I think this phenomenon happens because of 1) Media glorification, i.e. television shows like Dexter and Monk, and 2) more importantly, a fundamental misunderstanding of what mental diseases' are, the grief they cause, and the severity of the effects on the everyday function of a person that is afflicted by them.
I came to this observation around the 2nd time a person used the term OCD to describe themselves in an offhand and even pretentious way - as if suffering from a mental disorder is something to be proud of.
People, understand, it's not cute to be crazy, and it is certainly not fun.
If you have an admirable capacity for little details and/or the ability to concentrate for long hours on a difficult task, it means you're "focused", or possibly "dedicated"; you're not OCD.
if you were OCD, you'd probably have to stop everything you're doing (no matter how important) every 60 minutes (on the dot) to go to the bathroom, clean it with the bleach and the brand new cleaning utensils you buy every day in order to - then wash your hands in the correct sequence (i.e. ritual), after that you'd go back to your cubicle to symmetrically rearrange all of your desk and possibly the desk of the guy in the next cubicle (whether he likes it or not), and if any of the above is not preformed perfectly, you'd need to do it all over again (much to the annoyance of your boss and co-workers).
All this out of a terrible sense of need/dread that if you don't do these things something horrible will happen.
So you're basically constantly living on the edge of fear, staving your terrors by means of expensive, irrational, and meticulous rituals that hinder your quality of life and make others ether pity you or piss them off.
here, I've made it easier for you:
(Excerpt from Wikipedia)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): is a mental disorder most commonly characterized by intrusive, repetitive thoughts resulting in compulsive behaviors and mental acts that the person feels driven to perform, according to rules that must be applied rigidly, aimed at preventing some imagined dreaded event; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected to the imagined dreaded event.
... In severe cases, it affects a person's ability to function in everyday activities. The disorder is often debilitating to the sufferer's (and his/her family's) quality of life. Also, the psychological self-awareness of the irrationality of the disorder can be painful. For people with severe OCD, it may take several hours a day to carry out the compulsive acts.
(Excerpt from: lexington-on-line.com)
Obsessions are thoughts, often intrusive and upsetting.
They often come in the form of Anxiety about thoughts or rituals over which you feel you have little control.
Obsessions are to be distinguished from ruminations or worries about routine life issues such as finances, children or job security. Some examples of obsessions in OCD may be thoughts or mental images of an upsetting nature like violence, vulgarities, harm to self or harm to others.
Obsessions may be of special numbers, colors, or single words or phrases . . . sometimes even melodies.
Examples - Obsessions with:
Germs, Dirt, Doubt, Order, Symmetry, Repugnant Sexual Thoughts, Repugnant Religious Thoughts, Repugnant Images, Horrific Images, Violent Images, Fear of Forgetting, Fear that a Mistake Will Harm a Loved One.
Compulsions are behaviors.
A compulsion is a repetitive behavior in response to an urge. It is difficult to stop this behavior. Obsessions provoke compulsions. Examples include washing the hands too many times, showering too frequently or washing things about the home like clothes or floors or even groceries.
How much is too much? Many experts agree that engaging in more than an hour a day raises suspicions of OCD. Compulsions are often performed repetitively and in some stereotyped or ritualistic fashion. You may be bothered by urges to perform rituals like repeatedly turning off and on a light switch until it 'feels right'.
Examples - Compulsions to repeatedly:
Wash Hands, Shower, Check Locks, Check Stoves, Touch Things, Count Items, Order Things, Clean Things, Perform Silly Rituals Until It 'Feels' Right.
For more official definitions:
The International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD):
http://www.mentalhealth.com/icd/p22-an05.html
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4the edition (DSM-IV):
http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-an05.html
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