OCD is different for everyone. She's sharing her own story and it doesn't apply to everyone. It's cool to hear different perspectives even if they aren't your own, that's what TED talks is all about. she's not preaching misinformation about OCD because it's just her experience and shouldn't be generalized to all people with OCD anyway. (Basically dont hate on her just bc you disagree with her, she is simply sharing her own personal story)

I never knew anyone with the SAME exact OCD as me. I didn't even realize that it was considered OCD.

*No no no no no!!!!! At the end of the video she said she would like to keep OCD because it gives her balance in life!!!!! Nothing against her, but I STRONGLY DISAGREE, one of my greatest wishes is that my OCD would dissappear...I spend hours of my day tapping and counting when I could be spending time with my little sister... IT GIVES ME NO BALANCE IN LIFE AND HAS DIMINISHED MY LIFE GREATLY!!!!! I wouldn't let me go to sleep, or do anything I wanted to do!!!!! I take the drugs, and go through both CBT and ERP because I want it to be gone!!!!! But thats just my opinion and the opinion of many others that I know with OCD...* Sorry if I offended anyone, I just don't see the positives, even though I know everyone is different...

It's a privilege to be able to say no to medications and handle your disorder without them. Some people are so severely ill they have no choice but to take meds because otherwise they can't live their lives at all.

Unfortunately i have an OCD that does not advantages me. its makes me waste my time and live under stress. my nerves are so weak and my thoughts are hard to handle with. I wish i did not have an OCD

My experience with OCD is very different. The amount of suffering I had through my OCD was huge. I didn't want to live any more. For me, OCD is fear and anxiety of the intolerable flexibility of life and existence. OCD is the bell in my life that tells me - you are lost and it is time to build your mental weaknesses.

My therapist told me to look at my OCD as a super-power. I thought about it for a week... and while I realized it does have its advantages, I came to the conclusion it was a super-power I didn't want. I would trade all my "powers" for peace of mind any day.

Comparing the feelings in OCD to being underwater too long was incredible. I have the hardest time explaining it to people, this is so perfect. Thank you!

This made me cry... a lot of times people only talk about germ OCD and I feel so alone. Thank you so much samantha!😌💘

Shes a great speaker, respect.

You know, at first I was loving her speech. The fact that she represents the OCD community that's not about "germphobia" because that's the only symptom the media seems to portray. But towards the end I was pretty upset that she says her OCD is an "advantage". I too used to think like this when I was in high school. I was tormented by these "perfectionists" thoughts. To get straight A's in all my classes. Work excessively even to the point that most of my time was spent on useless tasks just to reinforce my OCD. My OCD got so bad that I took a semester break from school due to the constant anxiety I was dealing with. My family thought I wasn't going to graduate from college, which was my life-long dream. For me, the thought of taking meds was also scary because I didn't want to be a "slacker". But the mental frustration and energy was too much to handle. I started therapy along with meds and began to feel better. The way I started to view life was through clearer glasses and not the foggy ones that brought me constant anxiety and despair. And yes, my grades weren't straight A's anymore, I got B's and even C's in college, but that is okay because life isn't about being "perfectly balanced", it's about doing your best but not to the point of self-torment. I finished my last college this week, actually (a semester late, but I did it!) You DON'T need OCD to be successful. I'm glad Samantha found her own path, but this is not a path for everyone. There should not be a stigma against medication (I know she mentions that medication isn't bad, but she sure emphasizes it towards the end). Medication and therapy have helped me and it can help countless individuals as well. OCD is definitely not an "advantage". You can twist it however you want, but the torture is not worth the materialistic rewards. There is nothing wrong with seeking help and I promise you, if you feel like you have a mental disorder, you are not alone. I advise people to first seek a therapist and then a psychiatrist if necessary. For family and friends that have a loved one who suffers from a mental illness, please try to be more understanding and patient. We are NOT crazy. We need professional help and support. I hope I helped someone through my comment.

Ocd is a jail

my ocd doesnt have any advantage, it's just horrific.

People who say "I'm so OCD" never talk about the crushing anxiety of OCD. The constant worry. They don't say, "if this isn't perfect or if I don't step perfectly in the squares I won't be okay for a very long time."

