"OMG I'm so OCD"

Last year, there was a several-month gap between the diagnosis of my OCD and my brother finding out about it. During this gap, I a specifically remember a conversation we were having, that went something like this:

Me: "What is your roommate like?"

Jonah: "He's a nice guy. A lot of fun to be around. But if you look in his room you can tell he's pretty OCD."

Me: "Oh."

This had me thinking. Should I be bothered by the fact that he casually threw around the term "OCD" to describe his friend who probably only likes things neat? After a good bit of deliberation (ha), I decided that no, I wasn't "offended" by him saying it. However, it did bring to light a question: should language be "censored" to protect the minorities and other groups that the words offend, or is teaching the meaning behind the language enough? In this blog post, I'll discuss two sides of this argument when it comes to the word "OCD."

While my feelings weren't hurt at all by my brother inaccurately using "OCD," I realized that the casual use of it has led to desensitization to the seriousness of the disorder. In one of my past posts, I discussed how a huge obstacle to recovering from OCD was not knowing exactly what OCD was, and thus not being able to diagnose myself with it. I feel that the casual use of "OCD" may lead people to believe that the disorder isn't as serious as it actually is. So no, I don't care if someone  uses "OCD" as a synonym for "neat;" however, I just want to assure that they know the full extent of the disorder so that can identify if they or a loved one are suffering from it.

On the other hand , there could be potential benefit to making "OCD" a politically incorrect word, among the ranks with the n-word and the f-word. If the use of it in everyday conversation is stigmatized, people can make the assumption that there is a reason for its stigmatization, thus allowing for a better chance of people knowing more about the disorder. However, I don't believe this to be realistic. The reason that words like the n-word and the f-word can become so anti-pc is because they are clearly and undisputedly rooted in hatred. The same cannot be said for "OCD."

I believe that in certain contexts, political correctness can serve a role; however, I believe the more powerful tool to be education and awareness. Teaching people to change their language is one thing, but teaching people the history behind their language is another (similar to "the teach a person to fish" analogy).