PLEASE READ THIS:
PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK below to read some things I had to say about this video, my background, and most importantly OCD! (it was too long to fit here. I put a summary below this as well):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-BAiHovHtfZdds3JiQ4J3BbnI1ii91FARAwsqvvaiao/pub
SUMMARY of description:
This video was a school project created for psychology class, and everything in it is staged. The purpose of the video is to get rid of some misconceptions about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and provide a new perspective on mental illnesses in general. The video depicts what life might be like for ONE SPECIFIC person with a MILD case of OCD, and what might be going through their mind.
Note:
While I have been diagnosed with OCD and used personal experiences and knowledge to make this video, it does not necessarily depict my actual life or exactly what goes on in my head, as the purpose of the video is not to show the world what my life is like.
Some ideas or misconceptions about OCD:
• OCD is NOT about being a germophobe or perfectionist, and it’s different for everyone. It about severe anxiety and fear that is totally irrational (knowingly so), which is often (but also often not) followed by repetitive actions to cope with the anxiety.
• It is normal for anybody to have anxiety, pet-peeves, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies sometimes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have OCD.
• The obsessions (thoughts/feelings) and compulsions (actions/behaviors) of someone with OCD are very disruptive, disturbing, and sometimes destructive to their lives, and consume a significant amount of time and energy.
• People with OCD know that what they are doing (or the thoughts they are thinking) are irrational and don’t make any sense, but they can’t help it.
Additional notes:
• This video only scratches the surface of what OCD can be like, and is just coming from one perspective. Even for the character in the video, the thoughts you hear are only what’s happening on the surface! It's not just, "oh that really bothers me I'm gonna fix it." It's much deeper anxiety, paranoia, and depression, which is really hard to explain or depict in a school project video.
• The details of the video, such as the labels not facing the same way, the bedroom being kind of messy, or mismatched socks are not oversights! It shows how OCD doesn’t mean everything has to be perfect!
• The big punchline at the end shows how people often don’t know when someone is struggling with a mental illness, and it is very easy to make false assumptions about their irregular behavior. It isn’t anyone’s fault for not knowing the background story, so you can’t blame them for making assumptions, but the point is to just always keep your mind open, because you never know what someone else might be going through!
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