So this is going to be a different post, but I figured I would post something for the first time in months… Anyway, this is a paper I had to do for one of my classes in college. I actually ended up not going to a single class and still passing so that was something. Originally this was a 95% paper, but he took 10% off for not doing it with a paper (like I was supposed to).
Instead of making it a very analytical paper like it was almost supposed to be, I tried to make it more of an analytical story. Recently I have been focusing on the idea of communication simply being story telling. It isn’t about the details as it is about the emotion and the point your are trying to make. To watch a good video on the basis of where this perspective came from I would recommend checking out this video by Veritasium. Here is the paper. Enjoy!
Our Obsession With OCD
It is somewhat commonplace to hear around work and in the home the phrase “being OCD” to describe someone who is being rather particular with the organization and structure of objects. This phrase, often used jokingly, demonstrates the incongruity between the clinical definition of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and someone who simply likes to organize things for future efficiency and usability. While excessive impulses for organization can be a symptom of OCD, more often than not, in the workplace it is a matter of someone realizing the importance of organization and taking the time to improve the working conditions of the environment around them; although this sometimes is to a variably excessive degree of focus and energy.
The spread of the misunderstanding of what OCD is, can largely be contributed to the misrepresentation of the disorder by inaccurate portrayal in popular media. The often humorous demonstrations of obsessive-compulsive actions encourage viewers to make poor judgements on the nature of the disorder, frequently removing the obsession and underlying anxiety from the visible compulsion. This misuse has helped the growth of using OCD as a widely accepted term for being meticulous about the order or correctness of things.
Beyond the improper use in media, OCD and its hyper-efficiency has invoked an array of uneasy feelings towards the obsessive. Some individuals, when confronted with an individual with OCD, may feel a certain amount of hostility towards that individual. Part of making light of OCD in the workplace stems from this hostility, as humor has been noted by theorists to sometimes be intrinsically aggressive. It is also possible that this association between organization and cleanliness triggers a representational view of OCD. That is OCD symptoms and seemingly excessive organization seem to represent each other which is enough for some people to reason by representativeness.
Ultimately, there has been a widespread misuse of the term OCD as it has gained more recognition in the media as well as in general conversations in society. This has tainted the seriousness of true Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and has muddied the popular definition of the term.
OCD and OCPD
Part of the confusion contributing to the improper labelling of compulsive actions is from the demonstration of two similar disorders. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) are much the same in their principles and some of their symptoms, however these two disorders come from drastically different motivations with differing outcomes for the obsessive individual.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder. Obsessions and their ensuing compulsion stem from an underlying anxiety about any harm that may come to the individual or the people around them. The disorder seemingly forces the individual to do certain actions to alleviate this anxiety. Yet OCD is ego-dystonic, meaning that the individual knows that what they are doing to minimize the anxiety is drastic but cannot help but continue to do the compulsory action, going against the natural desires of the individual. This further causes more anxiety in the individual because they realize the trivialness of their actions and leads to further indulgence in the compulsive action.
This uncontrollable fixation on the obsession and thereby compulsion is self-alienating and fundamentally disorienting. OCD sufferers attempt to avoid the perceived tragic consequences of the obsession, only to be ignorant of the things that contribute to a contented life. Although they alleviate the anxiety from the obsession, they miss out on the long term enjoyment people get from life because they are robotically forced into focusing on the supposed well being of themselves and the people around them through their obsessive-compulsions.
OCPD on the other hand has a different stake in the lives of the people suffering from the disorder. Obsessive compulsive personality disorder is not an anxiety disorder and rather is ego-syntonic. The obsessions and compulsions often come from the desires of the individual creating a more beneficial and stable environment. OCPD will guide an individual through certain actions towards gratification thereby reinforcing the obsessions. This is in stark contrast to OCD which is very much anxiety and fear based.
Unknowingly, OCPD is a lot closer to what people are labelling when using the term OCD to describe an individual who periodically reorganizes things. OCD is more noticeably ritualistic compared to the aspiration focus of an individual with OCPD. However it is a distinction few will make the effort to make especially with the already prevalent usage of OCD in popular media.
Humor, OCD, and the Media
There are a fair amount of theories as to why Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder has typically been portrayed in a humorous light. Some believe it is because of the ironic nature in which obsessives take on average activities with utter seriousness and earnest. Others speculate it is our response to the demonstration of an inability to control oneself. Overall it is undecided as to what is the true cause of the humor based inclusion of OCD into media.
As with multiple other mental illnesses, OCD is devalued by poor portrayals in the media. In the case of OCD, researchers theorize that some of the joking comes from a misunderstanding of the nature of the disorder. Most people don’t understand that the sufferer views their compulsions as a solution to potentially dangerous problems. What most people will see is an activity that is far removed from the original anxiety yet is still scrupulously performed by the obsessive. However, for an observer it is much the punchline of a joke; although, the disparity between the anxiety of the obsession and the action of the compulsion is not intended by the obsessive to be humorous.
Comedy also has only shown the symptoms of the disorder. It would be rather disheartening to see the personal effect that the anxiety has on the individual if it were portrayed properly in media. There is also a tendency in media and in commonplace interactions to blur the fine line between solely obsessive character traits and obsessive character traits that go against the nature of the sufferer. This has contributed to the generalization of the plight of obsessives by removing the negative aspects of the thoughts behind the actions of the individual. It dehumanizes what it means to have the compulsions, removing the need to care about the ego-dystonic characteristic of the behavior
Another theoretical basis for the humor response is the idea of “mechanical inelasticity”. As humans we expect the fluidity and adaptability that comes from the intelligence of a sentient being. However as human behavior distances itself from this autonomy and adaptability, it becomes more comical in its increasing mechanical character. However in the case of OCD it sometimes evokes mixed emotions as the sufferer is aware of their plight yet is incapable of preventing their actions. As an analogy, some people watch fail videos of people accidentally doing mindless actions that end poorly for entertainment. However most people will experience a different set of emotions if they knew that the individual in the fail was aware of what was about to happen, didn’t want it to happen and could potentially change their fate, but still allowed the fail to happen. This is why the response to OCD is more complex than just a measly laugh about the unique behavior of someone with the disorder.
