Yesterday I posted a comprehensive response to a YouTube video attacking me and Plushie Dreadfuls. The creator has remained silent. But there’s one part of her video I need to address separately because it cuts deeper than the factual inaccuracies.

She showed our OCD Rabbit design on screen and said: “Does this look representative of OCD to you? Maybe for some people, but I find this… this makes me feel very uncomfortable. To me this looks like an edgy cartoon character of somebody with OCD. This sucks.”

Here’s what she didn’t know – or didn’t care to find out: I designed that rabbit. I have OCD. I’ve had it since I was a kid.

Those red marks? That’s skin picking and obsessive washing – my skin picking and washing. The mask? Contamination fears that have controlled parts of my life. The red eyes? Sleepless nights with intrusive thoughts looping endlessly. The removable brain? A tactile way to externalize the stress and find relief. That “edgy cartoon character” she dismisses? That’s me trying to express something I’ve lived with for decades, something that made me run back to my room as a child to flick a light switch “just one more time.”

I didn’t design this in a vacuum. We used our Crowd Design process – meaning I shared concepts and got feedback from our community, many of whom also have OCD. The product description explicitly states: “While we want to avoid stereotyping, this particular version of OCD rabbit is based on symptoms of this particular Designer and is not a commentary on what OCD looks like for everyone!“

But here’s the thing about Crowd Design and listening to your community: when enough people asked for a different representation, we created one. Version 2 of the OCD Rabbit has a completely different look and feel – broken cuffs for fear of losing control, symmetric pattern arrangements, teal awareness ribbon. Same condition, different expression. Both valid. Both created with community input. Both helping people feel seen.

So when someone looks at my artistic expression of my own lived experience and says “this sucks” – what exactly are they accomplishing?

They’re not helping the OCD community. They’re not providing constructive feedback. They’re not even engaging with the fact that this design was community-driven or that we evolved it based on input. They’re just… tearing it down. Policing how I’m “allowed” to represent my own condition. Deciding that their experience of OCD is the “right” one and mine is “edgy” and invalid.

This is the “crabs in a bucket” mentality that harms marginalized communities more than it helps. When one of us tries to create something meaningful, to lift ourselves and others up through representation and art, someone else feels compelled to drag us back down. In a world where artists and marginalized groups face increasing pressures, where authentic representation is harder and harder to create and share, we’re spending our energy attacking each other instead of supporting each other.

I’m autistic. I have OCD. I’ve spent decades learning to cope with intrusive thoughts, compulsions, and fears that most people can’t imagine. When I finally had the platform and skills to create something that represents that experience – something soft and comforting that others with OCD could hold – I poured that into this design. And you know what? Thousands of people with OCD have purchased it. Many have written to tell us it helps them feel less alone.

But apparently it “sucks” because one person decided their aesthetic preferences matter more than everyone else’s lived experiences.

Here’s what I believe: Artists have the right to express their own experiences, especially when those experiences come from marginalized identities. The mental health and disability communities should be lifting up diverse representations, not demanding conformity to one “acceptable” way of looking or being. And content creators who claim to care about these communities should think carefully about whether they’re actually helping – or just farming drama by tearing down the very people they claim to support.

I design from my soul. My team designs from their experiences. Our community participates in that design process. We listen, we evolve, we create multiple versions when people ask. We’re not perfect – we’ve made mistakes and corrected them. But we’re trying to create authentic representation and comfort for people who rarely see themselves reflected in the world.

If your response to that is “this sucks” – maybe ask yourself who that critique really serves.

Artists deserve the right to express their own experiences without fear of being torn down by gatekeepers who’ve decided there’s only one “correct” way to represent a condition. Mental health and disability communities should celebrate diverse representation, not demand conformity.

And content creators who profit from drama while claiming to care about marginalized communities? They should ask themselves: Am I actually helping? Or am I just another crab in the bucket, pulling others down to farm for clout?

To everyone who’s purchased our OCD Rabbits and written to tell us they help you feel less alone: thank you. You’re why we do this work. You’re why we’ll keep creating, keep listening, and keep evolving – no matter how many people say our expressions of our own lives “suck.”

To other artists creating from your lived experiences: Keep going. Your voice matters. Your representation matters. Don’t let anyone police your authentic expression.