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Though it’s never pleasant to deal with any sort of mental illness or disorder, some relief can be found in knowing that others have dealt with it, too—that it is a real, diagnosable, and possibly treatable condition. There can be a tremendous feeling of hope when you find out that that group of symptoms you’ve been suffering, others suffer it too. You aren’t weird. You aren’t an outcast. You aren’t just someone that nobody could possibly understand. What you are going through is in fact, well, not “normal”—because it should be treated—but identifiable and even relatable to others.
I bring this up because I just became aware of something called Cheating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, from which a close friend is suffering. You may already be familiar with traditional Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. Standard OCD is characterized by what feel like uncontrollable thoughts, ideas, or sensations that make someone feel compelled to take certain actions. Those thoughts, ideas, or sensations are, however, not grounded in reality, and typically unfounded by any real events. Feeling the need to switch a light on and off four times before leaving a room for fear that if you don’t your home will burn down—that’s just one of millions of examples of OCD.
So once you understand regular OCD, you can understand Cheating OCD. At first, it may sound like those who suffer from it feel compelled to cheat. That is, however, not the case. Cheating OCD is a condition characterized by the belief one has cheated—the one suffering from the OCD, herself, believes she has cheated—even though there is no evidence this has occurred. It can often happen after a night of drinking or doing recreational substances, when memories become blurred. Here’s a look at this debilitating disorder that affects more people than you may realize. Maybe even you.
You have cheated in the past
First and foremost, it’s worth noting that, typically, this condition doesn’t come out of nowhere. It is common for individuals who suffer from Cheating OCD to have, at least once, actually cheated in their life. More specifically, they cheated while under the influence of alcohol or another substance, so moving forward, they fear they have no control over their actions when their judgment is impaired.
