OCD Is More Than Cleanliness: Facts And Statistics For OCD Awareness Week

The International OCD Foundation founded OCD Awareness Week, which takes place on the second week of October yearly. As a condition listed in the OCD and related disorders category from the DSM-5, obsessive-compulsive disorder can profoundly impact the functioning and daily lives of those diagnosed. Learning the symptoms of OCD, pledging to raise awareness, and reaching out for support if you suspect you may be affected can be methods of celebrating this week and reducing the myths surrounding the condition.  

What is OCD Awareness Week? 

OCD Awareness Week takes place on the second week of October and was developed in 2009. The focus of OCD Awareness Week is to bring awareness to the condition and reduce stigma. Each year’s events can differ, and you may find marches, fun runs, local organization efforts, and clinics worldwide that celebrate. OCD Awareness Week can encourage friends, family, and loved ones of people with OCD, as well as the general public, to become more knowledgeable about and understanding of the condition.

The International OCD Foundation advocates organizing several recurring yearly events that you can partake in during this week, including: 

• Self-compassion challenges 

• Painting your nails teal in support of OCD awareness

• Outside With OCD 

• Yoga, with the hashtag #OCDAwarenessAsanas 

2022 events included The Road To Reclaiming Your Life, children’s story time, children’s yoga, special edition community conversations, expert conversations on diagnosis, expert testimony on life after effective treatment, and young adult meetups. 2023’s events may be similar, but you can check back on the calendar page throughout the year for more information. 

How to celebrate: Raise awareness for OCD treatment

You can use several hashtags for OCD awareness during the week, including #OCD, #OCDAwareness, #OAW, #IOCDF, and #OCDAwarenessAsanas. These hashtags spread awareness on social media and encourage people to engage and learn more about OCD and related disorders and the week by clicking to see other related posts.

Additionally, you can join the One Million Steps for OCD walk each year to offer support, education, and hope while you raise awareness. If you can’t find a walk where you live, you can organize your own OCD walk in your community or sponsor a walk through the International OCD Foundation. You can also search online for smaller OCD or mental health organizations in your area and see if they have any activities planned. 

The inspiration for the One Million Steps Walk was a man named Denis Asselin. He walked around one million steps in memory of his son, who was struggling with OCD and body dysmorphic disorder before he lost his life to suicide. The mission of the One Million Steps Walk is to raise awareness of Nathanial and the many individuals living with obsessive-compulsive disorder and unique OCD truths each year. 

Finally, you can attend the Online OCD Conference, which occurs each year in November, or watch a video by national advocate Ethan Smith who tells his lived experience navigating OCD to help others have a candid space to tell their experiences with the condition.

Why is OCD Awareness Week important?

OCD Awareness Week can have several positive impacts on relationships and communities around the world. Studies show that 36% of those diagnosed with OCD report lifetime suicidal thoughts, which can make OCD awareness and treatment options a suicide prevention measure. It may seem like only a temporary solution to a challenging condition, but OCD and related disorders are often severe, and making an effort to raise awareness can increase reach to mental health professionals and methods to treat OCD for many individuals. 

Additionally, there are several myths and stigmas about OCD, and raising awareness and education can be one method of reducing those stigmas in communities. One study shows that stigmas about the condition provide barriers to those wishing to receive treatment and seek support. Additionally, due to stigmas, people experiencing symptoms of OCD and related disorders might not know they’re experiencing them because OCD in the public eye is often limited to specific stereotypes that are unrealistic to the wide variety of symptoms experienced by those diagnosed. 

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder? 

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often characterized by obsessions, compulsions, or a mixture of the two. Compulsions often involve repetitive behaviors and difficulty with self-control. There are several subtypes of OCD, including: 

• Contamination obsessions/cleaning compulsions

• Obsessions without compulsions (pure obsession OCD) 

• Harm obsessions/cleaning compulsions

• Symmetry obsessions/ordering compulsions

• Hoarding 

Separate OCD and related disorders include trichotillomania, hoarding disorder, skin-picking disorder, substance/medication-induced-OCD, and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). 

If you are struggling with substance use, contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at (800) 662-4357 to receive support and resources. Support is available 24/7.

Often, OCD involves an obsession, which can appear as a recurring thought, feeling, or urge. In some cases, compulsions follow obsessions. Compulsions are behaviors based on obsessions, beliefs, thoughts, or distortions in an attempt to reduce distress, remove a perceived threat, or defend oneself from obsessions or intrusive thoughts. 

Intrusive thoughts are repetitive, severe, and distressing thoughts that may be related to the obsession or fears a person has regarding their OCD. For example, someone with a harm subtype of OCD might have intrusive thoughts where they worry they might harm someone or see distressing images of harm in their mind. Intrusive thoughts do not necessarily indicate a desire to partake in the action or fear. However, someone with OCD may believe that the thought means they’re a bad person or that they subconsciously want to partake in an undesired action.  

