"Sorry, I have to have my things a certain way, I'm soooo OCD about it!" "Don't wrinkle that, I'm OCD about my clothes!"

No, you're not. You're nitpicky, you're specific. Maybe you're even strict about how things are supposed to be.

But you are NOT OCD about it.

OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as said by the International OCD foundation, "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviors an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease his or her distress.".

I get it, everyone has a certain way of doing things. But until these obsessions control your daily life, bad enough to where you literally cannot function unless you do them, where they manage to hinder your daily life, then you do not have OCD.

OCD means that, when I was little, I had my dad list off things that I had already done just in case so I didn't do them again. I have been very sick since I was little- I have taken pills for some kind of deficiency or problem my entire life. And often, I would read the labels that say "you could overdose on these." Having OCD means your mind will run at a mile a minute, telling you all of the things that could go wrong and could kill you. I would take my pills, then ten minutes later wonder if I took them, then subsequently delve into a panic attack wondering if I need to take them again or not. Every once in a while I'd accidentally take 1 too many pills, and then I would cry in my parents arms at 7 years old thinking that I was going to die.

That is not cute.

OCD means that, in high school, I used a straightener every day before school started. The problem with this, is that I was unsure that I unplugged. What if I didn't? My entire house would burn down, I'd kill all of my animals, my belongings, etc. Before I would leave my house, I'd have to run back in to check and see if I turned off the straightener, and then check again. When I would forget and I was on my way to school, I'd often TURN AROUND ON THE ROAD to go check that it was unplugged. There was also more than once where I was at school and I would text my father, who was already at work, to go home and check to see that it was unplugged, because I was in the girl's' bathroom crying because I thought I didn't turn it off and I couldn't focus on anything else until I knew.

That is not cute.

OCD means that, until my boyfriend replaced my radio with another with an aux cord, I had six large buttons where I could set my favorite radio stations. I had to press each one in order, even if I found one I liked. Say station 2 had a song I wanted to listen to, but what if I missed something better on station 5? If I didn't press all of them and go through the sequence of 2,3,4,5,6,1 again and go through a complete cycle before I could stay on 2. This meant at least 10-15 seconds of my eyes off of the road, and I have swerved more than once off of the road because I had to do it.

Now many of you say "You don't HAVE to do that!"

Yes, yes I do. OCD IS NOT CONTROLLABLE. If I didn't press those buttons, I'd start shaking uncontrollably. I would clench my hands so that it would feel like my fingers were doing something else while I was driving. Do you think that I willingly risk my life just so I could have a good song, or be tardy to high school just because I didn't know I unplugged my hair styler?

Something for you to remember: I did not ask for it. I cannot control my obsessions, and I cannot control my compulsions.

These are not "nitpicky" situations. These are actual situations where I feel like it would hurt me if I didn't do it. It's scary and never any fun.

The thing is, OCD, true OCD, is much more common than you believe. No, it's not your girl in your homeroom saying she's totally OCD about the way her clothes are in her closet, it could be the secretary at your doctor's office, or even your cashier or your best friend. OCD doesn't discriminate. I had to seek medical help for mine.

OCD often comes hand in hand with anxiety, and when I first saw my psychologist, he took me through an extensive diagnosis test where he decided exactly what he needed to work on. I tested high for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Panic Anxiety Disorder. My psychologist looked at me and said "it's okay, they get better." I learned there are things that you can do to lessen the chance of something bad happening, and to make sure that these obsessions don't control your daily life.

I now have a straightener with an automatic shut off after 30 minutes. I have a radio with no buttons and instead an aux cord. I have a checklist on my phone that tells me if I took my pills or not. But it is a struggle, and it is not cute. MY OCD, since I was young, controlled a large aspect of who I was. My obsessions hindered how I was living, and that is the main difference between being nitpicky and having OCD. I was such a nervous child that I turned into a nervous college student. But, it does get better. It exists, and it will never go away, but there are ways to come up on top. There are ways to look at your OCD and say "Not today."

So, if you're reading this, and you want to help, here are a few things to do: stop saying you're OCD when you're not, accept your friends who seemingly have odd tendencies that they HAVE to do, and just take time to understand. It's hard, but support is always something that everybody needs. We're just the same as everyone else.

OCD is not cute, and people need to learn to understand that.