Well, I'm glad she can look at her OCD in a positive light and can lived with it but who knows where I'd be if it weren't for the "quick fix" of drugs.

So here’s the thing. I was afraid of treating my OCD since I had it since preschool and I didn’t want to lose a huge part of myself. And while it’s true that I felt empty and strange for a while after treatment and exposure therapy, I’ve made more room for other things in life and for other emotions and personality traits. I’m also not stressed about what I used to be stressed about at all. I think it’s kinda nice that this girl can turn her disorder into an “advantage” but other people not suffering from OCD might not take it seriously if they think “oh it defines someone and can be changed into something positive for everyone.” It’s true her OCD is different from mine, but the audience may not perceive it that way. And others who are suffering OCD may feel like they HAVE to accept it as part of their personality. OCD has done nothing for me. Overcoming it has given me initiative, appreciation, confidence, perseverance, and a few other traits I’m proud of. So while I don’t hate the girl for sharing her story at all and how she coped, I wish she would have mentioned that other people’s conditions are different and that they might need medication and therapy, and that OCD is NOT their personality, and it’s okay not to always see it as positive. Just my two cents, even though this is a few years old now hahaha

As someone with OCD it truly breaks my heart and upsets me so much when it's used as an adjective and a joke. It not only powers a totally false and outdated stereotype it also completely undermines how severe and debilitating OCD can be. Comparing OCD to a preference for organisation is like comparing migraines to a headache, or cancer to the flu. It's that different and that insulting. It's 2017, can we please move on. The weather isn't 'bipolar', you're not 'a bit OCD', you didn't have a 'panic attack' when you dropped your phone and that homework didn't make you 'depressed'. Show mental health sufferers the same respect you would those with physical health issues and if you wouldn't​ say 'I ate a chocolate bar, I'm SO diabetic' then don't say 'I tidied my room, I'm SO OCD'. Mental health disorders are NOT fashion statements and are certainly not jokes.

OCD in itself is imbalance; the endless pursuit of symmetry, perfection and balance is taken to an extreme where there is no chance for any of the three.

I have OCD and it's intertwined with other conditions (loss of contact with reality, delusions, dissociative thinking...).Overtime, I managed to improve my condition (it was terrifiying just a couple of years ago), and if you have it and you're reading this, I want to tell you what I've always wanted to be told my entire life: it can get better. If you work hard on it everyday, you can lead a happier, healthier life. You just gotta start working on it, and in a few years, you will see wonders. It's not a hopeless situation. It is not. For those who don't have it: none of you can imagine what it feels like, neither I could had before developing it. It's not your fault, there's just not enough awareness. If you know someone with OCD, please be very patient and don't stress too much about their obsessions and compulsions, you can't do much about it. Just give them lots and lots of affection. They do need it. And be there for them; in this situation, you just desperately feel the need for someone to be there for you.

The way she speaks makes it so much more interesting. I hate when people say OCD is just about germs and liking clean things, but, sure, that may be part of it for some people, but there is so many more things.

People wonder why she has her hair asymmetrically on her right side. Its her way of symmetrizing the mike which is placed on the left side of her mouth.

An advantage? Well...good for you, I'm sure that most of the people with OCD, including me, don't think that this is an advantage

Maybe I'm misunderstanding her talk, but I found this extremely offensive. I understand that everyone's situation is different but, as someone that suffers with numerous anxiety disorders, including OCD, to romanticize this unhealthy behavior isn't, in my opinion, the way to go about it. I agree with her that medication isn't right for everyone, but "Obsessive Compulsive Advantage"? Yes, everyone has different levels of struggle, and her compulsions obviously do not take over her life as much as they may for other people, but obsessions and compulsions are often both very debilitating symptoms of a very serious issue that should not be taken lightly or viewed as a "quirky" advantage. I can appreciate her positive outlook on her situation, but she used most of her time to seemingly encourage obsessive behavior, before mentioning CBT once, about 30 seconds before her talk was up. Yes, a level of anxiety is necessary for survival, but anxiety disorders are negative, in all cases, and should be treated that way, however the person sees best fit. I'm all for accepting that your disorder does not define you, but encouraging a mental illness to be treated like a positive characteristic is undermining the mental health community and creates the very high risk of people ignoring the signs that they may be suffering from a serious issue and should seek medical attention. For instance, the situation she explained at the beginning of the talk hits close to home, and could have ended even worse than it actually did. She could have left with two broken arms. Even skeptics of mental illness cannot deny that this is concrete, physical proof that this young girl's brain was putting her in harm's way. CBT is a wonderful psychological tactic, and I think the talk would have gone over better if it was her focus. We need to encourage the justification of people's suffering and the benefits of seeking psychological and psychiatric care.

