Does anyone here have OCD?
Posted , 2 users are following.
I think I may have moderate OCD. I have Anxiety Disorder and Depression, although I am unmedicated for both (I have suffered for over ten-years and chose to go it alone a few years ago).
The OCD symptoms have never intruded on my life, and up until a few years ago, I thought they were completely normal, so never felt the need to mention it to my doctors.
Does this sound like OCD?
I have obsessive thoughts that never go away. Sometimes, they go on all night, and have caused bouts of insomnia in the past. I will dwell on things, think on them, leaving no stone untouched. They don't go away until I have thought about every possible outcome to every possible scenario.
I have to check my keys, phone and wallet several times before leaving the house, and do it every ten-minutes when outside. I have to keep my keys in the front pocket, attached to a large keychain or a piece of string, which stays outside my bag, and I have to stop to stroke it for three-minutes after checking my bag every ten-minutes. If I get interupted before the three-minutes is up, I get anxious and frustrated and have to begin all over again. My phone must ALWAYS go behind my wallet, and I must be able to see the camera, charging port or the make of the phone.
I eat from the outside in, in a circular fashion. I also must always start with the veggies, then the carbs, then the meat. I cannot mix foods, although I seem to be able to mix more now, although not consistently.
When I do the laundry, I start with the smallest items to the bigger, and must hang them in that fashion.
When I do the washing-up, I must, first, clean the sink, then put the plug, then fill the sink, then wash the cuttlery. I change the water, then wash the smallest plates and bowles, change the water again, then wash the bigger plates and bowles, then change the water again, and finally wash the pots and pans. Afterwards, I clean the sink again.
I have to turn up early. Not late, or on time. At least half-hour, or fifteen-minutes early. If someone says they're leaving at one, and at one-fifteen, they haven't left, I get panicky. If someone I'm not expecting knocks on my door, I get panicky and don't answer. I have to lock the door everytime I close it.
I also have several phobias but I'm not sure if they're classed as OCD.
Another one was when I was assembling my wardrobe. Over two hours, I had four panic attacks and was crying and panicking, because my husband wanted to do the opposite from me. If he'd listened to me, the whole thing would have been upside down. It just felt completely unnatural to me, to NOT put them upside down. I mean, we laugh about it now.
Sorry for the essay, but would anyone say this was OCD? Also, what are some "habits" or "rituals" that people with OCD experience?
0 likes, 41 replies
rubes25
Posted
boing333 rubes25
Posted
The question is whether or not this affects your quality of life, and if so, how?
I find myself getting intrusive thoughts at night that come out of nowhere, or have no bearing on reality or how I actually feel in any way. Then I get racing thoughts that seem to be a bit like a dot to dot pattern that don't connect to ever form a clear picture. I cut down on coffee, increased exercise and then started occupying my mind at night by immersing myself in books and following a pattern of gradually dimming my bedlight until my eyes were so tired that I could barely keep them open any longer and had to sleep.
rubes25 boing333
Posted
I wouldn't say the symptoms disrupt my life. If anything, they help me switch off my brain and focus on something other then my thoughts.
My only problem is, relationships. I get irritable if they interfere with my little routines, or if they don't understand my disorder, or if they run late or don't turn up on time, even if they tell me they'll be running be late.
I was medicated for ten-years, on and off. Stopping finally during my second pregnancy. I felt so unreal on the medication, like I wasn't REALLY feeling or living. Like, I was feeling what they wanted me to feel.
But a part of me regrets my decision every day.
boing333 rubes25
Posted
What helps is discussing it. Even that is challenging. Group therapy sessions work but you can't always have them and they often aren't there when you need them the most - ie. by yourself. Places like this website and others exist so people can discuss when they want to discuss things, and if you get a hasty response then you're very lucky.
I would suggest when by yourself to try and occupy your mind with healthier routines though. I don't have OCD - I thought for a while I had schizoaffective disorder too because of the racing thoughts element/no clearly defined picture - it's just my anxiety telling me to worry about things that I don't need to worry about.
rubes25 boing333
Posted
I was speaking to some lady in the States, who had been on it like 10 years without one single break, and I tried to encourage her to take a little break, see how she goes, but nope, was obviously dependant.
NickOliver boing333
Posted
Rubes, you can always talk to the Samaritans - in my experience, they are always very good and you don't have to be feeling suicidal for them to listen to you.
MIND do provide faily cheap counselling but you do have to be referred by a doctor or psychiatrist.
boing333 rubes25
Posted
Obviously it depends on the severity of your condition/what condition it is you actually have but most of the time, talking will help you more.
rubes25 NickOliver
Posted
NickOliver boing333
Posted
NickOliver rubes25
Posted
boing333 NickOliver
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Rest assured my advice comes from a very real place and I wouldn't give anybody any advice unless I felt it was either 1. helpful, or 2. necessary. What I say is given on face value relating to what Rubes has said in her initial topic of discussion and also what has been said over the course of the discussion of what I feel is appopriate.
In conclusion, if a person feels they do not need medication, or have been given medication but aren't aware of the longterm dangers, it is appropriate to discuss them and provide them with another path of thought to either follow or not. This is something that doctors do not often give. Those with experiences can.
rubes25 NickOliver
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NickOliver boing333
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I don't think that you have the right to give conditional advice ie telling them to do a specific action. The implication is that the person doesn't take your advice you will hold them in disdain.
I would say again that if you are qualified to be acting in such a way is unethical.
And if you are not qualified, it is wrong.Â
boing333 NickOliver
Posted
Effectively, you're walking around with a crutch on waiting for somebody to help you walk again only to finally get to that person and find that you can't imagine a life without the crutch. That's one of the dangers of taking medication and people should be made aware of it before they are given it. In Rubes' case, she's a victim of that, as am I, as I'm sure a lot of people on here are hence why you see stories of 30 year olds who started at 15 having problems and are still unable to live an active and fulfilling life.
NickOliver rubes25
Posted
And have you got better since then?
I think that someone else might have said that some of us are more anxious than others.
What were you like before this?
What have you found helped?
rubes25 NickOliver
Posted
he was, apparently, the best. The very best.
my first Dr patronized me, made me feel stupid, but i got my mum to switch Drs and we did some talking therapy but it didn't work. Ive looked into herbals but its too expensive.
NickOliver rubes25
Posted
My point being that if you switch from one doctor to another in the private sector there is no consistency of treatment.
boing333 NickOliver
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What constitutes as consistency of treatment within the NHS? The ability to see the same counsellor a month later? The ability to see a counsellor, make an appointment only to be told that counsellor has moved on? Or to make frequent contact with a locum psychiatrist?
Services used to exist that simply do not any more. They say in the service that once you are in, you get seen much quicker than when you aren't, but how many people are actually available to you at your disposal, when you go to GP as your first step?
That's not consistency of care; that's facing the risk of negligence by passing care into the hands of whoever is available rather than who is the most qualified.
I don't knock the NHS for a second. They are just working with what is given to them, which is not a lot.
rubes25 NickOliver
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ive noticed help improved the older i got. Possibly because people were getting more aware of it.
rubes25 boing333
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i have a GP, but any other services ive been offered weren't consistent. The surgery even got rid of their counsellor.
we have to ring up at 8am, and within two hrs we get a call back. If were lucky, they make us an appointment for 4pm.
i would say more needs to be done for the nhs.
boing333 rubes25
Posted