MY OCD stems from wanting to be the best person I can be. I have a perfection complex. When I fall short of something then I feel like a failure. There is no middle ground. If I got an A- in school then I was never going to get into college. If I did not live up to my parents expectations then I was a failure as a son. If I wasn’t the star on the soccer team then I was the worst player on the field. There was no grey area. Only black and white.

We talk about OCD as if only a few people have it. Ha! Yeah right. EVERYONE HAS OCD! The acronym for OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. We could rename it as Passionate Reactive Behavior (PRB and yes I just made that up).

Everyone is passionate about something in their life. I am passionate about being the best person I can be. I am passionate about pleasing people. I am passionate about school, grades, and work. So is it really that bad to be passionate? NO!!! Whatever you do be sure you are passionate, but don’t let that passion consume your life.

OCD becomes an issue when passion distorts reality. OCD becomes an issue when passion causes irrational judgement. If we are not careful, all of us can let our passions consume our lives.

One example of this is a student who is striving for straight A’s in school. They have a passion for getting the best grades they can, but then they start to develop a fear of falling short of this goal. They start to negatively connect the dots if they don’t reach this goal and because of this kind of thinking they become more passionate about getting straight A’s. Pretty soon this person drops out of sports, clubs, and playing with friends less and less because they “don’t have time.” Studying consumes their life because this passion has developed a fear that if they don’t reach their goal then they are a failure.

Passion is good, but all passion must be harnessed. Unrestrained passion leads to irrational anxiety and OCD.