Living with OCD

[Jazzy]

What is OCD?

Anxiety-related condition where person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviour.

To try to prevent obsession coming true and to relieve feelings of anxiety, person feels compelled to carry out repetitive behaviour or mental act.

Many people with OCD fall into a similar pattern of thought - obsession or fear provokes feelings of anxiety and distress which then leads to compulsive act or behaviour.

Compulsive behaviour provides temporary relief from anxiety, but obsession and fear can return, creating vicious circle of behaviour.

Different types of OCD

There are many different types of OCD, some of the more common forms include:

Checking: Where a person has a compulsion to check things multiple times, sometimes hundreds of times. For instance, checking the front door is locked or the water taps are off. It can result in a person not wanting to leave the house because the checking can take such a long time.

Contamination: A compulsive need to clean or wash for fear of being contaminated by germs. Physically the skin can become damaged. After using a public toilet, for instance, it can take some OCD sufferers a four-hour shower to feel clean again.

Intrusive thoughts: Also sometimes referred to as Pure O. It is where a person will have mental or internal compulsions and obsessions, such as thoughts about hurting loved ones for example.

Hoarding: The accumulation of worn out or old possessions. In some cases, a person's living space can be taken over by these items or possessions.

Questions:

Are you living with OCD? If so, what type of OCD do you have and how do you cope with this on a daily basis?

Do you know of someone who suffers from OCD? If so, who is this person?

 

[DrLeftover]

Several years ago I worked with somebody with the "organization" flavor, which wasn't on your list.

If ANYTHING on their desk was even slightly out of of place they simply could not function.

Papers, pens, notes, software disks, everything had to be perfectly in place. And if they used something, it had to go back precisely where it was supposed to be before they could do anything else.

At quitting time, they'd push their chair in "Just So" and make sure everything was where it was supposed to be before they could leave.

And Heaven help us all if they came in in the morning and something was moved.

It was mildly entertaining for the rest of us, especially since the boss once threatened to call the EPA and have my desk declared a hazardous waste site, but it could be really annoying in short order as well.

 

[Tyler]

My mom has this and it used to be pretty bad when I was a little but now not so much she still checks a lot of things and stuff but yeah, and I've got it a little..

 

[McConnaughay]

I have a harmless case of obsessive compulsive disorder, in that, I check the title-histories for every wrestling company, even though I haven't watched wrestling in over a year. I have a list of every movie that I have ever seen in my life. I took the time out to count-up and make a list of every movie-franchise, how much they made, and put them in-order. (Took away, basically, on Wikipedia, I went to 1910 or so "In Film" and worked my way up.) When somebody asks me about a movie, I immediately tell them the scores that it got on Rotten Tomatoes because I've checked it so many times. Nothing too bad, and it's not like those things don't entertain me, I guess.

 

[Mech]

Universally I have a checking OCD. This doesn't apply for anything but just things I want absolutely sure that they're right. Or when not having them right can lead to great consequences.

Like:

- I check if the door is shut and locked like three times
- If I need to memorise an important piece of text I check if I truly read what's there
- I double check, triple check even quadruple check things sometimes just to make sure they're right
- I always check my alarm clock and curtains at night before sleeping

 

[Jazzy]

Universally I have a checking OCD. This doesn't apply for anything but just things I want absolutely sure that they're right. Or when not having them right can lead to great consequences.

Like:

- I check if the door is shut and locked like three times
- If I need to memorise an important piece of text I check if I truly read what's there
- I double check, triple check even quadruple check things sometimes just to make sure they're right
- I always check my alarm clock and curtains at night before sleeping

What kind of consequences happen if things are not right?

 

[Bea Sunny (:]

- I always check my alarm clock at night before sleeping

I use to do that thing.

 

[DrLeftover]

Checking the alarm once before going to sleep to make sure it sets is a good logical practice, especially if you have to get up before you would naturally wake up and then go to work while it is still dark outside.

Checking it twice can be reasonably justified given the importance of the matter.

Checking it repeatedly, and then worrying about whether or not it is set, or the door is locked, or the stove is turned off... is OCD.

 

[Raven]

Since moving into my bedsit, I check EVERYTHING several times. Switches, plugs, cables etc any electrical appliances. If I miss anything I start to panic that something will catch fire and I'll burn the house down.

I check my alarm about 5 times before I go to bed to make sure it is set or I won't sleep at all.

Check the lock on the door several times before bed and when I leave, if I'm on autopilot, get to the car and thing, did I check? I have to go back and check, then I'll take another sweep of all the plugs.

If something isn't right in the place, like the rug is out of place or curtain or something, I have to change it or it irritates me. Cd's/Dvds/Games need to be piled neatly on my tv stand or that iritates me. etc.

I've always been like this but it's only become really apparent since I've been living on my own.

 

[Nebulous]

I can be OCD about certain things but I don't think I have the condition.

Like after Im done using the oven, I have to touch all the knobs and say "Off" "Off" "Off" "Off" while checking to see if they are in the "Off" position.

Or when I lock anything, I have to pull on the handle / knob and attempt to open it, to make sure its actually locked... Or I wont feel right about leaving it.