I hate how people think OCD is only about germs

HI everyone,
I'm new to this forum, though I've had OCD since I was young. I wanted to see if others had experienced what I have when they've told people they have OCD - "oh, like you're scared of germs?" - that sort of thing. Most people seem to think OCD is merely a germ phobia. I think the show Monk has contributed to this belief considerably. I'm a germophobe but OCD is so much more than that - it affects every aspect of my life, many things that have nothing to do with germs (I kept rewriting parts of this paragraph to get them just right, for example). Have you experienced this?
Thank you in advance.

If you read this forum solely to understand what OCD is, you would think it is anything but being a germophobe or cleanliness, etc. Most of our threads are about HOCD/POCD.

At any rate, yes, OCD is much more than being about germ-free or worrying about such things. I had severe OCD for over 20 years before I got it under control, and most of my problems had little or nothing to do with contamination fears.

Welcome, by the way.

Otter.

Yeah, most people think OCD is only either germaphobia or having to click light switches and count and stuff like that. It's such a more complex and varied disorder than just those things. I think almost every mental disorder is misrepresented in media, maybe because most people don't have them and only the more sensational or easy-to-understand things become popularized because that's what neurotypical people pick up on. A lot of the nuance and complicated facets are lost, which often puts people with disorders in a bad light and can even prevent people from getting proper treatment because they only know the popular version of disorders and aren't aware that what they're experiencing is also within the realm of whatever disorder. I don't have intense germaphobia or many obvious compulsions, but I've only recently realized I very likely have ROCD and that it's been the reason why all of my relationships have ended badly/abruptly and why I have so much anxiety. No one really tells you about obsessive thoughts and the weirder compulsions, like how obsessive relationship thoughts can compel you to leave the relationship to avoid the anxiety. You can see misrepresentation of myriad other disorders, from Asperger's to schizophrenia to bipolar. We really need better mental health education and better representation in media, but it's just not seen as important enough I guess and it's so hard for people without the disorders to truly understand what it's like. It's sometimes hard enough for people with the disorders to understand and explain themselves/their experiences.

Thanks for starting this thread RManweller.

I am 39 and only just found out I had OCD this year. If you look at the posts in this forum there is very little to do with germs. It's mostly about harm, things of a sexual nature and relationship OCD etc. This is the side of OCD that nobody talks about and that many mental health professionals overlook. I was diagnosed with bipolar 7 years ago, but I'm starting to wonder whether it's just been OCD all along. After all, OCD can get pretty weird and seem very strange to those around you. It's also an exhausting and draining way to live, many of us are prone to depression.

I've gone most of my life feeling deeply ashamed and assuming that there was something fundamentally flawed and wrong with me as a person and that I was the only one who's going through this.

I worry about cleanliness and neatness. However, that's more to do with the superstitious/magical thinking side of things - feng shui run amok. I also worry about chemicals, but the harm and sexual obsessions and odd obsessions with needing to know certain information in order to get certainty with it are the most troubling.

Yes, we definitely need better education in the media. I wonder how many people are suffering and don't even know that it's OCD.

The problem with society too is that they will say things like I'm a little ocd about..... When in reality most of the time it's just a person has obsessive behavior or traits but not ocd traits or a person may be just a perfectionist and label that as somewhat ocd which isn't true.

yeah me too,i hate how people think ocd is only about germs (and symmetry)...also,there are still some other misconceptions about ocd and welcome to the forum RMW.

Yeah. "Sorry that I went to clean the kitchen. I'm a little OCD." Lol No, you're not. You have no idea.