"I have OCD." "Yeah I think I might too!" "No."

[Dorsum Oppel]

Doesn't it really piss you off when you tell someone about your mental illness, and they try desperately to connect and relate to you, and you just feel like a joke? "Yeah, I have obsessive compulsive disorder." "Oh, I know how it feels! Sometimes, I like cleaning my room, or organizing my books." "Uhm... that's not really how it works."

Or how about the enraging self diagnosing?
"I have OCD."
"yeah, so do I."
"Oh, when were you diagnosed?"
"I wasn't really, but I'm sure I have it. I really hate it when I have dirty clothes."

Mental illness is not losing concentration, you don't have tourettes syndrome because your leg sometimes twitches in class, and being neat has nothing to do with OCD.

Can anyone relate?

[Scarface]

I'm not so sure what you're wanting me to relate to, but if you're saying that people don't understand what you're going through that's false. There are people here that suffer from OCD. Also having an extreme need for things to be neat and clean could be categorized as OCD if it is an absolute need for it to be perfect all of the time.

[Ryhanna]

Yeah, I think I get it. Self diagnosis is pretty stupid. Especially when they're way off track.

I had this councellor last year, because of my anxiety she kept telling me "Oh, yeah, I know exactly what you're going through - I have anxiety too, I get a tincy bit nervous when I have to give a speech. *giggles*"
I was thinking "Nope. She's crazy, lets move onto the next one." But I said "No, that's not the same thing... I'm pretty sure everyone does that."
She didn't listen. I hate her.

[Zeh Crazy]

Yes, I do hate that. People take mental illnesses so lightly. I think some do it as a way to get attention or an excuse.

[Dorsum Oppel]

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that people self diagnosing or saying that they have "OCD moments" is a little bit insulting.

[Zeh Crazy]

Yes, some people say something like "I'm Bi-polar or OCD" as an excuse for their actions or to get attention.

[Scarface]

Oh I understand. I guess they are just trying to relate. I guess it's how some interpret themselves, but I do not label myself unless diagnosed.

[Ryhanna]

I could say that I hace OCD because I like to move my head to the beat when music is on. It wouldn't make me right, though. You really have to be diagnosed by a medical professional to know you have a mental illness.

[BeautifulDisaster]

I despise it.
It takes the seriousness out of these awful conditions & less likely to be treated if you're not gonna be taken seriously.

[Dunce]

Same, some friends always find a way to turn the spotlight back to them. And they seem to think you're just exaggerating when you say you are ill.

[Sith Lord 13]

I usually take it as meaning they had an OCD moment. Or when they say they are OCD about certain stuff. I don't take it as meaning they have the illness, or that they really know what the illness is like. I just take it as meaning that's the best way they know to describe it. Is it the most considerate thing to do? No. But they don't mean any harm, so son't take it personally.

[Zephyr]

It does irritate me sometimes. I'll tell somebody that I'm diagnosed Bipolar, and they'll start shooting off about why they 'think' they might have it too, and name 'symptoms' that arn't even official symptoms... "Oh, one day I'm hyper as all hell and bouncing off of the walls, and the next day, I'll come down from it and feel sort of sad." It's like, "Wow, I didn't know that talking about it made it contagious." *sarcasm* :rolleyes:.

[thegirl]

I know. A year ago, I told my so-called bestfriend, that I have paranoia.
then she goes; "you too? gash, thats so annoying, im like crazy now, right?"
wow, it took me a year to open up to her and thats her response?

[Kaius]

It irritates me when people do that. Or when you tell someone then a few days later they come back and say they have it too. It just makes me think, i hate having certain things wrong with me, it really fucks lives up, so why say you have it? what, is it like a game i've not heard of or something? I don't care so much if they actually have it, and they try to help because they know how it actually feels.. but trying to compare what they think they have to what i actually have, it annoys me -.-

[Obscene Eyedeas]

It's really quite sad how some people feel they must do these things for attention. mental illness is not catching. i don't know how many times ive had to say that. this has happened to me more times then i care to count and it severly annoys me

[Jess]

I hate it when people do that!!!

[The Dark Lord]

To be honest it doesn't bother me

[Jess]

how come? :S

[1_21Guns]

one of my friends does this all the time.
it used to bother me, but now its kinda lost its effect.
i think over time OCD in partiular is becoming as over and misused as the word emo...

