OCD is Baaaaaaaad...

[KenC]

OP - It is great that you have a handle on it. My posts were not meant to argue that anyone with a problem necessarily should take medication, but just that it should not be ruled out because someone else did not have a positive experience.

 

[leighthal]

It's all about managing the disorder. Either through meds or therapy. I used to bleach my kitchen counters every day and nothing could be on them. After some balancing techniques from a professional, I now only need to keep 1 foot of counter space that way to function. I don't like being touched (germ issues). Easy fix, kids and hubby need to ask before they touch me. With a warning it's not an issue. Am I still crazy OCD? yes! But I work with it instead of fighting it.
My previous post of paper, doors and noise are still a work in progress.

 

[Photographiend]

KenC - My aversion to meds has little to do with anyone elses experience. It is just a last resort for me. Even with pain killers when I really need them I will just try to suffer through without. I mean I gave birth twice without them so...

leighthal - I feel ya. I think it is fantastic you have managed to find a middle ground for your counter top and germ obsession.
For me the biggest issues have always been washing dishes and doing laundry. My policy is I don't expect anyone to do them the way I would but I do expect them to let me do them myself. I have actually outfitted my washing machine with a "No Husband" sign. I feel kind of bad about it but it drives my crazy when he tries to "help out" that way. I mean I adore him but he just needs to leave some things alone.

I have numerous friends who have obsessions with spelling and grammar and I feel a little evil to admit this but on occasion I just want to screw with them knowing full well they will get all eye twitchy so I will deliberately make a FB post with every conceivable spelling error.

 

[Tiller]

I can stand when pens are left open.

When I put on a hat, I put it on and take it off about 10-15 times before it sits just right.

 

[Photographiend]

In the category of "Tapping into your ODC as a Super Power" I bought a Steam Mop over the weekend and have damn near steam cleaned my entire house :crazy:

Have to say it is more beneficial than scrubbing my shower multiple times a day.

 

[pixmedic]

I am never happy with the way the previous crew leaves the ambulance. (even though its really fine)
when I get on shift, I am compelled to make sure every syringe, every bandage, every piece of equipment is neatly stacked, ordered, and in JUST the right spot.
Grandma used to say "there is a place for everything, and everything has its place". I have a specific spot for the ventilator and the vent bag, as well as the IV tray and how everything is set up in it. Heaven forbid anyone rearrange the drug bag.

also...I count stairs.
which sucks because our satellite "station" is an upstairs apartment.

 

[jowensphoto]

I have an atypical form of OCD, recently diagnosed. I am mostly obsessive and mentally compulsive, but I do have some compulsions that present physically. Like scalp picking and cheek chewing. And smoking. And nail biting. And counting...

The list goes on.

 

[unpopular]

My wife does, and I am so very glad to see that this is a real thread. I hate it when people make light of mental illnesses, and turn other's struggling into a big joke.

 

[snowbear116 47]

So easy to tell when I am over stressed. This week alone I have scrubbed my shower 4 times once on tues, once on wed, and twice today...

Want to come and play at my place?

My closest thing to this is I frequently don't know when to stop "tweaking" things. I'll spend an hour on a simple map trying to get the right colors, font sizes, etc. I finally just have to get up and walk away from it (so to speak.)

Edit: I really do feel for you and others with this issue. Humor is one of my ways of coping with things, especially those I can't control.

 

[DarkShadow]

My wife and I will share her car that I bought for her.After she use's the car the heat - air condition vents are closed or facing to the side,Up or down.when I use the car I like the vents straight and open regardless if the heat or air is on.After she uses the car the vents are all wrong again and I have to start all over.I am not sure what disorder that is but it is something I always have to fix and so does she but neither of us say a word about the vents. she may be adjusting them for the air but i am adjusting them because i don't like them closed or turned to a side,up or down.


I think everyone has something about them and some worse then others where meds maybe needed but as long as you recognize it you can work with it through therapy, meds etc.It's when you don't realize your disorders that can be bad and sometime dangerous to your self or others.

If cleaning your bathtub 50 times to relieve stress then so be it.High stress is a killer to your health, I rather have soar hands then a mental break down.My aunt had a break down,we found her in a dark small closet talking to her self.

 

[jowensphoto]

My wife does, and I am so very glad to see that this is a real thread. I hate it when people make light of mental illnesses, and turn other's struggling into a big joke.

I can't tell you (though you probably understand) how much it pisses me off when people say, "OMG I'm so ADD/OCD/Depressed," and have never had a diagnosis in their lives. It almost becomes a slur at that point.

 

[Photographiend]

pixmedic - That makes a lot of sense in your profession actually. Your surroundings are essentially an extension of yourself if things aren't where you expect to find them it hinders your ability to do your job.

jowens - Sometimes I think it is those little picking habits that are the hardest to break. I have one, I pick my lips. Very unpleasant and unsightly but hard to stop because most the time I don't even realize when I am doing it. What really kills me is that my little girl has picked up the habit and she is far more aggressive of a picker than I am. I will stop once the skin gets too raw or starts too bleed because I don't want it to be obvious. But her poor little lips look so tortured.

snowbear - Haha...

DarkShadow - I am not sure if that is related to OCD or not.

With OCD there are usually obsessive thought processes at work that you are trying to escape which is why you develop odd little habits.

In most people who don't have the constant obsessive thoughts when they go through periods of heightened stress they can manifest similar habits. Sort of a way of nurturing a sense of some control when life feels like it is spinning out of control. (organizing silverware, arranging your video/cd/or book collections alphabetically, making sudden unpredictable and frequent changes to your appearance like hair color, piercings, tattoos... the last ones serve to direct conversations with friends and family away from the "What's Wrong?" query).

There is one very ugly tell all symptom of OCD that is quite disturbing and I would rather not mention because people who don't experience it would have a rather difficult time understanding it. But that is how you would really know if you had it or not and it is called "Intrusive Thoughts". They arise in the OCD mind during periods of heightened stress and can make a person feel like they are going crazy. These are the times when the habits or "Compulsions" will become most intense because these unpleasant thoughts usually become a source for obsession. Which can lead to a viscous downward spiral for the sufferer if they aren't aware that it is just a malfunctioning circuitry in the brain and they aren't actually going nuts.

 

[Photographiend]

GAH!!!

Posts: 1,111

Another one for me, I have a bizarre habit that is triggered when I see numbers align like this. Even as I was typing this I was saying... I'm not going to do it... not going to do it... and I did it.

Not to offend anyone who is not spiritual here but I see it as a reminder to pray and say a very specific prayer.

 

[jowensphoto]

Oh man, the "habits" rubbing off on your kids... that's the worst. My daughter is 20 months - her first full sentence is/was, "Clean the mess!" and continues to freak out until we clean up whatever the "mess" is.

 

[jowensphoto]

Also, I thought you were a dude.