Being a neat freak is a world away from the torture of OCD

We All know someone who has, let’s say, certain quirks.

Perhaps they like their pens and pencils perfectly aligned on their desk. Or they are forever plumping up their cushions. Or their cutlery drawer is a work of art and their wardrobe perfectly colour-co-ordinated.

All too often they will try to laugh off this quirky behaviour by claiming they’re a ‘little bit OCD’ — that is, they have obsessive compulsive disorder.

take Paul hollywood, of Great British Bake Off fame, who claimed to have OCD because of his ‘obsessive’ cleaning — sometimes every couple of hours — of his Aston Martin. I don’t think so, Paul! As regular readers of my column will know, nothing makes me more cross.

this is not OCD. these are just habits, in my view. Maybe they’re a little odd, a little neurotic, but they are not symptoms of a crippling mental illness that is the reality of the OCD I see in patients referred to me.

If people could see what real OCD looks like, then they’d think twice about laying claim to it.

THIS week the OCD debate took a new turn when the awardwinning singer George ezra detailed his constant battle with distressing and intrusive thoughts because of a form of OCD known as ‘Pure O’.

he described how he’d compulsively think of the ‘worst thing’ to say in any given situation, and then punish himself for being a ‘ horrible’ person for those thoughts or for acting on them.

So what is Pure O? It stands for purely obsessional and, unlike ‘classic’ OCD, it isn’t marked by repetitive behaviours or visible rituals. Yet sufferers experience similarly persistent and often shame-inducing anxieties.

there’s some controversy about Pure O and it certainly isn’t a medical term. I suspect it was coined by sufferers, partly to differentiate it from the narrow view that everyone with OCD just washes their hands a lot or touches their hair or face repeatedly.

Real OCD is typically characterised by obsessive thoughts — unwanted mental images or urges — associated with feelings of anxiety or disgust and can cause great distress. Compulsions, repetitive behaviours and rituals may relieve those unpleasant feelings but can, if they get out of hand, become a vicious cycle.

For tens of thousands of people, OCD is tormenting and torturing. Sufferers feel ‘trapped’ in their own minds — at times out of control and being driven mad, unable to rationalise what they are experiencing and move on. ‘It’s like having a stuck record playing constantly in your mind, it drives you mad,’ a patient told me.

I had another patient who had to get up at 3.30 every morning in order to get to work for 9am because her rituals — endlessly checking sockets and flicking light switches — took so long to perform before she could leave the house. that’s why trivialising OCD is an insult to those who must face up to it every day — sometimes every hour — of their lives.

We do not know what causes OCD, although studies on twins suggest there may be a genetic component. there is some evidence that infections by bacteria known as Group A streptococcus can trigger an auto-immune reaction that may result in symptoms.

Brain scans show differences in those with the condition compared to those without. Some studies show that people with OCD have imbalances in the neurotransmitter serotonin — often dubbed the ‘feel-good’ chemical.

however, there is indisputably a psychological element. treatment typically consists of both medication and psychotherapy.

George ezra has said he hopes that, by discussing his OCD, it might help others, and, yes, that is a noble aim for which I applaud him. But I hope it also teaches those who claim to be a ‘little bit OCD’ that it is no joking matter. drmax@dailymail.co.uk