The fact is we all have something. I decided to write a post about OCD here, a condition I’ve wrestled with for years since I was kid. No doubt facing my own imperfection in a public domain on my blog can be very confronting but that’s exactly the reason why I’m doing it and will keep doing till it’s not hard anymore. It’s funny when you set out to combat your fears head on, the very first step you take, you effectively reduce their significance and impact. As to why it works, I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of scientific theories behind it. But when the results can speak for themselves, I’m happy to take a lazy approach and not dive in to the deep, dry stuff.
Much has been said about OCD in print and on line. For those ones I’ve researched on, they all offered valuable insights into this sometimes-misunderstood mental illness. It was very fascinating to read some of those lines that described the symptoms that I was too familiar with. Anyone who’s interested in this topic can Google it and find many useful links and sites available. In short and in plain language, OCD is a form of anxiety disorder. The rituals associated with it are simply ways of coping mechanism. The very core of OCD is about controlling.
Contrary to the common views on OCD which see it as a mental illness and for the most sufferers who may even regard their OCD as something shameful, I now have a completely different take on it. In recent years I’ve begun to recognise the positive aspects of OCD. Things like great powers of observation, strong attention to detail and an acute sense of order and organization, all these are character traits ingrained in people with OCD. For me, anything that requires precision, accuracy and quality control, I’m up for it and can create amazing results. It’s about turning the infamous flip side of OCD and transferring it into something I can use to my advantage. The process doesn’t involve changing the person I am. I believe the skill set revolves around those tedious rituals that people with OCD perform is the same skill set that required to achieve great successes in life. The trick is to shift the focus area to something that’ll bring meaningful achievements.
Looking back at my journey, the hardest part wasn’t dealing with OCD itself. It was accepting it and worrying less about what others may think of me. It took me years and years to get there. All I can say conclusively is the only way to “come clean” is really to be comfortable with who you are. I was born this way for a reason and after years of questioning, struggling and battling, I no longer see my OCD as inner demons but as an innate gift… Very blessed!
Ted Tsai 