What Are You Ocd About?

[Collette]

mine is with bacteria, i have to bleach everything that i cannot wash, i do upto 14 loads of washing each day and go through a few bottles of bleach a week, i also constantly have to check my handbag for my purse, keys, phone, purse, keys, phone, it can take ages for me to get out the door.

I agree that it is so exhausting, if im not actually doing it, then i worry about doing it, the anticipation before i do it is so immense, will it feel clean - when i know it wont, thats why i have to do it every day. ho hum!

[lostinme]

im a checker, a cleaner, a perfectionist, i like things to be in colour order in a colour wheel spectrum, things have to either be in colour alphabetical or size order. i m a horder, i am obsessive about safety and germs and contamination and i count constantly and everything has to add up to certain numbers. just to name few

[lostinme]

I recently have developed a new habit. I color code my clothes in my closet with hangers. I.e. green shirt - green hanger, pink shirt - pink hanger, black shirt - black hanger and so on. Hard, because I don't all the colors of hangers for all my shirts.

woops i do that:$

[Angel123]

When putting washing on the lline i have to have the same colour pegs on the same item.

I dont like things out of place.

Making sure the doors are locked and the cookers off.

There is loads of things i do but havnt got time to name them all.

[orankey]

I am obsessive when I shower.....

I undress in a certain order, I weight myself, I shower and wash myself in a certain order, I dry myself in a certain order, I clean my ears, put deoderant on, brush my teath, put bio-oil on, put moisturiser on, I put my clothes on in a certain order (alwats left side before right side), I leave the bathroom in a particular way and I dont go back in there unless I am washing my hands.

That would be about the only thing that I am obsessive over. I have never told anyone about that before....Never thought I would.

[Angel123]

Another thing i do is when wearing trainers if one of the laces feels tighter then i keep undoing and re tying my other one until it feels the same.....

[fucktheworld]

Angel quote:

"There is loads of things i do but havnt got time to name them all."

This is why I hesitated for years getting any therapy. Where do I begin? How could there ever be enough time to explain it all? I finally went last summer and got a true assessment after being told by someone they thought I had bpd. I have managed this mess with 12 step addiction behavior mod and read and studied about the other stuff that didn't fit in the 12 steps. I also got very tired of 'the maintenance but no cure' part of the 12 steps...and the meetings. I hate the format of therapy, the in-person talking. It takes me longer to form a complete thought, express it properly. I've thought it would work better if I could do it non-verbal, sign language, write.

One of the DXs was autism spectrum, AS, stuff. I have two friends with autistic kids and these kids are strangely attracted to me. Now that I know more about my own stuff I think it is because they sense it and feel safe around me, I don't push safe space limits or lunge at them...touch them..talk directly at them...that kind of stuff.

Angel does your boy have more issues for let's say an hour after a shower? Does he have more or less issues with baths? For about an hour after a shower, until my pores are completely closed, I feel awful. I am tense, anxious, angry if anyone gets too close, my clothes feel uncomfortable...unable to relax in my skin.

thanks for listening

[Angel123]

ftw

To be honest i have never even thought of that.. I will have to analyse him the next time he has a bath or shower.!!!!!

Getting him in there is a job on its own!!!

I have never known anyone that is so difficult to wash.... It is so hard..

[char456]

from lance

* I only touch light switches with my knuckles, not my fingertips. If it's not a switch, but instead is a long chord coming from the ceiling, then I grab the highest part that nobody touches.

from me

lol sorry aint learnt quite how to work this quote thing yet.

I have major ocd, my main is washing my poor tired hands. Jeez i swear im 32 and they look like im 50.

Everything is an infection wherever i go.

Even if i try to resolve an infection issue by perhaps using my sleeve i am then consumed with fear about touching my sleeve.

I also have to group every bit of text i see into sixes and sevens ( too hard to explain ) and if it dont fit i have to keep going, the same with numbers.

I never get a break from it.

I have to align things even if there is chaos all about me, the mat on the table will still have to be perfectly alligned.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Had cbt, had group therapy, still ill lol.

Also think i may have a personality disorder.

Thumbs up!

[mark1970]

When i was younger i used to have to unplug everything,and the plug could not be facing down,pins up.then i got onto counting,turning lights on and off so many times,and always even numbers

Now if i don't do certain things,bad things will happen,if i have a piece of paper,and put something on top of it,someone might die.

And i have to arrange everything neat,like on the side in my room,everything has to be square to each other.

[lostinme]

I also have to group every bit of text i see into sixes and sevens ( too hard to explain ) and if it dont fit i have to keep going, the same with numbers.

