OCD Awareness Week: how to be an ally

Roman Kavanagh

Opinions Editor

Have you ever watched one of those “satisfying” compilations with the caption “This fixed my OCD?” Has your friend ever told you she’s “so OCD” for organizing her notes into a color-coded system? These are all common phrases we use in day-to-day life, but we don’t often consider the harmfulness of these sentiments.

OCD Awareness SVG Cut file by Creative Fabrica Crafts

Many people think of OCD and the image that comes to mind is one of a meticulously clean room, a perfectly aligned row of pencils or a person washing their hands while counting in their head. In reality, OCD is a disorder much more complicated than matters of cleanliness and orderliness.

What is OCD?

The following characteristics have been taken directly from the DSM-5.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder “is characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions.” But what does this mean? 

Obsessions are “recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted.”

Compulsions are “repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession.”

In the stereotypical example we often hear, the obsession is the thought “my hands are dirty,” and the compulsion is washing them over and over again.

OCD Day-to-day: Student Interview

In conversation with Kelly Picozzi, a RIC freshman who has been diagnosed with OCD, she underlines what it’s like to actually live with the disorder and the lesser-known aspects of it. 

“I think one of the most difficult and debilitating (aspects of OCD) is the ego-dystonic subset: intrusive thoughts which are opposite to a person’s values and concepts.” People on TikTok have been using the phrase “intrusive thoughts” to mean “impulsive thoughts,” not necessarily recognizing the severity that real intrusive thoughts hold.

The point of these intrusive thoughts is that they attack a person’s morals and values, echoing their worst fears back at them in an attempt to make them feel like someone they’re not. “Sometimes, I'll have an intrusive thought about hurting the people I care about, or that I’m going to abduct a child, something I’d never want to do or feel…so the compulsion would be to avoid my loved ones, avoid children and seclude myself so others don’t get hurt.” Kelly, like any other college Freshman, is a lovely and caring individual who enjoys making art, analyzing movies and reading. This disorder can affect anyone and doesn’t reflect at all on who the person is inside.

Everybody has certain habits they’ve developed over time, but the difference is, with OCD, the stakes of these habits are incredibly high. For instance, Kelly described experiencing “physical compulsions like if I blink long enough or enough times then it won’t be true, I’m not a kidnapper (or) a murderer.” These behaviors can feel highly irrational to somebody without OCD, but to those with the disorder, they are very real and terrifying.

OCD affects every aspect of life, to an extent most can’t imagine. “Sometimes (my compulsions) involve involuntarily jerking my head or neck, or talking to myself…it affects how I blink, how I breathe and even how I’m ‘allowed’ to walk.” This incredibly pervasive disorder is so profoundly damaging to those who experience it, that suicide rates for individuals with OCD increase nearly fivefold.

Ways to be an Ally

1. Don’t repost chainmail. Instagram stories with the note “picture of you or bad 2025” may seem harmless. However, people with OCD may experience involuntary fear or rumination surrounding claims like these, and it is best to remove the threat from all of your fun chain posts.

2. Don’t say “I’m so OCD,” and correct others. OCD is a serious disorder that causes distress, lifelong disability and suicidality among the people who experience it. As a result, phrases like this are misinformative, make light of a dark topic and are overall unoriginal and uncomfortable.

3. Don’t assume people can just “get over it.” Many people might look at someone with OCD performing a compulsion and ask them to “stop twitching” or “just do” a certain task. OCD is a debilitating disorder and not something people can turn off.

4. Educate yourself. By reading this article, you have taken an endeavor to learn about and respect members of your community. It is important to keep this mindset in approaching differences and disabilities, so that we may continue to make mistakes and grow from them.