i’ve never heard anyone explain this so well. i finally feel like i’m not alone. so well spoken, amazing speech!!

i love her voice. its like a lullaby

OCD is a curse.

Omg this makes me feel so good to hear and relate to the exact same stuff. Thank you

That was one of the most beautifully said speeches I have ever heard. I salute you!

My compulsive pattern wasn't only about balance, but about balancing that balance. So I had to go both ways. By this, I mean that if I hit my right hand, i would have to hit my left hand, and go back, first my left hand, and then my right. But that wasn't enough, because it centers around the right hand as the first that has to be compensated, so i would then pause, and hit my left, then my right, my right again and then the left. This happened with most sensations. Once, when I was about 9 years old, I was riding on the school bus with my head against the window, on the right side. The bus jumped and I had to bang my head on the left, on the left, on the right, then on the left, on the right, on the right and then the left side against the window. Not hard, just enough for me to feel the balance. I remember some kids looked at me funny. I also had to wash my hands every 20 minutes and my dermatitis got so bad, sometimes my skin would crack and bleed whenever I balled my hands up in fists.

When I first started having OCD as a teenager, I was so exhausted that I decided to get over it by resisting from doing what I think I have to do, but then something really bad happened and since then I couldn't get rid of it because it's so easy to arrange something in a certain way compared to the bad things that could happen if I don't.

LOVE that ending. Thank you so much. You're really brave.

This disorder is so hard to live with. I’ve grown up knowing something was wrong with my brain, knew how to describe it in my head, but then when prompted to speak on it, I couldn’t get all the details out without skipping details, or going off on another similar tangent to what I meant because I just had to get that information out as well. Then in my head I would know I skipped details, but feel it’s too late to go back to that point, because I’ve already talked about something else, and going back would just be moot. I don’t allow people to touch me for the same reason, they can’t touch one shoulder because then the other feels different, and I can’t get that thought out of my head until it is made right. I’m getting better at coping with it, and often times just try to ignore the monster, because the thoughts in my head are more important. They’re not, but I can never get that through to myself. I feel OCD and schizophrenia are very similar, it’s like another voice in your head, but it’s just you, you don’t follow the voice like schizophrenia, but it’s ever persistent. I feel for anyone dealing with the same debilitation, and honestly wish there wasn’t such a huge stigma around OCD, so I could’ve talked about it with other kids who had it growing up.

as far as I am concerned, there's no advantage in my OCD, it makes me slow and nervous. I failed many exams due to my OCD during my studies. OCD impacts badly in my life on so many level. (sorry for my English, English is not my mother tongue)

Like any mental disorder it's hard to imagine what it's like when you don't have it. This video gave me a much better understanding!

The symmetry thing is something I’ve dealt with my whole life but I never knew what it was. Thank you for that clarity

One of the best Ted talks ever..... Great to see a wonderful person handling difficulties in an optimistic way.... though there are many struggles along the way....

OCD is very much like a curse, one I didn't know I had until I realised other people live and think differently. I guess in life we should always try to see the positive things in everything, and OCD does have its benefits. But do they really outweigh the cons? Realistically, OCD truly is a curse. If you have severe OCD, day-to-day life is torturous. I wish there was more awareness about OCD and anxiety. If I didn't question my behaviour and thoughts and research about it on the internet when I was 17, I would never have known why I struggle the way I do in day-to-day life. I would simply have continued my life too afraid to acknowledge the absurd behaviour and torturous thought processes that constitute OCD.