I never get a break from it.

eeek im the same but with 4 and 9's its v time consuming, its like my brains a constant calculator trying to work out bizarre ways the world will add up to 4 or 9 so everything doesnt implode its irrational and rediculous but i cant move onto the next bit of life (eg basic thoughts, remembering to do anything) untill ive worked out a way

[dolphin]

i obsess about my dvds i have over 300 of them

but they have to be in u's in alphabet order

then the pg's in alphabet order

then the 12's in alphabet order

then the 15's in alpha order

then the 18's in alpha order

if anyone moves my dvd's i watch them to make sure it goes back in the right place if they put it in the wrong place i have to put it right.

i do the same for my cd's

and i have to buy things every day

otherwise i get depressed really bad

i collect reciepts i have done so for 8 years then my ex threw 3 black bin liners out while i was out i freaked

went crazy shouting crying

im better at that now though i dont collect them any more but i still feel i have too and when i throw them i feel bad

im also a horder i have my spare bedroom full of stuff i just cant throw anything out

and if i do i feel so bad for weeks on end

saying to myself i should not have done that / i could have used that

Emma

[~LouLou~]

I was diagnosed as having OCD from a very young age.

I am an obessive checker. Before going to sleep at night and before leaving the house to go out I have to check that all windows and doors are locked. The cooker is switched off. Plug sockets are switched off and the toilet seat is down. At night I also have to check the curtains are shut in a certain way and that my alarms on my mobile phone are set correctly and is switched off.

I also have a safety number like many OCD sufferers. Mine is 4. I check each thing 4 times and repeat 4 times. I guess you could say 4 lots of 4. Does that make sense?

Take care.

Loulou

x

[buttercup_vix]

I haven't been diagnosed with OCD so not sure if I have it but I do have to:

- have cutlery arranged in a certain way in the drawer

- have the toilet lid down

- check that the back door is locked several times before going to bed

and I will quite often return home just after leaving to check that the oven is turned off, even if I know I haven't used it for days.

Also if I get a thought in my head, I can't ignore it and have to act on it. Sometimes I think I just need to get up and turn a light off and then on again for no reason etc. and I HAVE to do it.

My brother has OCD and he has quite a few bathroom and hand washing rituals.

xXx

[roswell]

I use to have a really bad checking habit. I would repeatitly check the doors at night making sure they were locked. Once I went to bed I would get up checking to see where my watch, wallet, cellphone etc was.

I have managed to overcome these habits with therapy :P

[fucktheworld]

checking and rules

credit cards, wallet, locked doors, appliances off, clocks working ....list is endless

keys check constantly, carry spares in my pocket, doesn't matter still lock myself out constantly, check check check oops don't ck once and locked out, hell too because everything is such a fortress--double fortress [ck ck ck OCD, loose, paranoid, then I ck ck ck more]

i try hard to move things around then every time I walk by it - it bothers me - like my field of vision spots a wrong object in the wrong place, I give in and move it back [some ocd and schizotypal stuff--can't relax when stuff is out of place and then stuff is happy when it is back in its place; every thing is only happy in its place, then I'm happy]

i don't even work on the ocd stuff, i give in, it is neurotic but very comforting and takes up time too

and some of it is ridiculous enough to make me laugh

[fucktheworld]

I can't walk by something that needs to be done and not do it. It has been like this all week. I'm exhausted but can't stop. I'm glad I'm alone and no one is telling me to sit down.

[skylace]

So glad I read this thread - I seriously thought I was going mad so it is reassuring to know I am not alone!

My OCD things -

Checking that taps are switched off properly (checking more than one)

Same with electical appliances - takes wayyyy more time if I am going to be out for the day

Tidiness

Anything in 6s - If I buy multipacks of six I have to remove 1 straight away (think this stems from when I watched the Omen though that is 3 6s hmm)

Car number plates - adding up the numbers

Adding letters in words THEN the syllables

My head hurts

[untouchableemotions]

I am a compulsive washer- clothes, hands, surfaces, door nobs, etc.

I am also a neat freak. I like things clean and organized.

I think my perfectionism also comes into play here.

What about you?

I like the number 8. A lot. I 'click' my throat 8 times, kick each of the inside of my feet 8 times, scratch my palms (with the nails of the same hand) eight times...there is a certain way, sort of like a rhythm, that I have to count to that number as well. Its sort of like - 1,2........3,4........5..6.......78, and my tone or pitch has to change with each number. I like music, so maybe thats why Ilike the number 8. Or maybe I like music because I like the number 8. Don't underestimate my likeness of music - I don't even watch tv. If it's not done right, I continue until it is. My body has to feel 'even' as well; if I stand on a twig with my left foot, I have to stand on one with my right foot then stand on one with both feet a the same time. Some days, I'm not so bad, lately it's been mad, I think because am not self harming.

[eve-naive]

I have done all kinds of things over the years - after my son was born for a long time I would have to count when stirring teas and coffees - I didn't have a fixed number but could only stop when I got to the right number - which sometimes took a while because it wasn't fixed lol.

