Steve Pfost

I believe my first encounter with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) was while watching Desperate Housewives. No, it wasn’t that I couldn’t leave my room without watching an episode; it was the behavior of the character Bree Van Der Kamp. In an attempt to rescue her marriage, she surprises her hubby with a little bedroom sadomasochism, which he happened to have a thing for. All goes according to plan until Bree insists on cleaning a burrito stain on the carpet during a certain climactic moment. This ruins the moment and, unfortunately, the marriage. But was that really OCD at work, or just Bree being a perfectionist?

Crying Over Spilt Crayons

Upon first impression, Cruchelle Jordan is a relaxed, outgoing, first year Hospitality and Service Management major. Relaxed, that is, until you knock over a box of crayons in her presence. “My family was moving in between houses and my dad accidentally spilled crayons all over the place. I freaked out,” she said. “I had to organize them by color. I’ve memorized exactly where all the crayons go and I won’t let anyone else use them because I know they won’t put them back in order.”

Witnessing a messy room leaves her feeling dirty and obligated to clean it up, even when it’s not her own. If she doesn’t take care of the mess, the horrific image of rumpled clothes lying on the floor haunts her. Fortunately, Jordan has learned to live with her compulsive tendencies and they don’t severely interfere with her life at RIT. Yet she has her own personal theory: “I feel that everyone has a little OCD in them, though. If they pay attention to exactly what they do during the day, they’ll notice.”

Big Mistake

Heeding her words, I started to pay attention to my daily routine and noticed some oddities. Why must I always check if my bathroom door is locked twice instead of once? Why are my Firefox tabs always in the same exact order and why does it anger me when my roommates’ aren’t organized the same way? Why do I spend thirty minutes in iTunes making sure the artists “Jay-Z” and “Jay Z” don’t simultaneously appear on my iPod? The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became.

Giana Gengo, a second year Civil Engineering Technology major, shares the same fear. Although she hasn’t been diagnosed with OCD, she seems to have certain symptoms. “When I set my alarm clock at night, I have to check it five or six times because I’m so worried I won’t wake up on time,” she said. “It gets really annoying after a while and I keep asking myself ‘Why am I doing this?’ ” Before leaving her apartment, she has to make sure her lights are off, her hairdryer is unplugged and that any potential threat to her computer is removed from her desk. Not performing any of these tasks puts her in an anxious state. On the plus side, she feels these symptoms keep her life rather organized. So then what sets Gengo and I apart from Jordan?

Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

OCD itself is believed to be related to low serotonin levels. When the proper flow of serotonin is blocked, a cascade of alarming messages are sent and the system as a whole overreacts. Instead of filtering out these thoughts and “danger messages,” the brain is unable to distract itself from them. This traps people into incessant cycles of thoughts and routine behaviors.

In 1997, 1 in 50 adults had OCD. Just eight years later, it was the fourth most common mental disorder in the United States. With such boastful statistics, one might get to thinking they are a victim of the disorder, as well. Mark Miles, Director of Clinical Services at the RIT Counseling Center, believes many confuse having OCD with simply being conscientious.

“Conscientious people check things frequently, want to be on time, like being organized, and want to feel structured and in control,” said Miles. “With OCD it’s about binding anxiety.” He suggested a few ways to differentiate between the two states of mind. Once the distinction is made, you’ll be able to separate the real OCD victims from the paranoid.

Product Placement

People suffering from OCD often need to have objects placed in a specific manner to feel comfortable. “When I was working in Memphis, we had an individual who would come in and straighten a picture in the office. One day, while we were talking, I went over to the painting and made it cock-eyed. She could not contain herself; she had to get herself up and fix it. The conscientious person might let it go, but the person with OCD just can’t,” cited Miles.

Although I enjoy keeping things organized, my ever-growing laziness seems to have disrupted that paradigm. I’ve always alphabetized my video game collection but, unfortunately, my friends never shared my passion for having Perfect Dark 64 to the left of Power Rangers: The Video Game. Over the years, I got tired of reorganizing them. Before I knew it, Rock Band and Call of Duty both lay scattered across my apartment in no particular order.

Once Just Isn’t Enough

Another difference is the mental pain associated with the disorder. “For someone with OCD, it can be excruciating. They recognize that they lose time having to go through meaningless rituals and that it interferes with them having productive exchanges. It gets time-consuming and draining,” Miles added.

Finally, conscientious people are generally careful and check things often so they don’t make mistakes. The conscientious person might check once or twice but the person with OCD will check or perform a ritual several times. “When you do the check, is there a sense of relief?” Miles asked. For me, yes. When I know my bathroom door is locked, I’m relieved since someone won’t awkwardly walk in on me. “You see, checking provides a sense of relief for a conscientious person. The person with OCD doesn’t feel that sense of relief. They know the ritual is silly but they still can’t stop. It’s almost as if the information feedback loop isn’t working,” explained Miles.

I may have escaped the fate of the constant inspections and unfulfilled relief, but others may not be as lucky. The greatest challenge of OCD is that its direct cause, whether biological or environmental, is still unknown. Patients have been known to respond to anxiety medications like Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, but other treatment methods such as psychotherapy and psychosurgery are still being researched.