OCD truly is a nightmare, but I'm happy to say that over time it can completely pass. The simplest way to explain OCD is with an example such as the saying "step on a crack, break ya mama's back". This example includes an obsession: breakin' ya mama's back and a compulsive behavior: avoiding cracks. This exhausting way of thinking can be transferred to countless scenarios and can have a truly debilitating effect on people's lives. Another important aspect of OCD is brain chemistry. Imbalances in serotonin and dopamine also play a major role in OCD. If anyone out there is seeking help, just know you can actually be completely relieved of OCD over time after achieving a healthy balance of brain hormones. Make time to relax, simply do nothing, or do things you're passionate about to achieve a healthy mental state once again. Since OCD typically has an onset when one is experiencing mental turmoil, try to do anything that makes you happy to eventually relieve yourself of OCD and its terrible burdens upon your mental state.

The only thing imo that has helped me deal in some way with my ocd is the fact that I accepted that I am capable of good actions but also acknowledging I am also capable of horrendous things as well. I think people like us struggle with finding a balance with ourselves instead of accepting who we truly are we try to hide and sedate a part of us that is just as big and important as our “good side”in other words we struggle with our duality . I’ll leave you with this quote that helped me “It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war” we must accept who we are and what we are capable of if we ever want to feel at peace with ourselves .

As someone with severe OCD and a therapist, thank you for this!!

Her OCD is different than mine, I couldn't explain mine well, I'm really proud of her and impressed that she can explain how it is and how she feels whenever she has to do something to feel safe or symmetrical in her case.

When it comes to OCD, everyone magically has it. Like no, go get diagnosed by a doctor, self diagnosing is bullshit. I was diagnosed by a doctor when I was 3ish. (May have been 4). My mom had concern when I was falling behind the rest of the preschoolers. My teachers had to write a note to my doctor explaining what they observed my doing in class. Which consisted of me disobeying the teacher when they told me to sit down because I was too busy cleaning the preschool room. They noticed that during clean up time, I yelled at kids when they cleaned stuff up because I had to do it. And Ik this sounds weird but I have panic attacks when I come in contact or eat green fruits (mainly pears and apples) /foods. I also had to do 100 push-ups before my baths every Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and on Sunday, Saturday, and Tuesday I had to do 100 sit-ups, and Wednesday and Friday I had to do 100 jumping jacks, and dance for an hour (I was not even 5 yet.... what 5 year old wants to work out). I have panic attacks when someone touches my clothes and puts them away. If that happens, I have to remove all of my clothes, refold, and put them away the same exact way 4 times in a row. When I am in a passenger seat, I have to count the road lines. (There are 894 total lines on my way to the highschool I went to) everyone is nervous about starting college, I am nervous as to how am I going to count the lines to school when I have to drive my self. I need to know that. There are 362 lines to krogers right down the road, 296 to the foodland, and 91 to the 7/11. I am constantly counting my steps in a pattern that's either 1-2, 1-4, 1-8, or 1-16. I am terrified of how I'm going to survive college when it comes to taking notes because I get carried away with organizing my binder when one paper gets misplaced, or when I mess up the spacing between letters on my notes and I have to rewrite ALL of them. Or how am I going to get papers in on time when I am too busy rewriting a word 4 times in a row, 4 times (if that makes sense), or losing my shit and not being able to write because I am crying over the due date? OCD is much more than just tripping out over a book being out of place. If someone truly has it, they know that it ruins their life. Also, it pisses them off when someone who just has little stupid quirks claim to be "OCD".. no. No one is OCD. OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder. You are a human with a name. For example, I am Abby Mihelic, and I have OCD. Sorry, not sorry. Rant over.

The ending though - so inspiring!! THANK YOU!

My friends who are newly struggling with OCD: please don't be mislead by this talk. Just because this well-meaning lady has "found benefits" in her OCD doesn't mean that your OCD is worse, or you "should" be able to do that, or that medicine is a bad idea. She's 100% right that you shouldn't be ashamed, but please don't think you should give in to your obsessions. She explains that she unfortunately still struggles with her compulsions, which shows that she may still be evolving in her view of her condition, and she may realize that this "balance" is pathological and while it may have brought SOME good things, it's not overall beneficial.

