Anyone on here suffer with OCD?

hazyjo

Pollycat wrote: »

Does anyone else take a paper or magazine from the middle of the pile, not off the top?

I also spend tatty bank notes before nice, crisp ones.
In a pub, I've taken a new £5 from my OH and given him an old one and put the newer one in my purse.

Not sure if this is OCD or just me.

Me - all of the above! I always take the second free newspaper in the pile, never the top one.

And I use tatty bank notes before nicer ones.

Jx

jetplane

I think many people have habits, obsessions, superstitions and certain traits and they need to have this type of order in their lives. I think the term OCD is bandied about to describe anyone who is uber organised or likes things done in a certain order.

Everyone comments on my desk at work, no matter which office I'm in. I know where everything is and if somethings been moved. My cupboards and drawers at home and work are organised and I know where everything is. People laugh when they say have you got such and such and I can tell them exactly which cupboard or drawer that it's in.

I like all of my black utensils in one drawer and if there is a white or stainless steel one in there I have to move it. if something is not in its place I will move it but I no longer become ill or unable to function if it is not done.

I think OCD differs in that the person is unable to cope without these rituals and when the order is not followed they become ill. It is difficult to explain how someone moving something or not being able to complete a task can actually bring you to the point where you can not breathe and need a paper bag. It works the other way also where you find that your rituals become more intense if you are upset.

Raven it took me a longtime to change my thought process I don't think you need to ignore your thoughts but maybe try to distract yourself with something else. Not one of your obsessions though :eek: I am definately a counter and arranger. Maybe writing down your thoughts will help you rationalise them. Don't let yourself become more anxious before asking your friends and family for help.

Hermia

Pollycat wrote: »

Does anyone else take a paper or magazine from the middle of the pile, not off the top?

Yeah, I do that although I think it's generally because the top one has been rifled through by other people and may be damaged etc. I was once in WHSmiths and this guy was looking at the magazines. He put one back and it wouldn't stand up straight (it sort of kept toppling over to the side). He just kept trying to straighten it. Eventually he got it straight, but then noticed the magazines were not all the same distance from their neighbours and started trying to correct that. He eventually just stormed out of the shop in a state, but then came back a minute later and started again! I really felt for him.

OP - have you talked to your GP about what's going on. Whilst I have mixed feelings about anti-depressants etc I have to admit they have had a great effect on my relatives who have OCD. It might be worth trying a different pill maybe. I have been trying meditation as I just need to keep my mind quiet. I do think it's really good and could work if I stick to it, but that fact that it can involve counting your breathing etc could be a problem for me!

Pollycat

DUKE wrote: »

I do lists too. When I go on holiday I have to write down all the clothes that I'm taking, all the clothes that I'll be wearing each day, as I can't wear green two days on the trot as people could think I have the same things on every day. I take photo's of me in my holiday clothes too :-/

This is me, too.

I have an Excel list of all possible holiday clothes, that I add to or detract from as I buy new things or throw old ones away.
About a month before the holiday I start to whittle the list down, then try everything on a week before to finalise what I'm taking.

I print off a list to take with me - I tick it off as I wear stuff.

I can tell you what I took on holiday to Spain in June 2004, whether I wore it or not and everything I took on every holiday since.
My sister says I should get out more. LOL

I've just done my 'to-do' list for our upcoming holiday.

I was always a very organised person at work, we did the Belbin Management Teams thingy at work and I came out something like 90% 'completer/finisher'.

Completer Finisher: The "Completer Finisher" is the detail person within the team. They have a great eye for spotting flaws and gaps and for knowing exactly where the team is in relation to its schedule. Team members who have less preference for detail work may be frustrated by their analytical and meticulous approach, but the work of the Completer Finisher ensures the quality and timeliness of the output of the team. Emphasizes the need for meeting schedules, deadlines, and completing tasks; searches out errors

Anybody recognise themselves?

Pollycat

jetplane wrote: »

I think many people have habits, obsessions, superstitions and certain traits and they need to have this type of order in their lives. I think the term OCD is bandied about to describe anyone who is uber organised or likes things done in a certain order.

I think OCD differs in that the person is unable to cope without these rituals and when the order is not followed they become ill. It is difficult to explain how someone moving something or not being able to complete a task can actually bring you to the point where you can not breathe and need a paper bag. It works the other way also where you find that your rituals become more intense if you are upset.

Good post.

Maybe those of us who think we have OCD traits are just as described in jetplane's first paragraph.