Anger and OCD
Some of the comedic response to the compulsive behaviors of an OCD individual may actually come from a threatened and uneasy perspective on the observer’s part. As was mentioned earlier, many theorists argue that humor and laughter are acts of aggression. It can be used as a way to indicate superiority towards the people being laughed at. Because of the mechanical inelasticity aspect of OCD, it will frequently provoke an uneasy response from an observer which might in turn induce an anger-based action towards the sufferer.
Individuals have also reported a fear of the OCD spreading, thus causing a frustrated reaction. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder many times will have accompanying doubtful thoughts. These thoughts, although normal, provoke a sense of worry in observers as they begin to question their own mental health and if they are developing the disorder themselves. As a defensive reflex against these challenging thoughts, the observer will often attempt to discourage the compulsive act whether consciously or not, through an aggressive response. This response is repeatedly manifested through humor as it is considered more socially acceptable and less intrusive compared to a direct and offensive approach.
Another theory behind the aggression demonstrated towards obsessives is the idea that individuals are grasping on to their ability to control their own actions. People will commonly look down upon those that don’t have full control over themselves and as our society slips further into a state that demands that control. “The unknowables of modern life, perhaps now more than ever, generate a profound yearning for some small token of control” (Fleissner, 2007, 110).
It is also possible that if applied properly, an individual with OCD can harness their obsessions to become extremely focused and productive. This can evoke a feeling of inadequacy in observers because of the hyper-efficiency displayed by the obsessive. Threatened by the feeling of subordination by the efficiency, observers may attempt to discourage the act in order to maintain the status quo of using limited effort to complete tasks. This discouragement becomes apart of the myth surrounding OCD as the efficiency displayed can be a coping mechanism for the obsessive rather than an act of encroachment some individuals might view it as.
The Depth of OCD
There is far more to OCD than people give it credit for. This contributes to the misuse of the term as people ignorantly label any action remotely resembling a compulsion as obsessive compulsive disorder. Realistically, organization is one of the many rituals that OCD people will use. Most of the rituals are done in private outside of the scrutiny of uneducated observers. Because observers typically witness a compulsion without seeing the obsession there are several other myths that have spread about the disorder.
Some individuals believe that obsessives experience a loss of free will. To the contrary they are aware of the available choices, but lose the ability to choose the most rational course of action. Because of this obsessive recognize the irrationality of their rituals but can’t choose a different course of action as they feel compelled to relieve the anxiety that accompanies their obsession.
OCD in media is sometimes represented as being anti-social. Obsessives are most often not anti-social and are actually quite cognizant of how their disorder affects the people around them. In fact one might argue that it is because of the people around them and the responsibility they feel to protect them that causes them to act compulsively towards their looming anxiety. Their actions are guided by their desire to avoid harming themselves and other, even though they rationally choose a trivial and unrelated solution. From this obsessives also feel extra responsibility for any wrongs that transpire around them even if they had no impact on the situation, something that is quite contrary to being anti-social.
With the influx of media sources using obsessive-compulsive disorder as a comedic outlet, it has reinforced several myths about the disorder itself and what it entails for the sufferers of the disorder. The response to the disorder is becoming ever increasingly trivial and often made light of despite of the negative impact is has on the lives of those with it. Although the obsessive-compulsive the some individuals display is similar to the symptoms of OCD, people quickly jump to the assumption that any sort of seemingly compulsive behavior is a factor of the disorder.
For the sake of the dignity of those with the disorder, it is important to educate people about the effects that OCD has, namely the crippling the anxiety that causes the compulsions in the first place. It is not a trivial matter to be taken lightly, but something that needs to be understood and addressed so people aren’t making fun of it at the expense of those affected by it.
Further research can be done to study the interaction between observers and obsessives before and after education on OCD to learn if education is effective. This would also take into account the idea of labelling theory; that some obsessives might be less flexible in trying to overcome their compulsions when it is how uneducated observers expect them to act. However if one was to be educated, it might invoke the ability for the observer to respect and allow the obsessive to work through their compulsion without judgement. Something anyone would wish to have when dealing with a disorder.
References:
Carpenter, S., & Huffman, K. (2012, December 13). Visualizing psychology. Wiley Global
Education.
Cefalu, P. (2009). What’s so funny about obsessive-compulsive disorder?. PMLA, 44-58.
Evans, D. W., Leckman, J. F., Carter, A., Reznick, J. S., Henshaw, D., King, R. A., et al. (1997).
Ritual, habit, and perfectionism: The prevalence and development of compulsive-like
behavior in normal young children. Child development, 58-68.
Fleissner, J. L. (2007). Obsessional Modernity: The “Institutionalization of Doubt”. Critical
Inquiry, 34(1), 106-134.
Kroska, A., & Harkness, S. K. (2006). Stigma sentiments and self-meanings: Exploring the
modified labeling theory of mental illness. Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(4), 325-348.
Neal-Barnett, A., & Mendelson, L. L. (2003). Obsessive compulsive disorder in the workplace:
An invisible disability. Women & Therapy, 26(1-2), 169-178.
Toby Breckenridge 