Now that’s an odd question, isn’t it? If you are a person who experiences genuine obsessive-compulsive disorder, you might even find the question offensive. Often “cute” jokes and comments hurt those who genuinely struggle with OCD. Well, that is the point actually. Among mental disorders, I do believe OCD has been the brunt of more efforts at humor than any other. Is this deserved? If not, wonder why it is targeted?
I will give two answers to our title question.
OCD is not funny
The symptoms of OCD are odd, and many of them are exaggerations of things we all experience. If you have the contamination form of OCD, you may be extremely wary of germs and go out of your way to avoid them. Most of us identify: we don’t want to get sick or be contaminated by germs, but we do not experience the intense anxiety and buzzing thoughts about it that those with OCD do. And these thoughts and feelings don’t consume us most of every day.
So, why do some think OCD is funny?
1. Portrayals in the media. We don’t have to look far to see comedic portrayals of OCD-like symptoms in the media. Sheldon Cooper, the lead character of The Big Bang Theory, demonstrates numerous signs of OCD and they are largely played for humor. This one is fascinating as Jim Parsons, who portrays Sheldon, has some symptoms of OCD in real life. If you look back further, the title character of the detective show, Monk, experienced OCD. This was a more mixed portrayal as it often evoked pity from the viewer, not just laughter. You may have some examples to add to these.
2. We can identify with it a little bit. Another reason may be that since all of us experience minor obsessions and compulsions from time to time, we find them curious and maybe even funny. We laugh at each other’s little quirks like using hand sanitizer a lot or checking multiple times to see if doors are locked. Since we experience these, we figure they’re no bigger deals to others than to us and so think they might find humor in them like we do. Unfortunately, that’s like saying you know how pneumonia feels because you have a sniffle now and then. This sets up a common form of comedy by hyperbole, or exaggeration. Seeing something familiar in an extreme form is often funny. But maybe not in the case of OCD.
3. There is also misunderstanding between OCD and OCPD – obsessive compulsive personality disorder. These are often confused, and much of what we think is OCD is the perfectionism and need for control in OCPD which is a general condition describing one’s personality (contrast OCD below as being ego alien). Again, we all have a touch of this, but not enough to be called disordered. For the person with OCPD, the desire for control and having things just so seems more like perfectionism and is experienced as congruent with one’s overall personality. In contrast, OCD begins with thoughts, images, or feelings that intrude into one’s awareness without being wanted and so are seen as alien to oneself in a way. We may find harmless humor in noticing those who alphabetize their spices or organize their paperclips, but these point to OCPD, not OCD.
4. Finally, even therapists and counselors often don’t appreciate the uniqueness and severity of OCD – even some who say they specialize in OCD. They may naively underestimate the severity of OCD and thus take it less seriously. Many will use supportive and affirming approaches to counseling and thus literally become living compulsions for the client, serving the purpose by affirming them and thus reducing anxiety. Unfortunately, that doesn’t solve the problem – and often makes it worse. OCD is treated by more specialized approaches, most all of them revolving around exposure and response prevention of some sort. This is why some data shows those with OCD often go to 4 or more therapists before finding one who really “gets it”.
In short, for those who genuinely wrestle with OCD, it is rarely funny. It can even be disabling when obsessions and compulsions overwhelm someone’s life to where they cannot function in the workplace or even at home. Please bear this in mind when you interact with someone with it, or even in other settings out of respect to the pain those with it experience.
OCD Is funny
Am I contradicting myself? Not really. While OCD is not funny “ha ha,” it is funny strange. Those with OCD realize they are irrational in their thinking and behavior and see it as ego alien (an odd term meaning that it is foreign to their normal sense of who they are and what they believe). Even the technical diagnostic criteria for OCD require that the person diagnosed has a sense of the irrationality of what they think and do. In their normal clarity, those with OCD know they think, feel, and act strangely. This may actually make them feel worse as they feel frustrated at themselves for these silly ideas they seem so out of control.
To help you understand, let me walk you through a simplistic but hopefully clear overview of what is going on when a person has OCD.
Often the experience of OCD begins with an intrusive thought, feeling, or image, such as “what if I’m not really a Christian?” (Religious themes are common for OCD and are called scrupulosity. They appear in other religions, too.) Any believer can have a stray doubt here and there, but with OCD they come with sticky glue and are hard to shake because they create a strong sense of anxiety. (And sometimes vice versa: feeling anxious can trigger intrusive thoughts.) OCD picks on things that are not certain (since most things aren’t). Most Christians know they are believers, but it is hard to produce incontrovertible evidence to prove it – thus it is called faith, not certainty.
The anxiety makes it hard to brush off the intrusive thought as just a thought, and OCD insists the only way to reduce the anxiety is to achieve certainty. This sets the person into obsessing, frantically trying to figure out how they can achieve certainty of their salvation in order to reduce the anxiety. They may resort to compulsions, like seeking reassurance from loved ones, religious leaders, or even the Internet. These can give some temporary relief, but soon the anxious thoughts and feelings return and are even worse. The person is now on the hamster wheel. This may help show why reassurance actually hurts the person with OCD more than it helps: it rewards the cycle and makes the person long for more comfort even as it makes the intensity worse in the long run. This also explains why supportive counseling may make the person feel better during the session but does not help the person gain ground against the OCD itself.
This brief model of OCD illustrates the “funny strange” nature of OCD. The process in the example goes far beyond normal, occasional religious doubt and overwhelms the sufferer – even as they are aware of the normal words of comfort in the Bible and doctrines that give them hope. It just feels funny – but it isn’t.
So, to those who experience OCD: maybe this helps you see why others may make light of your situation. I don’t think it comes from a place of wanting to hurt you, but one of ignorance about what OCD is. Speak up and explain it to them. Point them to reliable resources like you find on iocdf.org.
To those who don’t have OCD but know someone who does, consider whether you might have said things that could have hurt, and whether you might have a conversation to admit your mistake and give the person a chance to share what it really is like to have OCD. Become educated about OCD yourself.
Finally, to those who treat OCD: please know what you are dealing with. Study the nature of OCD, and the treatment approaches that actually do help. If that seems a bit much, consider referring those with OCD to someone who specializes in it.
OCD is cruel and insidious, striking misery to those who have it and confusing those around them. Let’s see it for what it is rather than thinking it is cute or humorous in any way. We owe this to those who struggle with it.