I hope those people who (like the OP) really suffer from this strange condition (as described in the 2nd paragraph above) don't feel we are belittling them or dismissing their problems.

Darren_G

I was a born worrier, so unfortunately yes, me too...

As a teenager I was obsessed with keeping my hands clean - to the point I washed them so often the skin on the back of my hands dried out and cracked, needing weeks of special ointment to rehydrate them. Still don't like the thought of dirty hands (try to wait for someone else to open door in public loos, or take a piece of tissue to touch handle!).

In later life, I have been obsessed with double checking everything, especially where safety and security are concerned, but I manage it. Never get much sleep though, as once a thought is in my head, it just won't go away!

savemoney

That sounds like it, I did get asked had I put on weight recently which I haven't but I am slightly over weight have done for years. It is as you described I got a pig of a headache now, yesterday I wasnt too bad

jetplane wrote: »

sleep aponea? yeh you will wake up with headaches but it's not a vein in your neck stopping blood flow it's your throat closing during the night which cuts off your breathing and your oxygen levels drop and then you wake up briefly and start breathing again over and over again although you are not aware of waking up. You never get a full nights sleep, wake up with dry throat and headaches and usually snore like a pig in a panic. It is often due to obesity but not exclusively as it can depend on the shape your nose / throat etc.

picklepick

Me!

I have Trichotillomania, anxiety disorder and Type 'O' OCD. This means my obsessions don't manifest themselves physically but are mental tasks I perform. My biggest O is counting. I count the constituents of words and give each word a score and then each sentence a score. My ideal score is a multiple of 4. Preferably 12 as that is the 'ultimate' multiple of 4 for me to have. It's more complex than this and it's hard to explain but put simply it's like counting the number of strokes you'd make if you were writing a word with a pen. I do this literally constantly. I can do it whilst holding down a conversation, watching TV, reading, the only time it goes away is when I'm sleeping! It affects my memory a lot because it's hard to absorb information when your brain is busy doing other things. And I can't hold down a normal job.

Then next comes Relationship Substantiation. This is probably my most life affecting O. I constantly question my love for my husband. If it's 'true' love, if there's something more, etc. It's something I've had a lot of counselling for and I am getting better but in the past it has ruined friendships and relationships.

The Trich is hair pulling. I get a satisfied feeling from pulling hair and I have had some bald patches when I was younger but I'm much better at managing this now as an adult.

Surprisingly, a lot of my disorders have lessened since I became pregnant. I used to suffer terribly with insomnia but I get a good 8 hours a night at the minute, which is an absolute godsend!

picklepick

Oh also forgot to ask if anyone else has my type of OCD, I get intrusive thoughts about let's say 'unconventional' things, and I wondered if anyone else had this too? Mine centre around death and different ways that people could die, in particular plane crashes. Not in the sense that I'm scared of flying or anything, I quite like it, but I follow with great interest plane crashes and seem to almost get excited (god this makes me sound like an awful person but it's my OCD) when I see in news headlines that another has crashed. Just so I can read about it and I tend to hunt down black box transcripts, etc.

I know thoughts about death are common with OCd sufferers, just wondered if anyone else obsesses over anything like that?

cat04

I read this thread purely out of interest but have noticed a few of the mentioned rituals in my own routine. I do a version of the peg thing. I have lots of colours and for anything that needs 2 or more pegs I use all the same colour, but saying that I can cope if they're not although I do talk myself through the whole hanging out of clothes process. I have a method of hanging out too - order and position of clothes etc.
OH moans if I complain about the way he does a chore that I have previously complained he hasn't done lol. E.g. he lays the washing up a different way on the drainer to me. Obviously my way is the right way! I wash things up in a certain order, but that's usual isn't it?? Glasses first moving on to the dirtier stuff last.
We have our everyday knives and forks etc in the same tray slots as the 'nice' ones but I have each set pointing a different way. My thinking is they fit in better that way and I tell myself that's the only reason I do it that way, but I hate it when OH has put even a couple of knives in the wrong way and I have to turn them round. I also have certain tea spoons for certain jobs! I do a bit of counting too, but that's usually counting myself down to do something like speaking out in public, I give myself to the count of 10 and usually chicken out and will end up counting down a few times before I'm brave enough to do it. It will always be from 10, even if I know I won't do it by the time I've counted to 10 I will do it in two lots of 10 rather than 20. I'm sure there are other things too but I won't bore you all with them!

Good grief putting all that together makes me feel a bit odd, but I know that if I had to stop doing things my way I could cope so I know it's only mild.