I agree with all these posts, and daynnight really made a great list of why OCD can limit your life. I am so severe right now, I feel like my whole life is passing me by, and I won't reach my goals in life. I'm 41 now, and I'm sick of people who say, "Girl, you're still young! You can have it all!" because I can't! For one thing, I want to be an actress, and while I don't have to become superfamous, I would like to be known, and the younger you are, the more parts you're eligible for, especially leads. This is especially true for a woman.

It can take years to learn to live with OCD, and you always have to be vigilant. That's more life passing me by. I don't want to just be "functional," which is all pdocs and those in the mental health industry care about, and I don't want to be a candy striper (as one nurse who wrote prescriptions for me at a mental health clinic I used to go to wanted me to do, even though I could never handle it, being a handwasher and unable to touch used things and sick people and other stuff), or otherwise not work in something that doesn't lead to my main goal. (Yes, people sometimes work in unrelated jobs until they can get to be what they want to be, but at my age, I'd at least like to work in "the field," you know? Feel like I'm going in the right direction.)

I want a social life. I want to date. I want my own home. I want a car. Dogs. Friends. Money. FREEDOM.