So I'm late to this, but I have a younger sister with severe OCD and germaphobia. It started when she was in grade 6. Before that, she was always bratty and controlling and had tantrums when she didn't get her way, but it got out of control and she eventually got diagnosed with OCD. That was over 10 years ago and since then she has had countless hospital stays, been to facilities in and out of the country, been in and out of school for months at a time, and my family is now "that" family who you always see cause a scene in public with her. I would get weird looks from kids in high school and was viewed as somewhat of a freak because she would appear in school for a few days, act pretty crazy, then not show up for months. Whenever someone asked what was wrong with her, we just said she was sick. She has single-handedly put my family in debt. She never graduated high school. Most of her former friends don't know what happened to her, just that she disappeared from highschool one day and never came back. I'm now in university and barely see her, but I believe she will live at home her entire life with no family of her own. She has already told me she doesn't want kids or a husband, just to be alone. My mom has suffered a lot from this, and I think it's even affected her mental state because she basically was the only one who could handle my sister and the only one my sister would talk to in the family. She isolated us from the rest of our family and we don't attend family gatherings or meals any more. I could tell you countless stories about the crazy things she has done and said over the years, but I have blocked most of it out and what I do remember would take hours to type out. I believe the worst of her illness is behind us and that we have just accepted that she does not want help and won't admit she has OCD. For me, I lost a little sister many years ago and have felt like an only child for a long time now. In high school, my sister and I for the most part lived in the same house but never had one normal conversation (she decided the whole family was "dirty" and covered in germs so she didn't associate with us- talking or touching).The worst effect it has had on me is my personality. I am not as outgoing as I used to be when I was younger, I don't trust people as easily because of the bullying, and I don't talk about my family that much. If you want to know more about what it's like living with someone like this, ABC did a special on OCD children. Not sure how to access the video, but here's the article.