By Annieisnotokay - 17/04/2013 10:20 - United Kingdom

Today, in my psychology class we were covering OCDs. I have an issue with creased paper and my best friend brought it up, so for the next hour my class mates sat screwing up paper to see how long I could continuously have a panic attack. FML
I agree, your life sucks 53 216
You deserved it 6 877

Annieisnotokay tells us more.

Just want to point out that I was pretty sure I had a last sentence that said 'turns out I lasted 5 minutes before fainting'. I am not claiming that I was in full blown panic mode for a full hour. I have a diagnosed OCD which does effect quite a large part of my life, I can't even use paper in class. The majority of my friends know I have this OCD and my best friend only brought it up as an example because she knows I don't really mind people knowing because for me as embarrassing as it is, I feel that if people know they won't make a big deal out of it and since I'm in year 12 I wasn't expecting people to over react as they did. The people who were doing it were the boys in my class who are really only in the class because they needed an extra subject to be allowed to attend the college I'm at. The teacher was trying to stop them but she was a substitute so naturally the already rowdy boys were not going to be told to stop.

Top comments

Your teacher is a complete and utter douche if they knowingly allowed this to continue.

SavingRyansPvts 4

I'm hoping you aren't in a college psychology class..people need to respect that OCD isn't really something you can conquer easily on your own.

Comments

Your teacher is a complete and utter douche if they knowingly allowed this to continue.

perdix 29

#1, no, the teacher is being a good scientist by observing an abnormal phenomenon without interfering.

chrissy2 28

I don't think people realize how serious OCD can be. I have a huge problem with opened cabinet doors. When my friends found out about this when I was like 14, I don't think that they were able to understand the seriousness of the condition and opened all of the cabinet doors continuously until I was literally curled up into a fetal position on the floor crying. I just really really hate it when people "mess" with people who have OCD...

mathguy25 7

43 - the teacher's job isn't to be a scientist ... its to be a teacher. Theory, not experimentation belongs in the classroom.

No teacher should have allowed that. If he/she knew about the torment, you should speak to someone above him/her.

hawright 13

#57- I understand. I have some "quirks" of my own such as hating 0's and 5's. It is difficult because people don't understand what you go through. It makes it even worse when things are done on purpose.

BradTheBrony 19

I have OCD, whenever something is labeled in relation to organization, if anything BUT what it's labeled for is inside, I FREAK OUT. I once got so angry at my friends for doing this on purpose as soon as I explained to them that I had OCD when we were playing Minecraft, that I once saw one of their diamond picks and swords in a the food chest and I threw them into lava. When he asked me, the only reason I gave was "because **** you."

#97 I'm totally confused on what your OCD is I'm sorry if I am being dumb, but that made no sense to me.

It's apparently about things being in the wrong places...

I'm a few years late but they're saying if something is labeled to have, lets say spoons, in it and they open it up and there are forks instead that's their OCD

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SavingRyansPvts 4

I'm hoping you aren't in a college psychology class..people need to respect that OCD isn't really something you can conquer easily on your own.

feldco1 17

And then you reacted by punching them all in the face. Really hard.

mathguy25 7

Then OP's OCD will kick in causing them to punch their faces again and again in this never ending vicious cycle until they all got what they deserved.

Yes really. It sounds like one to those girls in high school who plays at having a 'quirk' for attention. I don't think that tormenting someone into an extended panic attack is really allowed in the classroom.

KyraJFoxx 14

Obviously it wouldn't be allowed but neither is bullying , you mean to tell me that doesn't still happen? Neither is passing notes...does that not happen ? I mean haven't you seen teachers that barely have control over a classroom ? They say "ok everyone , that's enough" & as soon as they turn their back everyones right back to doing what they were told NOT to do...

Your classmates, your teacher and ESPECIALLY the friend who brought it up are despicable. You should seriously dump them all because they are not going to make you happy or add any value to your life.

How exactly do you dump a teacher and classmates?

I meant emotionally...by ending your private relationship as friends and confidants with them.

iShanny 13

It's possible the friend didn't bring it up to make fun of the OP, but just to use as an example in the class. He/she should have still asked the OP if it was okay to share though, but maybe they didn't expect the situation to escalate like that. But yeah, your classmates are douchebags and your teacher sucks for allowing that to continue.

I want to know if this was high school psych, or a college psych class.

You do, eh? Interesting. *scribbles in notepad*

Does it matter? OP's teacher and classmates were still in the wrong!

I think it matters. A HS psych class could be taught by any dumbass BA, while most college level psych classes are taught by Drs or graduate students who are obligated to act ethically by both the APA and the college. If a professor allowed this to happen, I wouldn't think twice about taking it to the dean -- there's no room in psychology for sadism.

monnanon 13

having "a thing" about scrunched paper does not mean you suffer from OCD.

I agree.. however, they may have OCPD (personality disorder) which is where you have characteristics of ocd, but its just a few quirks that irritate you. I did a presentation on it in college. its not truly Obsessive Compulsive Disorder until it takes over a majority of your day and life. Too many people with "quirks" think they have OCD

Well generally if you can have a panic attack for an hour or over, I'm pretty sure that's not just a 'quirk'.

monnanon 13

i really doubt op had a panic attack for that long and juat sat there and tool it in faxt i doubt they had a panic attack at all. if she did in fact have a panic attack from scrunched paper my guess would be its a phobia and not OCD

I agree. It was most likely more of an anxiety attack. Few people know the different between panic and anxiety.

I think OP is a pansy for giving that much of a shit about other people's scrunched papers. We're all thinking it, I'm just saying it.

monnanon 13

no i dont think op is a pansy they could have a really serious phobia.

GwennaRose 22

@38 you are close to being right actually. As a current psychology student we have learned that it is impossible to have a panic attack for an extend amount of time. There is a physiological ceiling that your body reaches where it then start calming down. This is what makes systematic desensitization possible for phobias and OCD "quirks" in therapies

I don't know, everyone has OCD traits and react at different levels, some more severe than others... I know I have to check my door 3 times to make sure it's locked otherwise it's on my mind all day and bugging the shit out of me (don't know where it came from). Used to drive my woman absolutely mad because she thought I didn't trust her to lock the door until I explained to her what was going on. Now, she just laughs at me...

monnanon 13

would you say your thing with the door is qn obession. can you leave the house/go to bed without doing your check? this is the hallmark of OCD obsessing about something and it leading to compulsive behavior in your case checking the door. if op obsesses about the paper to the point that she has to do something to fix the situation then she may have a casw for claiming she has OCD.

OCD is characterized by obsessions and/or compulsions, it is not necessary to suffer from both to be diagnosed with the disorder. Furthermore, OCD is an anxiety disorder that is comorbid with many other anxiety disorders (such as panic disorder) that could account for the severity of OPs symptoms. Even if OP does not have serious enough symptoms to qualify for a diagnosis, that does not mean her distress wasn't real.

I'd just like to point out that OP never actually said they had OCD, just that their friend brought up her issue while the class was discussing OCD. It's quite possible OP knows they don't have clinical OCD, but that their friend doesn't know/understand.