Such an insightful comment. You sir, are an intellectual the likes of which has never before been had upon this Earth.

Um, you shouldn't trivialize OCD. OP was convinced it was a black head. This type of shit is what gives people a false perspective on what OCD is. My OCD is obscure (relationship based). It's chronic and it's painful. Yet to a typical person, it could be classed as relationship problems. Don't mistake common human error for a debilitating mental illness. It only reduces awareness and extends ignorance.Sincerely, a lifelong OCD sufferer.

OCD comes in a large variety of focal points for the obsession. Obsessions concerning the skin, appearance, and hygiene are all very common forms of OCD. Your form of OCD is not more or less legitimate than someone else's. Your attitude of "oh, but skin picking isn't a REAL OCD" is trivializing the disorder through judgemental ignorance. Dismissal of obsessive behavior as "common human error" is how people go 20-30 years without a proper doctor's diagnosis. Sincerely, a lifelong OCD sufferer.

I pick my skin due to my OCD, too. Way to make me out to be an asshole.

Considering that I have OCD that manifests in multiple ways, many of which cause damage to myself when left unchecked, maybe you shouldn't assume I'm "trivializing" OCD. Because, as much of a surprise as it may be, spending twenty minutes digging at a SINGLE PERCEIVED flaw, with such intensity that they didn't notice it was a freckle, is unusual behavior and could be considered a warning sign of an OCD behavior. Also, #7 didn't "make" you look like an asshole- you did a fantastic job of doing that yourself.

you shouldn't check your OCD. That will just make it worse. You're meant to accept the thoughts and anxiety, avoid compulsions and go about your day.

I don't think you understand what I meant by "unchecked." Because, if I leave my OCD behaviors unchecked, I wind up picking my skin to the point that it not only bleeds, but can get infected. If I don't "check" my compulsion to wash my hands often and with hot water, I wind up with not just first degree burns, but hands that have skin so raw that I can't use them. I wind up losing hours or even nights of sleep making sure that the house is locked up for the night. So, NOT checking my OCD is the wrong choice for me. Maybe it works for you, but putting a blanket statement on how to treat something like OCD is not the right thing to do.

It's not a blanket statement. It's been proven that the only way to manage OCD healthily is through CBT and ERP. It's just a fact.

You truly don't seem to understand what I mean by "checking" a behavior. "Checking" a behavior- is trying to catch it before it starts, and failing that, consciously stopping the behavior, giving myself a once over to check how badly I am hurt, cleaning up any damage, all while trying to do stress relief exercises before resuming what I was doing. Instead of, you know, bleeding everywhere. Also, saying that everyone who has OCD has to have CBT and ERP is in fact a blanket statement, and an incorrect one. Especially since some cases of OCD stem from biological errors and require chemical therapy.

It's *not* a blanket statement. Besides, what is chemical therapy?