yOu Can just stop Doing it is a digital booklet designed to help individuals affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) communicate their experiences to those around them. The project addresses widespread misconceptions that often reduce OCD to quirky habits, obscuring its reality as a serious and debilitating mental health condition. Such misunderstandings can create barriers to support and empathy from one’s entourage. In response, the booklet seeks to bridge this gap by offering accessible and informative content through the use of visual communication and storytelling, aiming to enable individuals with OCD to share what they are going through without fear or shame. The booklet contains illustrated short stories narrated by OCD itself, with each story exploring one specific theme of the condition.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, also known as OCD, is a mental health condition characterised by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions) performed to relieve anxiety. Living with OCD is debilitating and time-consuming, yet, it is widely misunderstood and often mistaken for neatness or perfectionism. OCD is not simply unknown, but it is incorrectly known. Many use the term casually, reducing it to an adjective rather than recognising it as a serious disorder.
Talking about OCD can help leading to support, treatment and self-compassion. However, explaining it is often difficult and emotionally draining, especially when harmful misconceptions dominate public understanding. I, therefore, decided to work with the research question:
I created a digital booklet of illustrated short stories narrated by OCD, each explaining an aspect of the disorder. It is designed to be easily shared, someone struggling to speak up about their OCD can simply send the file or link to help others understand without needing to explain everything themselves. The aim is to reduce stigma, misunderstandings and fear.
Throughout the pages, we follow the stories of:
- -Katrina (Postpartum OCD)
- -Henri (Numerical/Counting OCD)
- -Charlotte (Harm OCD)
- -Diego (Contamination OCD)
The colour purple is used throughout to represent OCD. Introduced on the cover, it appears in various forms, reflecting how OCD disguises itself. I chose purple for its symbolic meaning: a blend of red (passion) and blue (calm) which suggests inner conflict and contradiction, and also, purple evokes the unknown and deep emotion, all central to the experience of OCD.
With guidance from experts, tutors and peers, this project kept evolving, driven by a genuine desire to create change and help others. Through visual communication and storytelling, I set out to give voice to an issue too often overlooked and ignored.
Link to booklet – https://heyzine.com/flip-book/53ad65b51a.html