I agree, OCD has FORCED me to repeat many behaviors, and repetition is the best way to learn, therefore I can attribute my OCD to making me good at many things, but if I were to rid of my OCD instead of forcing myself to repeat behaviors, I would definitely do it. You can always learn things without OCD. Yeah, OCD forces you but you can force yourself if you really want to improve at something. Better than having all that useless anxiety.

"if i touch this with my right arm i have to touch this with my left" I can relate, i did that so many times except i dont fear that bad ghings will happen, I just feel uncomfortable

She explained this so well,and I wish I could show everybody this video

Yes! I agreed so much, especially the tapping and social anxiety. Much love and respect to your story, my dear!

It's so interesting to hear somebody with actual OCD talk about it, because I hate when people use "OCD" as some adjective. And hearing from this experience, I think I can assure myself a bit more, that as somebody with the tourette syndrome I felt some of these symptoms as well (because people with tourette can also be affected by mental disorders like OCD or ADHD). I think it kinda grew out while growing up, but I used to have those feeling from time to time as well when I was about 10 years old maybe, some specific things even still today, but not as strong.

you are so smart, Samantha. absolutely fantastic. I am doing a Bachelor of Psychology and this is something I have been trying to find. I will be showing to my friends that feel the need to hashtag #ocd

Thank you! Listening to your story can help people see things with a different set of eyes. You’re a great speaker who speaks with emotion.

I'm so glad Samantha brought this up, I have been struggling with this since I was a little kid.

That was an intense talk! Well done Samanta!

I love this, just two days ago my mom said, and I quote, "You're always talking about having OCD but look how messy your stuff is" thinking that having OCD means you are a perfectionist and this is the best explanation I've heard of

I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 11 years old. I bite my nails and overeat. A few years ago I had somewhat of a breakdown. My depression had escalated, and luckily my parents supported me. I was put on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds. I lost 30 kilograms within 2.5 months, stopped biting my nails and felt great again. When I went for my 3 month check up, my doctor advised me that I was misdiagnosed. I do have depression, but also, OCD. My eating habits are obsessive, as well as counting everything out in my head and biting my nails. I count in my head while driving, cooking, etc. Not as severe as Samantha, but just know, OCD really is different for everyone.

Completely went over some of y'alls heads. I sincerely pray you find peace.🙏💖

"Plan to plan my next plan"

She's great, but she obviously never talked to a good doctor. Medication (properly administrated of course) doesn't take away the good things in you, that's a sad misconception. There is no good side of having a disorder, the OCD didn't give you your skills, you already had them within yourself. I just feel she's mixing things.

I have OCD too! Thanks for this, i really needed to hear someone else's perspective and experience on it. So helpful 😌

So relatable. I cried for the whole talk

I agree, but at the same time, years later, I've experienced two types of OCD. Firstly for the better part of my life, almost exactly like the OCD Samantha in the video describes. Then on a different level. The second type of OCD utterly different from the first. After dealing with both. I feel like the primary OCD; still being hard, I found a way to find positive and make it work to my advantage. The later OCD, waking up one morning with a thought that sparked years of complete sadness and anxiety to have no reason. The only positive from the later OCD was helping me discover I had OCD. I did intensive exposure therapy, and it worked 100%. But I also believe that the medication I take daily helps as well. Samantha, in this video, is young. In 5, 10, or 15 years I'm sure her Ted talk would be completely different.

I have OCD as well. Mine has manifested into different stages. Everyone mocks me cause they think I'm doing it on purpose. I lost my job, family, and life. Fighting everyday to just be alive and pay bills. I need help.

I have OCD the exact same way how everything has to be symmetrical. I am constantly touching everything over and over again because I have that fear in my mind that something bad will happen. Its so nice to know I am not alone and that someone else has gone through what I am currently going through. Thank you for this video.

Excellent talk. So many of the symmetry things she was talking about hit home with me personally. The perfection stuff not as much in my adulthood as it was in my growing up. Now I don't suffer nearly as much as I used to with the whole OCD thing, but it is still there. (I often think I have to satisfy an imaginary audience though. It sounds crazy, but I've done some research, and it is actually quite common.) I really like what she had to share! Very brave of her to go public.

