Kieran Mace shares how you can trick your brain to work for you
Kieran Stanislaw Mace (his friends call him Stan) is a design legend. Based in the UK, he is immersed in the creative world; from graphic design for national and international companies, to illustrations, recent author of Para-Normality. Sounds like a dream life and yet the road here has not been straight and easy. Living with his wife and two children, he has battled OCD for years and found to turn what was once assumed a negative diagnosis into his own personal superpower. Experienced in the highs and lows, he takes time out of his day to share his journey in the employment world to be understood and respected with his diagnosis and turn it into his own personal superpower.
Have you had positive and negative experiences with employers?
Yes absolutely, in 2019, I confronted my OCD through CBT therapy, which helped me manage it, but the pandemic hit soon after, raising my anxiety levels due to the new health threats. I worked at a company as a creative manager during this time, and while the team was supportive of my OCD, things took a turn when they abruptly insisted on everyone returning to the office during a peak of the pandemic. I felt unsafe and explained my concerns, but instead of discussing it, they gave me a disciplinary notice. I eventually discovered that they were trying to get rid of me, knowing my OCD would cause me to react in a way that would justify their decision ahead of them closing the company down avoiding giving me redundancy pay.
That is absolutely terrible! What did you do to move forwards after that
Despite the stress, I focused on moving forward to a new role with better people, and I found it. After that company closed down, I landed an amazing job at at a Science development and manufacturing company, where they are incredibly supportive. They knew about my OCD from the start and have been considerate from the start for me, even creating agreements addressing my needs. They also consulted with an external organisation to ensure they understood how to handle my situation. The contrast between my old company and my new one couldn’t be clearer, and I’m so grateful to work for an employer who truly gets it.
What has living and working with OCD shown you?
That you can turn what society thinks is your weakness, into your strength.
I don’t think I would be where I am in my career now without it. As I’ve got better at managing my OCD, I’ve learnt to focus my energy on making something better so in terms of my work as a designer, I’m ultra specific with the work that I do. So I see things that most other people don’t see, like the most tiniest few pixels out of place. If I’m listening to a video that we’ve made, I can hear something in the sound that, okay, something’s not right there. We need to just adjust a few levels. I’ve found that I enjoy being in my own micro world and focusing on all the details. So that’s helped every employer I’ve had spot any errors and avoid costly mistakes that no one else could see. It’s helped me make my mark with original design as I spend the time on details that others wouldn’t think about or rush to complete.
So hyper-focus on the positive aspects of yourself?
Yes, so my OCD means that I’m hyper-focused on making sure everything’s right. If I’ve got a ton of work to do, I’ll organise it in a very specific way to make sure I tackle everything in order. My brain picks up on extra data—whether it’s from conversations or body language. If I’m talking to someone and they say something one day, I’ll remember it, even if they’ve forgotten. It helps me bring it up later and say, ‘Hey, remember when you said this a few days ago? Is this still what you want, or did you want something else?’ It’s about not forgetting the little things that most people would overlook. When it works in your favour, it can actually be kind of fun.
You seem incredibly self aware …
Yes, it’s been very important to me to know and recognise the good, the bad and the in between. I know how I want to feel and I can recognise emotions or triggers that threaten that state of mind. Through lots of personal research, trusting my instincts with what I like and advice from experts, I’ve found or created systems that work for me.
What would be your advice to anyone else who’s just been diagnosed or are feeling lost in the symptoms?
It can be different for everyone so be patient and remind yourself that you’ll only grow with more everyday knowledge about your own triggers and what soothes them, and importantly how to avoid them in the first place. Keep going, when you can figure out the negative aspects of OCD, you’ll have more time to tune into focusing on the incredibly positive aspects of it too. Read how Stan recommends you turn your diagnosis into a superpower here.
Is your present company supportive?
I’ve been at Bio-Techne for four years now, and had a few managers in that time – each of them have been fantastic. It’s only been a few rare moments where I’ve gone ‘actually, things are a bit much at the moment’. Work isn’t ever the source of the problem anyway, it will be a few other things that I’ll be struggling with, so I normally need to just head home earlier or sit in another room just to breathe and defragment.
