AN Oxfordshire charity have been celebrating OCD Awareness Week and raising awareness about the condition.

Restore, based in East Oxford, wants to increase understanding of what OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder] is and how it affects people.

The charity is asking supporters to share their misconceptions about the disorder as part of the week, which ends today.

Throughout the week they have been sharing myths on their social media channels and hanging them on canvas boards in their reception areas.

Lesley Dewhurst, joint chief executive of Restore, said: "Some people still think OCD means being neat, tidy, clean, and organised.

"But the D in OCD stands for disorder for a reason.

"OCD gets in the way of people living life as they choose.

"That’s why this OCD Awareness Week is so important."

Paul Salkovskis, from Oxford, is professor of clinical psychology and applied science at the University of Bath and specialist in OCD.

He said: “We’re trying to raise awareness and deliver the message that it’s a really unnecessary illness.

“It’s a horrible problem but with the right care it responds well to treatment.

"Most people develop the condition about age 20, but it’s often not diagnosed correctly until the early 30s.

"A lot of the help we do is sorting out collateral damage.

“Some people don’t seek help because of the stigma around it.

"For example, OCD sufferers were recently mocked by Channel 4 on a show called obsessive compulsive cleaners.

“Thoughts of harm and violence are common – and it often gets misdiagnosed as schizophrenia or depression especially in new parents.

"It’s quite common for new mums and dads to get maternal and paternal OCD but it’s rarely talked about, that’s why this year there’s a big focus on the media to raise awareness."

John, 36, from Oxfordshire, was first diagnosed with OCD in 2000 at 19.

He said: "My problem centres around contamination, but not so much a fear of illness rather a feeling of disgust and just something being wrong.

"It’s been very debilitating, but over the years I have made progress in pushing it back.

"I have had some NHS and some private treatment.

"A frustration has been the delay in waiting for NHS treatment and accessing specialist treatment via the NHS.

"I’m having some good quality treatment as an outpatient with a therapist.

"But it took about 18 months to start, even though I had just become a father and various professionals were recommending it start ASAP.

"The increasing use of the term 'OCD' in popular culture has a positive side in that it can make sufferers feel less different and make it easier to start a conversation with someone we want to tell. "In 2000 I felt as if so many people just hadn’t heard of it so that made it worse.

"However the concern is that people don’t get how hellish and destructive proper OCD is.

"I think awareness is rising and it’s clearly important to keep telling people that proper OCD is not much like 'a little OCD'."