I saw my friend and another person "playing OCD" while we were outside during the ten minutes of time we get to spend outdoors during lunch. They explained to me that they were reorganizing the sparse pieces of trash and debris from the nearby construction. I'm quite angry, and their little game isn't funny, nor is it really acceptable. I don't have OCD myself, but I've had to instruct and inform multiple people that it is a disorder, not a personality trait or an adjective to define perfectionism or an orderly nature. When people use the term "OCD" in an improper manner (as well as any form of unnoticed or uncorrected grammatical error), it puts a negative twist on my day. They're simply ignoring the "disorder" part of the acronym. You would never say to someone, just because you're having mood swings, "I'm so bipolar!" That just sounds wrong and insensitive. I once chatted with my grandmother, and she said, "OCD runs in our family. If Uncle Somebody sees something out of place on the table he'll always fix it. He's such a perfectionist!" I then calmly told her the true meaning of OCD, and that it isn't an adjective or something to joke about. It just makes my blood boil to think about all the people who might feel like they're being let down or otherwise dismissed because their disorder is being categorized as an adjective, or that people aren't taking it seriously. If you're reading this, keep in mind that OCD is an actual problem, not another name for perfectionism or cleanliness. It is an anxiety disorder. And don't get me started on the attention-seeking cretins who think it funny to diagnose themselves with OCD in a UKposts comment section, or the people who are never diagnosed and just say, "This drives my OCD crazy!" Unless they actually have OCD. I'm done ranting, leave a like if you want to. That'd be really nice, actually--drop a like in this humble bard's hat.

Everyone says they have ocd when they’re perfectionists.

Such an amazing speech. Loved it.

My OCD has evolved over the years and has became a hideous monster that powers over me day and night only allowing me a few minutes of solace. I don't want my OCD no longer. You can have it.

as someone with ocd, i found a few points in this talk pretty troubling... -the obsessions she experiences causes her to do rituals (normal for ocd) i.e., the ironing of her notes, rewriting notes etc. Now that she has an ipad, she thinks that her problem is pretty much gone. But the thing with ocd is that it will latch on to something else. Yes, it's impossible to wrinkle an ipad, but it's still possible to have other obsessions around it (obsessively organizing files, needing to still type perfectly). the ipad seems like a distraction and a quick fix to a bigger problem. CBT isn't really all that great for ocd unless it is paired with Exposure Therapy. So for this situation, she would practice writing her notes in a regular notebook, and try and resist the need to rewrite/iron as much as she can. It's a long process that doesn't happen automatically, but the end goal is that she is facing her anxieties, so they don't have control over her. To me, it feels like using an ipad is still running away from the anxiety. Which is fine, but what happens when her anxiety turns to her ipad. Yes, I think this is a good tool for her now, while she is working through things, but it is not a fix-all. -For me, medication is obligatory. I deal with a different type of OCD (instrusive thoughts) so my brain literally cannot function without it. I understand some people don't need medication, but I'd say more people with OCD need it than not. - I don't buy the whole "My life is balanced perfectly because of my ocd". This reads more as another obsession. Her life is not necessarily balanced. Sure, maybe she has time for work, sleep, relaxation, etc, but just because she's able to plan things exactly a certain way does not mean she has mastered balance. Sure, OCD helps to stay organized, but it can also make someone who is really organized freak out if something goes unplanned. OCD takes a good value( a balanced life) and turns it into an obsessive quest. -I think that she mistakes "being good at adapting" for " finding creative ways to flee from the anxiety but not actually deal with the main issue." -i recognize that parts of my ocd make me who i am, but saying that taking medication will "take away" from who you are is very misleading and not a great message. Sure, if you're on the wrong medication, you won't feel like yourself. But there is nothing more helpful for extreme ocd than being on the right meds. It's a chemical malfunction in the brain. It's okay to fix that with meds. -i think a big component of ocd for most everyone is the feeling of extreme guilt. i wish she would have talked more about that in her speech hashtag end rant

This is one of the more accurate talks on OCD I have seen. Thank you

I have terrible, intrusive thoughts. horrible repeating images and compulsions that I have only managed to control by a host of disciplines. Journaling, running, dance, etc. I used to feel I was awful and broken, but now I'm proud I survived.