Everyone is supportive, I just think there’s a confusion generally about what OCD is because the term is used in a really casual way. People will say ‘I’m a bit OCD about the way I clean my room’. Well there’s nothing OCD about not wanting to leave your underwear all over the place. When they do that it plays down what OCD really is, basically, it’s just a funny quirk or characteristic, whereas actually, OCD is quite a crippling thing. OCD is about having control and the overwhelming feeling of anxiety about not having control is a battle.
When did you let your company know about your diagnosis?
I didn’t put in my CV, but I did bring up in the second interview – not the first interview because I wanted to focus on my graphic design skills. I used to be concerned about the stigma attached to my OCD, and I would worry that they would think I couldn’t handle the workload. After the first interview, if I feel I can trust them, I will mention it and hope that there’s a discussion of how I manage it because then I can talk openly about the systems I have in place and my needs in the workplace. If they don’t ask intuitive questions, I wouldn’t want to work for them – I’ve learnt the hard way.
How do you deal with stressful situations at work, such as preparing for an interview for example?
I don’t know if it’s really common knowledge or not, but the human brain can be stupid!! You can actually trick the whole fight or flight thing.
I see my brain as my vehicle that I ride, so when I’m feeling anxious, like before an interview, my routine is set like this: I always leave an hour before a meeting starts, and just go for a walk for about 20 minutes. Because when stress hits your brain it activates your fight or flight instincts. Whether it’s an interview or public speaking – when you walk, your brain thinks you’re leaving a threat. It doesn’t know that you’re simply having a walk before it. You’ve tricked your mind into thinking that you’ve chosen ‘flight’ so the anxiety backs off. You know you’re not, but just the simple walking process down the road before going to the interview can do the trick to work off that nervous fight or flight.
Before doing this technique I’d be sweating, shaking, feeling ill, or speaking too quickly, none of which gives the right impression to employers. Walking beforehand, I might still be a little bit nervous, but way more in control. The nerves don’t own me anymore.
Also, my top tip to anyone, diagnosis or not is that I’d recommend flipping how you think about getting a job – when you’re looking for a job, it’s not just about being right for the employer—your employer has to be right for you too.
For someone who isn’t OCD, how would you recognise it in a colleague?
It can be hard to spot, but there are some signs. You need to understand that it’s not just about keeping things tidy – OCD is more about the need to control a situation. For example, if a colleague gets visibly stressed when something’s out of place, it might not just be about the mess – it’s the stress of losing control. I start speaking quickly. I start getting very jittery. I need to just walk away. Some people show stress through anger as well, it’s just their natural response to that anxiety.
You might also notice that they act differently in conversations. The key is to be perceptive and forgiving. If someone seems off, ask them, ‘Are you okay?’ instead of responding with frustration or anger. Everyone has their own story, and sometimes that question can really help. Also, don’t treat someone with OCD as ‘different’—they’re just people trying to fit in, like everyone else. Be respectful, offer help if needed, but don’t make it awkward or overly complicated. Keep it simple, and let them reach out when they’re ready.
Can you give an example to our readers of what triggers you in the workplace and how you work around this?
When stress hits, I tend to overcompensate by cleaning, even if it’s not necessary. I wash my hands a lot, and there’s this gel in the office, which is great. It’s especially useful since I work with scientists who are in and out of labs all day, so they’ve got these little hand-washing pods around the place. It’s kind of a paradise for someone like me with moisturised hands, so I’m good with that. But here’s the thing – there’s a shorter route to the coffee machine, but to get there, I have to open a door. And, you know, I could just open it, but some days, if I’m feeling extra stressed, I’ll take the long way around to avoid touching the door. I mean, logically, it doesn’t really make sense since I’m touching the coffee machine anyway, but I wash my hands afterwards, so it’s fine. Sometimes it’s these little things, which might sound silly, but they cause the most stress.
How can well intentioned colleagues respond?
If you don’t understand someone’s actions, the best thing is to just give them space to work through it. Once the moment has passed, you can check in with them, like, ‘Hey, is everything okay? Can I help?’ It’s all about understanding each other.
Asking questions is fine, but it’s important to do so after the situation has settled.
For example, if someone keeps closing a door repeatedly, asking while they’re doing it ‘hey why are you opening and closing the door five times’ might just make them start over. But later on, it’s perfectly okay to ask, ‘I noticed you did that the other day—can I help?’ It’s just about caring and knowing each other better.