I have had books in alphabetical order, become obsessive about things being moved even an inch, have to have things a certain way so I would find it very difficult to let anyone do anything for me - such as wash dishes or put things away. These things tend to come and go depending on stress levels. When stressed for a long time they are present all the time for that period.

When I seperated from my sons father and went back to college and then to work, almost everyday I would phone my friend who lived fairly near by (thankfully she could drive) and ask her to check I'd switched the iron off. It was feeling like I had rushed because I had to get to work on time and then not remembering if I had checked - I never had left the iron on.

Wash my hands a great deal (especially now I have a pup!), I wont touch the doors in public toilets in pubs or restaurants (wont use any other public toilet full stop) use elbow or sleeve - or tissue paper.

My husband says I'm neurotic - but I don't think he understands the anxious feelings that accompany my quirks lol.

At the moment, as I am feeling worse than I have for a long time, whenever I leave the house I check my bag, think and fret like I'm leaving the country not just going to the shop or something. I always seem to go back indoors for a reason, sometimes I get halfway down the street and have to go back to check things. I have noticed (like yesterday which was really stressy) I worried the whole way until I met my friend that I had set the house on fire and I would have killed the puppy because of it. When I met my friend it was okay and I didn't think about it, but as soon as I left her and got a taxi home I worry again about whether the house is standing, when I am in sight of the area I start looking for smoke.

Not been diagnosed but then I've never told a professional, in fact only ever say to anyone in a joky, trivialising manner. Does the last part sound like O.C.D?

[chorse_70]

I am a compulsive washer- clothes, hands, surfaces, door nobs, etc.

I am also a neat freak. I like things clean and organized.

I think my perfectionism also comes into play here.

What about you?

I like to try to keep my house neat and keep things in a certain place as well as keep things facing a certain way. I also make sure my doors are locked several times over. But the one that I thinks really weird is I have to do things like a even amount of times. For instance if I call someone I have to let it ring 2 or 4 times. Everythings gotta be done evenly if possible. Weird huh.

[Lizardd]

My obsessention is regarding my experiences with dissociation. I am worried all day that if something goes wrong, if I do something wrong I will be stuck in a state that I will NEVER get out of. Very scary.

[Aamanee]

* Checking that everything is locked

* counting in to 3 3 times or i will have a panic attack

* My desk has to be clean and tidy

* cleaning the bed room twice a day

* cleaning the house 3 times a day

* washing 3 times each time

* buying post it notes

* buying books

* dusting 3 time a day

* the number 3

[mort]

I have done all kinds of things over the years - after my son was born for a long time I would have to count when stirring teas and coffees - I didn't have a fixed number but could only stop when I got to the right number - which sometimes took a while because it wasn't fixed lol.

I also have to stir teas and coffees a certain number of times. Can't say how many (unlucky if I did) but I have to stir both clockwise and anti-clockwise in a set order in various multiples of 3. Takes me ages to make a drink.

I have many more but most have been mentioned before in this thread.

I can't have anything pointing directly at me, not just sharp objects. For example remote control must be alongside me or longways on to me, not thin ends facing me. Unless there is a "barrier" between me and the object! lol

Oh another one is the volume of tv or cd player has to be set at 3 or a multiple of 3.

tc

mort x

[Effervescence]

OCD still flourishing, lol.

I used to be a really compulsive counter and had to do a lot of praying--not out of religious conviction so much as due to the blasted OCD.

I don't do the counting anymore and not so much compulsive praying--why, I don't know. Probably because I now avoid every possible anxiety-provoking situation. (I know--not a great idea but you gotta survive somehow, right?! )

Still a major hoarder, however *sigh* and when I visited my GP the other day, I showed her my truly pathetic hands and she said "TOO MUCH WASHING!!!" And yes, the word "ezcema" was again mentioned, but I think I "cause" it by so much hand-scrubbing. My doctor told me to slather on heavy hand cream at night and wear cotton gloves overnight--I have several pairs of them (THANKS OCD!!! ) and she said she would start with some cortisone cream, which of course contains mild steroids.

Well....I can do that for awhile. BUT I plan to adopt a new kitten sometime after Christmas and then all bets are off. I once had a kitty who developed diabetes (yep, just like people) after receiving steroid ear drops for an ear infection, and now I am deathly afraid of using steroids anywhere in the vicinity of cats. So once I get my new cat, I don't know what I'll do--I just can't see myself using any kind of steroids around another furchild.

And my hands hurt. Poor widdle me! (I mean--the skin actually cracks--sometimes it even bleeds! It's awful--it hurts and besides I look like I have leprosy or something!!! )

Oh well.

The joys of OCD. Ha ha. :rolleyes: