Ask An Expert: What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Psych2Go's Monica Taing hosts the Ask An Expert series on OCD with Nate Peterson.


Join us at 5 PM EST on 8 September 2022 for a candid chat about OCD.

This video is for educational purposes only, and not intended to substitute for medical advice. Please consult a professional for any medical questions.

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[Psychgo]

What topic on mental health would you like us to cover next?

[rest]

As a person with OCD I always love when these videos talk about less popular discussed mental illnesses.

[khalilahd.]

I love that he’s making a clear distinction between being tidy and the actual disorder. I think society uses the term too loosely and I’m glad he’s shedding light on that well done 👏🏽

[TaunellE]

I knew a guy that it got bad. He was irrational. When it went too far. He was psychotic. He had to touch everything 59 times. If you, him, anyone made him lose count and have to start over. I found him one night, on the floor by the door, because he was looping. 59. Is that enough? Lose count. Start over. He was in real pain. It was horrible. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. My heart goes out to you. Thank you. 💙

[nickthepick]

I may have missed this stream, but I got a story for you about OCD.
When I was 14, I had it bad. My obsession was about God and the Devil, having a battle in my head for my soul. It scared the daylights out of me, and I was put in a hospital for two weeks. The rest of year was equally nightmarish. Nathan Peterson was right, it is quite treatable. I don't remember how I did it, but over the course of time I eventually got better. But make no mistake, I was never able to function in life properly for a time because of it. It ain't quirky at all, it's painful, scary, and hard to overcome because it feels real, regardless if it's actually not. Luckily, I'm all better now. I learned to accept "uncontrollable thoughts" as I called them at the time. Keep up the good work, you guys!

[Jamielovesthecardigans]

I myself have OCD, And its definitely an extremely difficult disorder to deal with. I recommend that if you are dealing with symptoms of OCD that you talk about it with a trusted adult / friend and that you get the help that you need as soon as possible. Have a great day! <3

[ocdandanxiety]

Thank you so much for letting me share what OCD actually is and how to do treatment! 😄

[anner]

One thing I doing hate, is that people expect me to be extremely tidy and organised, which -because of my adhd, I am simply not. People have told me before "well you can't have odd bc your not tidy". It's called obsessive compulsive disorder. I have symptoms of obsessive behaviours and compulsive behaviours, none of which specify that i have to be organised or tidy or clean. I am organised in a way most people don't understand (it's different from how most people organise stuff) but it just has to b like that.

[whaaaaaat]

omg im so happy to hear him talk about how a lot of people tend to say “oh im so ocd” and so on when they don’t actually have ocd! i know most of them don’t mean/say it in a “hurtful” way, but when you’re someone who has an actual extreme case of ocd where i get breakdowns over something as feeling dirty (which is only one of the many examples) it kinda annoys me.

[zhiend]

It gives me such relief to see more people actually interested in this topics. The first time I saw your channel was around 2017 I think and I've never stopped since, because your content raises awareness of mental health in, to me, a very special and caring way. I would love to see more on Asperger's syndrome too, lately I've been feeling it is more common than I thought.

[aiuramikoto]

I love when we get recognized !! I have ocd ever since i was quite young and it’s such a struggle but others under look it so much

[takingcareofcathy]

Thank you for this video. I have OCD, among other mental illnesses. And of all the diagnoses I have, OCD is one of my most dreaded to talk about because I hate hearing, "I understand! I am totally OCD about..." NO, YOU'RE NOT! It's not just washing your hands frequently. It's washing and showering to the point of cracking, bleeding skin out of legit fear of contamination. It's not wanting all your dishes clean, it's sending your dishes through the washer 2, 3, 4 or more times or else feeling like the dishes are filthy. I count EVERYTHING, from my eating utensils to how long I scrub my hands, face, and hair to how many times I lock my apartment door after my husband leaves for his third shift job, and having a complete panic attack and having to start all over if I lose count. Counting, praying, and scrubbing are my main compulsions. Contamination, assault, sin, and even death are my main obsessions. People are surprised to find out that despite my OCD, my apartment is a complete disaster. Not because I'm lazy. Not because I am tired. But because my brain says, "If you start something that you can't finish in one session (I have a lot of physical chronic conditions that cause pain and fatigue.), you will never get back up once you take your first break, so why bother starting to begin with?" Argh! So frustrating.

[harshal]

To all the Indians out there - just hang in there, we all are this together. As a person suffering from ocd myself i know we tend to lose hope lot of times and start cursing fate like why are sounds in my mind talking to me constantly which is really physically and mentally draining, so please don't lose hope .
Try to gain as much information as possible, find about your symptoms and their triggers. Postpone your compulsions as much as you can and divert your mind to other places eventually the frequency of compulsions will reduce to min . And most importantly try to find a psychiatrist who you can tell about each and every feeling, symptoms and compulsions that would be a great help. If nothing else atleast tell this problem to one person whom you are most comfortable with sharing information and one you can rely on it . Keep yourself busy and occupied as much as possible, find any short term or long term goal and thrive to achieve it, ya obviously ocd will get into this but once you fight back and keep yourself busy the intrusive thought and compulsions will diminish, ya simply koi stand-up hi dekhlo aur kam pe lag jao. Remember we all are in this together. Just hang in there.

[augziee]

I told my psychology teacher my symptoms because a topic we will do later is psychopathology which involves OCD so I thought she might help me understand it and she said it sounds a lot like OCD and that I should tell my GP about it so I can hopefully get a diagnosis but my parents don't know/won't believe me so I'll probably wait until I move out or get a diagnosis through school. It's weird how I know the 'rituals' won't do anything but I still have to do them or I will feel horrible for ages and a lot of anxiety. Not sure if this is OCD related but when I was 8 years old, I had this thing where I had to touch certain things like walls or objects because I had this weird feeling in my hands which would stop when I touch something and it would feel so awful if I didn't. But then it stopped for a few years when I was about 11 years old, I tried to suppress it when I started secondary school and it worked until I was 14 and my rabbit died (I had 2 rabbits, the other one is still alive) and I barely slept that night because I was so worried that the other one would die the next day (she didn't obviously, she's still alive - this was January 2021) and I started doing these certain routines to prevent my rabbit from dying that had to be exactly the same everyday, even if I knew they wouldn't do anything, I just couldn't stop because there was always that voice in my head saying 'what if she will die if you don't do it?' So I still at 16 years old haven't been able to stop it and more things keep adding to the routine even if the actions are really dumb and pointless. Another example is when I finish cleaning out my rabbit, when I have the routine, I have to close the door in a certain way and when I lock it, I have to push the handle down twice or someone will break in. It was even worse when another rabbit I got in summer 2021 who died end of November 2021. I felt I had to control these things so I had control over my life and my feelings. Don't know why I'm saying this in the past tense because it is still happening lol. I just realised how long this is, sorry whoever is reading this, I didn't intend it to be-

I believe whatever I have is genetic since my mum has this thing she mentioned once years ago that she has to touch the frame of her bed (not sure if that's what it's called) or something bad will happen.

Okay bye lol, hope whoever else is struggling finds a way out and their life will get better :) <3

It definitely helped when I told my psychology teacher about it because she was very nice and understanding about it so don't be afraid to tell someone. I wouldn't have believed that I would have told her last year (I told her end of September 2022)

Update: I told my other psychology teacher (we have 2 teachers for each subject in sixth form) and he told me about his own experience that was similar when he was my age and has been helping me try and slowly get better :)

[jimenasilva]

That’s the key phrase! “Values are getting destroyed”, that’s what we people with ocd feels on a daily basis. I’m so glad someone clarified this 🙌🏼🙌🏼❤️❤️

[Fourcatz]

I have diagnosed ocd. I was diagnosed later in life so it's just always been that way. A long time ago I realized my ocd would really get amped up if I was stressed. I try to pay attention to this and make adjustments to my self care. Sometimes it's really tiring doing the things I do. Mainly I will wet my hands then apply a tiny amount of moisturizer, only to touch something and it not feel 'right' so I wet hands again and do the whole thing over. Sometimes I'm trapped in the bathroom until it feels right. I have checked locked doors that I know I locked already, forever. I even remember checking the walls for hot spots when I was a child. I unplug everything, drives my husband and teen son nuts. It doesn't help that one of my children has a food allergy, this is devastating for someone with ocd. I pray a lot, The Lord does help me.

[abigailaceves]

I would like to see an in-depth looks on autism, or autism spectrum disorder, as I’m on the spectrum and would like to learn more about it.

[Strawberryhyuniee_]

As a person who has ocd
I’m too scared to even tell anyone that I struggle with ocd…once I told one of my friends about it and she was like “oh so your like a cleanliness freak?” And the other girl was like “no you don’t I never seee you crying and cleaning everything over small minor changes stop lying”
That hurt my feelings so much…I don’t think they understand that ocd doesn’t only affect a person in this cleanliness way…
There various unknown types and ways that each individual in different ways
My pattern is very very different than this
It’s comparing with others making me insecure and making me change the smallest mistakes in fear and I feel like I’m in danger for no reason when I’m in unknown places….that is an intrusive way it affects me….and they make fun of me…so this is an obsession of feeling insecure and scared….and the only way I feel normal is if I behave using my compulsions….it’s not like I wanted o have this.l, it just happened and it sometimes make me breakdown…..it’s really really stressful to being in a situation to choose between the things you don’t really know….I got help and a therapist….I’m fine because of my therapy sessions ocd can go away eventually but it can always be triggered to come back with any type of traumatic experience……..so please if you know anyone with ocd don’t judge them or their situation instead try to help them and not make things worse for them….🥺

[JMemski]

Nathan's videos helped me so much with my OCD when I was diagnosed a year ago, it's lovely to see him here!

[tjboylan]

I have a clinical diagnosis of OCD. It’s pretty awful. I hate if my living space aka my bedroom extremely disorganized or I can’t sleep. My mind will have an intrusive thought typically Suicidal and my mind will constantly run to it. My brain will tell me that if things aren’t perfect that I have to end my life. My brain attaches meanings to everything and it’s all i can ever think about.