[deadpie]

http://memegenerator.net/Clinically-Insane-Scene-Girl/ImageMacro/1147417/Clinically-Insane-Scene-Girl-i-have-bipolar.jpg


Pretty much every female that has tried to impress me with their "horrible life". Over exaggerating liars that want to prove how much there life is sooo much worse than mine.
Try living as a child prostitute for four years.

[dstnyisurs]

It can get annoying, people take whatever troubles you're going through and try to relate to them and thus tone them down, diverting the attention to themselves.
Self-diagnosis can be annoying when it's way off, or false. Some of it, though, is accurate. People know what's wrong with them in the general ballpark through research, but don't get diagnosed because they're scared (my case), too prideful, so on, but they know what's wrong with them.
For instance, I know I am severly entomophobic, and I know I have some sort of mood disorder, whether it be bipolar disorder, or depression, or borderline personality disorder, or whatever. I know the ballpark, and I know something is wrong with me.

[BeautifulDisaster]

At age 16, a personality disorder is not going to be able to be diagnosed anyway. Bi polar is also unlikely to be diagnosed in under 18's. ^^

[bellais]

urghh its so annoying

[Chris95]

I have severe Social Anxiety Disorder, and I just spoke to a friend about it for the first time. He basically shrugged it off as a "phase", it seems. Like I told him how it is physically NOT POSSIBLE for me to enter a social encounter with someone I don't know. He said "It's like a cold swimming pool. Just jump right in, you'll be fine." And he said he also had the "awkward phase" at the beginning of high school. Just... no. I will not sit here and have my fucking debilitating mental disorder be compared to the way anyone acts at the beginning of high school. It's fucking sickening. Although I don't want to bring it up to him, because it seems like he's trying to help... which, though I appreciate it, if anything it's driving me backwards.

Now, relating to self-diagnosis, it depends for me. "Like, oh my GAWWWWWWD! I must be social anxiety disorderz, cuz last time I had to give a speech in class I messed up! I noes how you feel!" That, I will NOT tolerate, and I am willing to tell off even my closest friend if they said that.

However to be honest, a doctor never said to me "You have Social Anxiety Disorder." But through extremely extensive research, and through the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Test (something created and used by professionals to diagnose the disorder), I know I have it, without a single shadow of doubt. That kind of self-diagnosis (using the term loosely) is fine, and I'm sure most would agree.

[JunkBondTrader]

I was diagnosed with OCD in 2005 and I'm not going to lie, I don't feel that I have it very severely. But the main reason I never mention it to anyone is because of the surprisingly vast amount of people who get OCD mixed up with OCPD (of which I have no symptoms). For this reason, a lot of people assume I'm lying because I'm messy and quite disorganised. This confusion annoys me more than people trying to relate to it, but that's probably just because most of the people I speak to don't.

[Syvelocin]

I WISH OCD was as simple as "I like to keep my books organized." I want to punch people in the face when they say that crap. If you were OCD for even a day, you'd never say you were OCD again because it's not something to be... well, proud of in that way, though I'm proud in more of an "I like myself" way (does that make sense?). You'd be begging to be able to live with those seven ice cubes in your cup instead of eight, or rid your mind of the image of your teacher... *ahem* ...that keeps popping into your mind for no apparent reason. You want your soft, pretty hands back (hand washing. Before meals, after meals, three times after the restroom, before and after touching a keyboard or a door handle or your dog or any item that has been touched after it being in the dishwasher, soaked in hand sanitizer or sprayed with disinfectant). You'd wish that you could get on with your life and not double, triple, no, quadrouple check that you in fact turned your stove off, locked the door, turned off your bedroom light. OCD isn't something to throw around. I don't care about some stupid pencils being aligned straightly, I care about them being the same brand, sharpened to a specific thickness, and using each for the same amount of time so they stay the same. I have to bump into people in the hallway just because they happened to be on the tile I'm supposed to step on each time I pass, for heaven's sake. It's not a ride in the park.

Finally, bipolar disorder, one, has made my life hell, so don't say your boyfriend who is hot and cold with you is bipolar, or maybe think that you might be just PMSing, which usually has more frequent mood swings than manic depression, thank you.