OCD: The Thief of Time

Having OCD sucks. It takes up one’s energy unnecessarily. It compels people to do things against their will. And it causes an enormous amount of distress. It’s like having a gun pointed to the head. It is a monster. It is a thief of time. But the worst part about OCD is that is not very well-understood. In fact, there are a lot of stigmatizing ideas about it that exacerbate the pain of living with OCD.

One such idea is that it’s about being neat and organized. The reality is that it’s exactly the opposite of that. It can actually plunge a person’s life into disarray. Treating OCD like it’s something harmless trivializes the harm that it does to an individual. We need to understand the real consequences of OCD. If we can do that, we would better know how to address it.

OCD is an acronym for obsessive-compulsive disorder and is characterized by obsessions and/or compulsions. Compulsions are repetitive actions or ideas that are frequently undertaken in reaction to obsessions, usually with the intention of lessening anxiety and discomfort. Obsessions are recurring, unwelcome thoughts. It’s vital to remember that OCD is not simply a liking for orderliness, as the term is occasionally used to indicate, but is frequently quite distressing. Although the biology of OCD is not fully known, it is believed that depending on a person’s age and symptom profile, among other things, distinct brain pathways may be implicated.

However, one well-supported theory of the neurobiology of OCD suggests that circuits linking the orbitofrontal cortex to a collection of structures known as the basal ganglia play a significant role. According to a simple model of basal ganglia circuitry, there are two opposing pathways: the direct pathway, which is excitatory, and the indirect pathway, which is inhibitory. A signal from the orbitofrontal cortex to the basal ganglia frequently results in an activity intended to reduce the discomfort brought on by the perception of danger; this action is mediated via the direct pathway. The indirect channel then stops further action in a healthy person. However, in a person with OCD, the direct channel is overactive, drowning out the activity of the indirect pathway and making it challenging to transition to a different habit or divert attention from the worry that is making them uncomfortable.

Thus, this hypothesis proposes that both obsessions and compulsions are more common due to overactivity in the orbitofrontal cortex and the direct channel of the basal ganglia. As you can imagine, this is far from a quirk that it is often made out to be. It is a thief of time. So don’t treat it like something harmless. Treat it like the mental illness that it is. It only causes pain and is often called a thief of time because of the fact that it takes away time and energy from a person’s life. It needs to have a solution to properly address it.