Compulsions can include behaviors like: 

• Checking the time more than once  

• Skipping lines on the sidewalk 

• Rituals like repeating certain words or phrases daily or at a particular time 

• Cleaning surfaces multiple times or excessively 

• Washing hands many times throughout the day 

• Avoiding touching certain surfaces or objects 

• Counting 

• Repeating patterns or attempting to find patterns 

• Listening to the same song over and over 

• Asking someone else not to do something because it makes you afraid 

• Attempting to control thoughts 

Not everyone who experiences OCD has compulsions, and not all compulsions are necessarily the same. Additionally, compulsions are often performed with an underlying fear or purpose. For example, someone might believe if they do not perform the compulsion, it means they will be harmed. People may create their own rituals or behaviors associated with their obsessions or fears. 

OCD statistics 

Many recent statistics on OCD may shed light on the condition and how it can appear, including the following: 

• 1.2% of adults in the US have had OCD in the past year 

• Women are three times more likely to be diagnosed with OCD than men 

• OCD commonly first appears between the ages of eight and 12 or in the late teens or early adulthood 

• Genes likely play a role in the development of the condition 

• OCD is not limited to “being clean” or “organized” 

Why OCD is more than just cleanliness

You may have heard someone say, “I’m so OCD,” or “It’s just my OCD acting up again,” when referring to cleanliness, organization, pickiness, or certain personality traits. Although people may use these terms to try to connect or joke about a part of their personality, incorrectly labeling the condition can cause harm. The psychology of OCD involves much more than cleanliness. In fact, many people's OCD symptoms do not involve cleanliness or organization at all.

OCD is a mental health condition, just like mood disorders and eating disorders, that causes moderate to severe functioning impairments in children, teens, and adults. Living with OCD can be distressing, scary, and painful for those experiencing it. Additionally, OCD is complex, and not every diagnosed person struggles with organization, cleanliness, or contamination fears or compulsions. 

Using OCD as an adjective or a way to explain certain normal behaviors can take attention away from how it impacts those experiencing it. Someone who hears OCD used in this context may not realize it is a mental health condition. Or, if they are experiencing symptoms of OCD that do not fit the myths, they may not seek support and be unsure of what is happening. 

This OCD Awareness Day and World Mental Health Day, make an impact by using accurate and ethical language. When talking about specific personality traits, an identity, or behaviors not related to a diagnosis of OCD and related disorders, consider using the following phrases instead: 

• “I have a type A personality.” 

• “I am very precise.” 

• “I like organization.”

• “I’m such a perfectionist.” 

• “I feel nervous about this.” 

• “I feel out of control.”

• “This ritual helps me.”

• “I’m very focused on cleanliness and neatness.” 

• “I like order.” 

• “I don’t like a mess.” 

Ways to treat OCD and related disorders 

There are several treatment methods utilized to treat OCD that have varying success rates. Below are a few of the most common. 

Exposure and response prevention treatment (ERP) 

Exposure and response prevention treatment (ERP), sometimes referred to as exposure therapy, is a type of counseling and behavioral intervention that targets obsessions and compulsions to reduce the fear response or urge to control that are often associated with them. A session of exposure therapy may look like the following: 

1. A client meets with a therapist and discusses their urges and compulsions related to their obsessions or fears. 

2. The client writes down each compulsion and the opposite or feared consequence of not completing it. 

3. They rate each “consequence” on a scale of 1-100 of how much it scares them. 

4. The therapist then begins exposure to the lowest-rated fears first. 

5. After a reduction in fear associated with the exposure, they may move on to a higher fear or a more intensive form of exposure. 

6. The process may then repeat for each subsequent compulsion. 

For example, a client who has the compulsion to avoid bathtubs due to a fear of contamination may practice exposure first by looking at a bathtub, then sitting in an empty bath, then sitting in a filled bath for five minutes. They might end the exposure practice by taking a dirty bath with dirt, rocks, or other safe substances and not cleaning themselves off or performing a compulsion to avoid it. 

The essence of exposure therapy is that it often exposes clients to extreme levels of fear and attempts to show them that they won’t necessarily face harm from feeling fear itself and that the fears they have may not be based on reality. It can be a challenging type of therapy but has high success rates of 75 to 85% in clients with OCD. 

OCD treatment centers

Within the US, several OCD treatment centers offer an intensive OCD treatment program on a short-term or long-term basis with a 24/7 approach to guidance, therapeutic support, and medical care. Clients may meet with a therapist and doctor (MD) at the center and could be treated with a combination of medication and therapy. Many OCD centers practice exposure therapy at the center or in groups. IOCDF lists several treatment programs on its website. 

Meeting with a counselor

Counseling for OCD can be done in various ways. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can also be used in its treatment and may also be effective in addition to ERP or on its own. For those who struggle to leave home or face barriers to treatment, CBT and ERP therapies can be done online for OCD and other mental health conditions. 

Online therapy offers a platform where you can meet a licensed therapist through phone, video, or live chat sessions at a time that works for you. Additionally, studies have shown that online counseling can be effective and more cost-effective than traditional in-person therapy for treating OCD in particular. If you’re interested in working with a therapist through an organized platform, you can sign up through a website like BetterHelp, which offers a match-based system with over 30,000 licensed professionals.