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Comment by hn8788 | Hacker News Reader

People don't even realize that trivializing it is doing real harm to people that actually have it. I was diagnosed with ADD as an adult, and it took about a month to find a psychiatrist willing to see me because most think that you probably just want drugs because "omg, I'm like, so ADHD sometimes". I've talked to other people with it, and it's a common issue.

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In a similar vein, people claiming they are OCD or using OCD as an adjective - may they never truly experience the distress OCD can cause. Often though, their use of it doesn’t bother me that much, I don’t think their intent is malicious and I’m sure I have such blind spots for other afflictions, or, well, I pick my battles nowadays.

Yeah this is where I'm at now with people misusing "OCD" :/ Sometimes, online, I just link them to stuff that explains what OCD actually is. My hope is that if people learn exactly how complex and life-ruining actual OCD can be, and how long people take to get diagnosed, they'll actually find it interesting and naturally stop using "OCD" to mean "neat" or "particular"

I have used the exact same language... "not malicious"... but it's still term overloading that hurts people with OCD and keeps them living in what is legitimately hell on earth

I understand how hard it must be wanting to seek help but at the same time trying to avoid being falsely stigmatised. I sympathise with you because I can relate, but that's the world we live in. Downvotes tell you all you really need to know.

Took a year of attempting bipolar treatments before my doctor finally agreed with ADHD diagnosis at 25. I’m glad she stuck with it but it sounds like I wouldn’t have as much luck even getting help now.

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