What do you think of when you hear the term “OCD”?
In pop culture, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder are often portrayed as meticulous to an extreme degree. They’re highly organized, perfectionistic, or germophobic — like Jack Nicholson’s character in the film “As Good As It Gets”, who tosses out bars of soap after using them once.
Depictions like that aren’t inaccurate, but they’re not the whole story.
Research shows that 1 in 40 American adults have OCD or will develop it at some point in their lives, according to the International OCD Foundation. Although the term “OCD” is often used casually, the disorder must be diagnosed by a medical professional.
NPR wanted to take a closer look at how people with OCD cope with it every day. Click here to read the article.