What OCD Really Is… And Isn’t: Understanding The Reality

October 13-19 is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Awareness Week, representing one of the most widely misunderstood mental health conditions. It’s often thrown into everyday conversation as a light-hearted way to describe tidiness or control. But for the millions of people who live with genuine OCD, it’s far from a personality quirk.

OCD is a complex, often exhausting cycle of intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours that can dominate someone’s daily life. It’s a condition fuelled not by neatness or perfectionism, but by anxiety, uncertainty, and an urgent drive to relieve distress.

This OCD Awareness Week, let’s take a closer look at what OCD truly means, and why understanding it matters more than ever.

What isn’t OCD?

In 2023, David Beckham opened up about his OCD in a Netflix documentary, detailing his need for tidiness and symmetry in his daily life. While it’s positive to see such a big celebrity talking about their mental health, it can unwittingly contribute to the stereotypes that OCD means being a “control freak,” or simply liking things clean and orderly. 

Some people with OCD aren’t particularly neat or tidy at all; they could even be hoarders. OCD can manifest in many ways. For example, someone might check that the front door is locked 20 times before leaving the house, not because they enjoy the ritual, but because they’re plagued by an intrusive thought that something terrible will happen if they don’t.

People living with OCD usually know that their thoughts or fears don’t make logical sense, but that doesn’t make them any easier to ignore. The anxiety they experience can feel unbearable until they perform a specific behaviour or ritual designed to neutralise it.

So, while many people might occasionally double-check a lock or prefer an orderly desk, OCD is far more than a few tidy habits. It’s defined by distress and disruption, not by preference or personality.

What is OCD?

OCD involves two main components: obsessions and compulsions.

Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that repeatedly enter the mind and cause significant anxiety or distress. These thoughts can feel alien and disturbing, often centring around themes such as contamination, harm, morality, symmetry, or taboo subjects (for example, violent or sexual thoughts).

Compulsions are the actions or mental rituals a person performs in an attempt to relieve the anxiety caused by their obsessions. These can include physical behaviours like washing, checking, counting, or arranging, or internal actions like silently repeating phrases, praying, or mentally reviewing past events for reassurance.

For a moment, these compulsions may bring relief. But that relief is temporary, and the anxiety soon returns, often stronger than before. The result is a vicious cycle: obsession leads to anxiety, which leads to compulsion, which reinforces the obsession.

OCD can affect anyone, at any age, and often co-exists with conditions such as depression, generalised anxiety, or perfectionism. Stress, major life changes, or trauma can make symptoms worse, though the roots of OCD are usually a blend of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

Why misunderstanding OCD matters

When we reduce OCD to “just being neat,” we unintentionally dismiss the very real suffering it causes. Casual misuse of the term, whether in conversation, advertising, or media, contributes to stigma and isolation. It can make people feel ashamed, misunderstood, or reluctant to seek help for fear of being judged or trivialised.

Awareness matters because understanding breeds compassion. When friends, families, and workplaces understand that OCD is a form of anxiety disorder, rather than a choice or a personality type, it becomes easier for people to seek help early, without shame.

How to find help and support 

OCD is a treatable condition. Common approaches include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) combined with mindfulness or compassion-focused therapy. These approaches help people gradually face their fears, tolerate uncertainty, and reduce the need to perform compulsions. 

Some patients may additionally benefit from hypnotherapy at our Harley Street clinic, which can help to nurture grounding and soothing techniques. For some, medication (typically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs) can also play an important role in managing symptoms.

In the UK, organisations such as OCD-UK, Rethink Mental Illness, and Mind offer excellent information and support networks.  

This OCD Awareness Week is an ideal opportunity to separate fact from fiction about a condition that can so often be trivialised, or burdened with shame and anxiety.  If this resonates with you, reaching out for help is a powerful first step towards healing and recovery.