This comments section is so strange, why is everyone so negative towards her? I’m currently undergoing a diagnosis for OCD relating to hygiene, perfectionism, and time management. I can see how she chooses to see the positives instead of the negatives. She’s simply choosing to focus on the good things that comes from this disorder, a lot of people on these comments are quite simply dwelling on the bad things and will never overcome it. I’ve learned to see the positives like she has, and it makes my life much less stressful.

I'm a 13 year old girl that was diagnosed with OCD not to long ago. I feel like I've always had intrusive thoughts and I still have some of the same --> (Like being stabbed in certain places or just getting hurt) I have always been incredibly afraid of hurting someones feelings or them in general. It all blew up on me at the beginning of 7th grade(Im now going into 8th) when I started repeating the word "Gosh" everytime someone would cuss or say Gods name in vein. Then I started praying the same prayer over and over until it felt right. I started realizing how I had to look in the closet, under the sink, and behind the curtain before I could even go to the bathroom. I would nearly start crying in class because I couldnt finish my work cause I felt like I had to touch objects and the eraser never felt right. I asked to borrow my friends pencil just so I could take all the eraser shavings off of it. My brain is always on panic mode because I think of how many things could go wrong when I'm literally sitting down in the car or in my room. I'm crying as I write this because of how real OCD is and how it affects peoples life so much. I dont tell people other than 3 of my most trusted and understanding friends and my family. Its always been easiest to talk to my mom because she is the one who takes me to therapy and has had the same experiences I have. I dont want to be the over offended white girl, but it hurts when people make jokes about OCD and act like its no big deal. Its real. Its a thing. I wish more people understood

Although neurotypicals overuse what they think OCD is like, obsession with balance in objects is still an OCD thing. My step dad has OCD, and he very much is bothered by uneven things. He hates seeing me cook, because the food looks like a globby mess(taste fine though). When he cooks everything looks perfect and fancy, even if it's just an omelette or french toast. There are also stories of people with OCD who have to skip every other step down the stairs, or they start all over. Please keep in mind that not everyone with the same neurodivergencey will have the same issues to deal with.

I didn’t even know I had ocd until this year. I felt so alone my entire life. Literally in the first minute of this video I was crying because I no longer felt alone. Thank you for this❤️❤️

What a good explanation! Hope she is doing well!

I can relate to everything in this video. What bothered me in this video though: she had her hair over her shoulder on the right and not the left as well.

I've been like this my entire life where things HAVE to be equal. I thought it might be a form of ocd but when I told my mom she said it wasn't because I don't have everything in my life clean. ocd does NOT mean you are a clean freak. there are many different type and now I know I have ocd. even if I don't have a perfectly clean room.

She's great and I'm happy for her with the way she embraces her OCD. Personally I have a lot of trouble with it as it just makes my life more complicated

omfg... this is how i felt as a child... but i eventually was able to fight through it, i burred those years deep. it's really mind blowing and emotional to see someone who lived with a similar type of ocd.

OMG THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I HAVE BEEN FEELING SINCE I WAS 8 OR SOMETHING!

I believe this presentation of her story came off in two ways for myself personally.1.) I found it very comforting to know some of the routines she does are things I practice as well. Knowing other people go through something similar has really helped me cope and recognize my own OCD tendencies. My obsession along with "perfectionism" is also numbers and intrusive thoughts. I have been to over 4 therapists, and two different types of medication treating my anxiety/OCD. I have often thought about if medication was taking a part of me that I would really regret losing, but I believe that thought in itself was also OCD which I worry is something this speaker is still struggling with. 2.) I also found it quite sad. This woman is still very clearly struggling from this disease. As someone who also is a perfectionist, I often like to take pride in my clean home, clean office space, clean and organized "possessions". It gives me a certain sense of relaxation when people reassure me of doing well or succeeding in a particular element of my daily routine. So for her to say it gives her an advantage is something, I too would've said before medication. Sure my OCD gives me a really clean home. It gives me a sense of pride to know I have a lot of things in my life others would consider successful, but at the end of the day, those thoughts of reassurance are what fuel my OCD. By her saying that her OCD works to her advantage is her unknowingly adding fuel to the fire of her own disease. I feel really sorry for her because this will only continue to get worse. Right now- it is working for her. Just like me planning my entire day, checking doors three times over, and following my significant other around the house worked for me. But it is unhealthy, and eventually the things she finds working to her advantage will get worse and make her OCD worse in time as well.

