo 634.

00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 Motivational moments just for today.

00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 May is Mental Health Awareness Month,

00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 and I'm repurposing part of a podcast I did during OCD

00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 Awareness Week last October.

00:00:54 --> 00:00:59 I'm a little salty about this topic because it's a serious pet peeve,

00:00:59 --> 00:01:03 and I continue to hear variations on this expression,

00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 so clearly it bears repeating.

00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 I'm going to get very real about what OCD is,

00:01:11 --> 00:01:15 so consider this a trigger warning if so needed.

00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 OCD is truly misunderstood.

00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 People look at a fictional character like Adrian Monk and

00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 assume we're a caricature on steroids.

00:01:28 --> 00:01:28 In fact,

00:01:29 --> 00:01:30 depending upon your source,

00:01:31 --> 00:01:36 there are anywhere from 5 to 16 subtypes of OCD.

00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 Many are hidden and have nothing to do with the cleaning

00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 stereotype most often portrayed.

00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 OCD has to do with torturous,

00:01:48 --> 00:01:52 obtrusive thoughts that are the soundtrack to the need to

00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 perform rituals that

00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 sufferers think will relieve the thoughts.

00:01:58 --> 00:02:03 One subtype is pure O, which are the thoughts but without the rituals.

00:02:04 --> 00:02:08 like counting or touching an object until it feels just right,

00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 as you see Monk do in the opening credits with the parking meters.

00:02:13 --> 00:02:19 So when people say, I'm a little OCD myself, there's no such thing.

00:02:20 --> 00:02:24 It's like kinda dead or sorta pregnant.

00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 During OCD Awareness Week,

00:02:28 --> 00:02:32 I posted a meme that suggested more accurate language such as,

00:02:33 --> 00:02:34 I prefer order,

00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 or I like things to be neat and clean,

00:02:37 --> 00:02:38 rather than,

00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 I'm a little OCD.

00:02:41 --> 00:02:46 I wish I had a dial that allowed me to regulate the amount of

00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 OCD I have.

00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 The thoughts are really excruciating,

00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 debilitating,

00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 intrusive and unwanted.

00:02:56 --> 00:03:01 And by definition, you do not have OCD without them.

00:03:02 --> 00:03:02 Further,

00:03:02 --> 00:03:08 the diagnostic criteria for OCD states that these thoughts and

00:03:08 --> 00:03:09 any accompanying

00:03:09 --> 00:03:13 rituals must impact your day by an hour or more.

00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 On a bad OCD day,

00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 I might need to check the front door several times to be sure

00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 I've locked it,

00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 getting out of bed after finding a comfy position just to make certain.

00:03:28 --> 00:03:32 This is called reassurance checking and I discussed it in the episode,

00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 Are We There Yet?

00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 Another is listening to a song,

00:03:37 --> 00:03:38 reading a sentence,

00:03:38 --> 00:03:43 or something like washing your hands over and over until the

00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 amount of times feels

00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 just right.

00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 Check out the episode New Self-Discovery about compulsive speech,

00:03:52 --> 00:03:57 something I still do and bear the scars of to this day from

00:03:57 --> 00:03:58 stuff I've said in the past.

00:03:59 --> 00:04:00 Not only that,

00:04:01 --> 00:04:06 OCD is kind enough to loop those things for you like a

00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 self-kicking machine.

00:04:09 --> 00:04:14 How about the episode Stem about compulsive self-soothing mechanisms?

00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 This doesn't even begin to address the subtypes dealing with

00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 skin picking,

00:04:20 --> 00:04:21 hair pulling,

00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 or other body-focused repetitive behaviors,

00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 or BFRB for short,

00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 or subtypes related to scrupulosity,

00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 harm,

00:04:31 --> 00:04:35 or other really unwanted and repugnant thoughts.

00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 These are not a little anything.

00:04:40 --> 00:04:44 It's a fight or flight switch in the amygdala that is broken.

00:04:45 --> 00:04:49 It keeps the sufferer in a perpetual state of anxiety.

00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 For some,

00:04:50 --> 00:04:56 the wiring lies to them and tells them if they don't wash their

00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 hands X number of times,

00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 the kid down the block will die.

00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 These are very dark,

00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 scary thoughts,

00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 and they play 24-7,

00:05:07 --> 00:05:14 365 at the OCD theater in the minds of sufferers everywhere.

00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 Again, this is dependent upon the subtype of OCD.

00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 So the next time you hear or are tempted to say,

00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 I'm a little OCD,

00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 when what is meant is,

00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 I really like things to be clean and in the right place.

00:05:31 --> 00:05:36 Please say that instead and think about these truly difficult

00:05:37 --> 00:05:38 experiences people

00:05:38 --> 00:05:42 with OCD deal with every single day.

00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 I'll link the original episode repurposed here so that you can

00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 see the graphic I

00:05:49 --> 00:05:53 linked of a neurotypical brain via SPECT scan and one of a

00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 diagnosed OCD sufferer.

00:05:56 --> 00:06:00 Though there aren't any Bible verses specifically about OCD,

00:06:01 --> 00:06:05 you can now understand why so many sufferers are people of

00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 faith and prayer and

00:06:06 --> 00:06:11 truly some of the mentally strongest people to withstand such a

00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 debilitating condition.

00:06:14 --> 00:06:15 Please share this episode,

00:06:16 --> 00:06:21 because memes using the acronym OCD and other jokes are

00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 seriously insulting,

00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 as is the trivializing of the condition by saying,

00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 I'm a little OCD,

00:06:29 --> 00:06:33 or reducing us to a stereotype like a fictional television character.

00:06:35 --> 00:06:39 Often we're told to lighten up by those who have never spent a

00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 day in our brains

00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 seeing what we see and experience.

00:06:44 --> 00:06:49 This episode is just a very small peek into our world.

00:06:50 --> 00:06:54 I'm also linking an amazing graphic I found today that helps to

00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 explain these

00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 thoughts intrinsic to OCD.

00:07:01 --> 00:07:06 Thanks for listening to Momo 634, motivational moments just for today.

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