The Secret Power of OCD

In most discussions about OCD, we often address the challenges it presents. However, it's important to recognize that our greatest gifts and our greatest liabilities are often flip sides of the same coin. Today, let's flip that coin and explore the gifts of OCD.

When I tuned into Tim Wahl's acceptance speech, my attention was captured by the joy of Tim's 15 year old son, Gus. Gus was bursting with pride. You could see the tears in his eyes. You could see him mouthing, that's my dad. I didn't know who Gus was, but my immediate sense was that he's my people, people living with a neurodivergent brain.

I read an article in People Magazine and learned that Gus was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder, anxiety, and ADHD. Then they quoted Gus's parents who said it took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus's condition is not a setback. It's his secret power. I think you will agree, unmanaged OCD erodes lives. However, when OCD is managed, the qualities that contribute to the disability can also serve as true gifts.

Seeing OCD in a New Light

So today I'd like to offer you some thoughts about the secret powers of people with OCD. Now just a side step for a minute. I remember being in a mommy group. One mom was getting coached about her child who was driving her nuts. She described him as willful and defiant.

She said, he just won't take no for an answer, and he's not gonna do things just because I tell him to. The parenting coach listened empathically and said, I hear you're having a hard time right now. However, you may see his persistence differently when he's negotiating your nursing home contract. Who knows? You might be raising a future Supreme Court justice.

So I'm not trying to glamorize OCD. I'm just suggesting that there are two ways of looking at the same quality. So here are some qualities I see in people with OCD. 1st, people with OCD are persistent and dedicated. They don't wake up one morning and say, you know, I just want a little break from all these obsessions and compulsions.

So I'll just slide by this week. No. They stay on track even when it's unpleasant and uncomfortable. They keep at it. People with OCD are empathic.

They can read other people even when the clues are settled. This is a quality that can serve pretty much in any situation. People with OCD are skilled at looking for problems. I can think of any number of industries like aviation or emergency preparedness or the military or secret service who can benefit from having a team member who has special skills in imagining what could go wrong here. People with OCD tend to be skilled observers.

They notice the details that most people overlook. This is a great quality in a radiologist or in somebody who does home inspections. It's a quality I appreciate in my own editor for the books I write and my accountant. In my experience, people with OCD tend to be creative. They imaginatively look at circumstances from all sorts of different angles.

The Strength of OCD's Focus

What if this happens? What if that variable change? I could easily see somebody with OCD being a designer or an artist. People with OCD tend to complete tasks. People like me with ADHD love new ideas and new projects, but we get bored.

Someone with OCD type wiring can bring that same project to the finish line. This is an asset for pretty much any team. I kind of think of brains like cars. You see a lot of different kinds of cars on the road. The people who are happiest with their car know what their own needs are and they find a car that's a good match.

So no matter what kind of brain you have, you always benefit by first keeping it in top running shape. And then second, putting it in an environment where it is able to do what it does best. People with OCD tend to be empathic. They pick up on subtle cues that other people give up and see people with OCD can read other people. They can tune into how somebody else is feeling or experiencing the world even when it's very subtle.

Now this is a skill that serves a person in pretty much any environment. So for somebody with OCD, what that means is actively managing obsessions and compulsions usually with ERP. I read a business book called Rocket Fuel. The authors studied successful businesses and discovered something. The best organizations were co led by 2 people with a specific kind of partnership.

You saw it in Bill Gates and Paul Allen with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. It's a collaboration between what they call a visionary and an implementer. Well, if you look at their description of a visionary, it looks a lot like a brain wired with ADHD. And if you look at the implementer, it looks like somebody who has the brain wiring of someone with OCD. So the qualities that people with OCD bring with them are qualities that have a place.

They have a value. And as Temple Grandin says, we need all kinds of brains. So celebrate the gifts of the people you know with OCD. And that's what I've got for you today. Well, thank you for your listening ear and your commitment to yourself and the people you love.

And if nobody has told you yet today, I admire your courage. Managing OCD may be the hardest job I've taken on. Whether you're an OCD warrior managing your own brain wiring or you are their OCD champion caregiver, you are not alone. There's hope for a better tomorrow. You've got this.