This is so empowering. OCD has consumed my life since I was a child. Unfortunately I didn't have a choice but to go on medication because my OCD gave me no benefits and it was severely affecting my quality of life. However, even with medication some parts of it still manifests itself but in positive ways now like time-management and list-making. (I never forget things now and I'm more productive than ever). It's also thanks to my OCD that I've become an artist and writer. So it DEFINITELY has its positives.

God. Thank you for this. I have OCD and so does my older brother and it drives me absolutely insane when someone makes joke about their "ocd" or say they have OCD without being diagnosed.

I used to feel like this. I’m not diognosed with OCD, and it’s no joking matter, but I know how it feels. When I was younger sometimes I would feel like that, and sometimes when I did something on one side of my body I wouldn’t stop doing it until I felt the same thing on the other side of my body. In school I would spend hours trying to fix my binders and notes. The thing I was most specific about was time. I’m not going to go into the specifics, but I’ve wasted tens to a hundred hours doing nothing. I know this can be nothing for people with OCD. I’m lucky to not have OCD and I’m sorry for people who do.

She is a math teacher at my scholl

I had OCD during my teen ages. Fear of not symmetric and failure. I beat ocd completely with the help of a quote. Ocd is nothing but your own mind threatening itself , so whenever a bad feeling or compulsive bad thought appears to make you do a ritual say to yourself "not useful" or "not helpful" you can easily get out of the lockdown by realising seriously that these are actually not useful thoughts. Smile and face ur fear.

The thing is, i can go through my day fairly “normally”, but there is a constant deliberation going through my head of what I can and can do in order for things to be even or for it to abide by my rules and it’s exhausting. Thanks for sharing your story!

i remember I was making popcorn, I burnt my left arm, so I did the same to the other. and my friend* screamed in my left ear so I told her to scream in my right ear, she thought I was crazy...

I have OCD. Thank you.

Beautifully expressed.......👏👏👏👏

That was one of the best talks I've seen on OCD. I feel like compared to other mental illnesses and disorders, it is one of the most misunderstood.

*someone touches me* My brain: touch them back twice in the exact same spot

is there different levels of OCD? I feel like I have a lot of these but not exactly. a little less severe but still bad.

THANK YOU. My mom has tried to get me to take medication for my anxiety, but i always believed that my anxiety made me one of the top students in my school. Although anxiety sucks, i believe it was the reason i was driven to succeed in everything I️ did. Finally, I️ have found someone who can agree with me

Beautifully spoken

Refusing medication & therapies because she wants to reap the “benefits” of OCD? I thought like that once. But she will likely suffer for it. When she’s over 40 and completely burned out and exhausted, she may look back and wish she could have treated her OCD sooner, before she became so exhausted. I’m too damned old to cater to compulsions anymore, and I’m only 41. I just can’t do it anymore. I regret not seeking help the last 30 years. I regret not knowing I needed help, and that no one recognized my need for help. If only parents had glanced my way once in awhile, if only the internet existed then as it does now and I could have researched and recognized my thoughts as abnormal. If only, if only...

That's so unhealthy oh my god. Constant stress isn't a benefit.

Great talk! Samantha Pena defines what OCD is and how she lives with it by accepting it as part of her persona. OCD doesn't fit the society "norm" but is anyone "normal"? After listening to her talk as well as other videos on OCD, I realized that I'm not OCD. I just like things to look neat and balanced but I'm not obsessed with it. Again thanks for a great talk.

I'm obsessed with watching this video to the end even if it's not enjoyable.