What OCD Really Is (And Isn’t): Busting Common Myths

When someone casually says, “I’m so OCD” because they like things tidy or color-coded. Whenever we hear someone say that we have a knee-jerk reaction that wants to scream, please stop. OCD is not a personality trait. It’s not a funny quirk. And for people who live with OCD, those offhand comments can feel deeply invalidating.

Nobody with true OCD would describe it as cute. They’re often carrying shame, confusion, or fear about what their brain puts them through. Many hide their struggles because they know others won’t understand. And unlike quirks or preferences, OCD is a diagnosable mental health disorder — one that can be exhausting, time-consuming, and isolating.

Let’s bust some of the most common myths about OCD so you can better understand what it really is — and why finding the right treatment matters.

Myth #1: OCD Is Just About Cleanliness or Hand-Washing

This is probably the most common stereotype. While contamination fears and hand-washing rituals are one possible presentation, OCD goes far beyond being a “germaphobe.”

Some people experience fears about causing harm, intrusive sexual or religious thoughts, doubts about their relationships, or fears of losing control or doing something impulsive. Others may struggle with perfectionism, needing things to feel “just right,” or mental rituals that aren’t visible to anyone else.

OCD themes are diverse, and the compulsions don’t always look like checking locks or washing your hands all day. Sometimes they’re hidden — replaying events in your head, silently counting, or seeking reassurance from loved ones.

Myth #2: OCD Is Just a Quirk or Personality Type

We’ve all heard someone say, “I’m just a little OCD.” But OCD isn’t an adjective. You wouldn’t say, “I’m so diabetes.” OCD is a disorder that causes significant distress and impairment.

In fact, one diagnostic criterion is that obsessions and compulsions are time-consuming — often taking up more than an hour a day — or cause major disruption to daily life. For some, it means spending hours checking or redoing tasks. For others, it causes them to be late because they can’t get out the door without completing a series of rituals.

If organizing your desk makes you feel good, that’s a preference. OCD compulsions, by contrast, don’t feel optional. They’re driven by overwhelming anxiety or doubt. People with OCD usually recognize that their behaviors don’t really make sense — but they feel like they have to do them anyway in order to feel safe.

Myth #3: OCD Is Just Anxiety

While OCD often involves anxiety, it’s not the same as generalized anxiety or “overthinking.” OCD is categorized in the DSM under Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, not as an anxiety disorder.

Why? Because OCD isn’t always anxiety-driven. Sometimes the dominant emotion is disgust, or even shame. And OCD goes beyond worry. It can make a person doubt their own common sense or the kind of person they believe they are (which is why OCD is often called “the doubting disease.”) Even if someone logically knows they locked the door, the doubt feels so strong and convincing that they can’t move on without checking again (and again, and again).

Myth #4: If You Don’t See Compulsions, It’s Not OCD

Many assume OCD is visible — repeated hand-washing, checking stoves, non-stop googling. But not all compulsions are external. Some are entirely mental: silently praying, counting, reviewing memories, or mentally “undoing” a thought. And others just straight up avoid doing things where they would need to do a compulsion (because they don’t want to deal with the ritual and/or don’t want others to see them ritualizing).

A person may look calm on the outside but be battling a storm of intrusive thoughts and mental rituals inside. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

What OCD Really Is

At its core, OCD involves:

• Obsessions → intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, urges, or sensations.

• Compulsions → behaviors (external or internal) done to neutralize the obsession, reduce distress, or prevent something bad from happening.

For example, someone might have the intrusive thought: “What if I screamed something offensive in this meeting?” Even though they don’t want to, the feelings and thoughts feel so real that they may mentally rehearse responses, sit on their hands, avoid being in meetings, or replay the meeting afterward to check if they slipped.

This is why OCD is considered ego-dystonic — the obsessions are the opposite of someone’s values. A person with harm-related OCD doesn’t want to hurt anyone. In fact, they’re often horrified by the thought. That’s what makes OCD so distressing.

There Is Hope — OCD Is Treatable

When new clients come to us, they’re often carrying shame, exhaustion, and hopelessness. They’ve had intrusive thoughts they’re afraid to share with anyone. Some have even seen therapists before who didn’t understand OCD — and walked away feeling more misunderstood than helped.

That’s why we always start with education: OCD does not define who you are. Your thoughts don’t mean anything about your character. And no matter how scary your obsessions feel, there is effective treatment.

The first-line treatment for OCD is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a form of CBT that teaches you to face fears without doing compulsions. At first, this feels counterintuitive — after all, compulsions are what bring temporary relief. But ERP helps break the cycle of doubt and teaches the brain a new way forward.

Other well-supported approaches for OCD include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which focuses on building psychological flexibility and following your values, and Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT), which helps people resolve the doubt that fuels obsessions.

Clients often describe these approaches as empowering. Instead of endless talking, they leave sessions with a structured plan. They realize that the very things they’ve been doing to cope (like doing rituals and compulsions) are what keep them stuck. Learning how to resist those rituals is challenging, but it’s also the path to freedom.

Finding the Right Help

One of the most heartbreaking things we hear from new clients is: “I’ve been in therapy before, but no one ever taught me how to treat my OCD.”

Unfortunately, OCD is rarely covered in graduate training programs, which means many therapists simply aren’t equipped to treat it effectively. If you suspect you have OCD, it’s crucial to find someone with advanced training and experience in ERP and other evidence-based treatments.

At State of Mind Therapy, we specialize in OCD and related disorders. We know how isolating and exhausting this cycle can feel — and we also know how treatable it is with the right approach.

Next Step

If you’re wondering whether your experiences could be OCD, we encourage you to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation. It’s a simple, pressure-free way to talk through what’s been going on and learn how specialized therapy could help.

You don’t have to keep carrying the weight of doubt alone — effective help is out there. Schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation with one of our therapists to see if we are the right fit for you.