Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

goo

this is a term I can't stand. it seems like all the damn doctors nowadays have to come up with some stupid disorder or disease for everything. can't people just do weird things anymore without there being a "condition" or a "disorder" category for them to fall into? I read so much insight and medical BS about it that it all seems like a big scam for shrinks to make some money. but since I bring it up, have any of you been diagnosed with OCD or a similar condition? I'm pretty sure I have it... and I'd be willing to bet that EVERYONE has it to a certain degree. but when I started college, I became obsessed with keeping everything clean, especially hands, etc. I've been living with it for 6 years now. what are some of your weird quirks and tics?

iluvcats

goo wrote:

this is a term I can't stand. it seems like all the damn doctors nowadays have to come up with some stupid disorder or disease for everything. can't people just do weird things anymore without there being a "condition" or a "disorder" category for them to fall into? but since I bring it up, have any of you been diagnosed with OCD or a similar condition? I'm pretty sure I have it... and I'd be willing to bet that EVERYONE has it to a certain degree. but when I started college, I became obsessed with keeping everything clean, especially hands, etc. I've been living with it for 6 years now. what are some of your weird quirks and tics?

i'm glad you are clean, then you won't get the flu, etc. It's ok to be clean as long as it is not consuming you.
OCD can also be fears, which I have. Are you so clean (or germ conscious) that you won't kiss another human or won't pet an animal? For the first time in my life, I was grossed out when a sweet cat jumped in my lap. Somehow, I mysteriously caught ring worm ON MY FACE...and when I was recovered, the cat jumped in my lap while we were at the vet buying my mom's cat some food and I thought, "Oh, no!"

a relative of my husband has ocd badly and cannot stand anything like rugs or pillows to have tassels hanging off, he cuts them. we won't go into his other rituals.

mca47

I'm def. OCD is many, many ways.

And I don't need a professional to tell me something that I already know! haha!

goo

iluvcats wrote:

i'm glad you are clean, then you won't get the flu, etc. It's ok to be clean as long as it is not consuming you.
OCD can also be fears, which I have. Are you so clean (or germ conscious) that you won't kiss another human or won't pet an animal? For the first time in my life, I was grossed out when a sweet cat jumped in my lap. Somehow, I mysteriously caught ring worm ON MY FACE...and when I was recovered, the cat jumped in my lap while we were at the vet buying my mom's cat some food and I thought, "Oh, no!"

a relative of my husband has ocd badly and cannot stand anything like rugs or pillows to have tassels hanging off, he cuts them. we won't go into his other rituals.

I'm fine touching most things as long as I know there is soap and water or germ-X somewhere nearby so I can clean them off at some point. as far as handling animals, same thing applies. but if I pick them up and cuddle with them, I wash whatever it was that I was wearing when I did it. I love animals more than anything, but I hate that I'm worrying about when I can clean off so much that it takes away from me enjoying my time with them.

iluvcats

i went to the bank the other day and had to go to the teller's office, she shook my hand and i cringed.
as soon as i went outside, i applied hand sanitizer. i try to use my own pen too and i had to use her pen.
i feel like an idiot; in the eighties, for example, we did not think about such things, but times have changed.
as soon as i get home from the store (after pushing the cart), I wash my hands.
they have medicine for OCD. go to Paxil's website.

DewieCox

I'll go back and double check stuff.

Stuff like blowin out candles or locking doors, also makin sure I don't forget things like my cellphone, bottle of water, or whatever else I'm gonna need for where I'm headin.

mfc2006

an ex-gf of mine had severe OCD along with a crippling for of Social Anxiety disorder & I saw first hand how these things can destroy your life. having gone through that led me to want to help. that's why i'm in psychology. it can be a LOT more than just washing your hands & checking your locks.

goo

mfc2006 wrote:

an ex-gf of mine had severe OCD along with a crippling for of Social Anxiety disorder & I saw first hand how these things can destroy your life. having gone through that led me to want to help. that's why i'm in psychology. it can be a LOT more than just washing your hands & checking your locks.

mfc2006, that's pretty cool. so you are now a psychologist? if you have any info on alternative treatment or options for dealing with conditions like this, please share them here! not all of us are in positions to go see therapists, and I'm sure some of us don't even want to. so what are some things people can do on their own to ease symptoms?

Danimal

I don't think I have it....hell I'll pick up poo with my bare hands if I have to....

ledvedderman

mca47 wrote:

I'm def. OCD is many, many ways.

And I don't need a professional to tell me something that I already know! haha!

Here here. I know I have OCD and social anxiety. Social anciety is a big reason I don't drink. Drinking means I'll probably go to a bar, and I'm so amazingly uncomfortable out at a bar that it isn't even worth putting myself in a situation where I'll go.

Weird thing is that things like giving speeches, going to a ballgame, or going to the movies doesn't bother me.

mfc2006

goo wrote:

mfc2006 wrote:

an ex-gf of mine had severe OCD along with a crippling for of Social Anxiety disorder & I saw first hand how these things can destroy your life. having gone through that led me to want to help. that's why i'm in psychology. it can be a LOT more than just washing your hands & checking your locks.

mfc2006, that's pretty cool. so you are now a psychologist? if you have any info on alternative treatment or options for dealing with conditions like this, please share them here! not all of us are in positions to go see therapists, and I'm sure some of us don't even want to. so what are some things people can do on their own to ease symptoms?

not quite yet. I'm working on my Ed. S degree in Educational Psychology. So, in 2 years or so I'll be one. As far as treatment goes, it depends on the individual. Some people react to prescriptions, others need intense therapy & behavior modification treatments. there are treatment options available in the non-profit sector as well. and for those that want to seek treatment through their insurance, most forms are treatment are covered or you can alter your insurance to have them covered.

mfc2006

ledvedderman wrote:

mca47 wrote:

I'm def. OCD is many, many ways.

And I don't need a professional to tell me something that I already know! haha!

Here here. I know I have OCD and social anxiety. Social anciety is a big reason I don't drink. Drinking means I'll probably go to a bar, and I'm so amazingly uncomfortable out at a bar that it isn't even worth putting myself in a situation where I'll go.

Weird thing is that things like giving speeches, going to a ballgame, or going to the movies doesn't bother me.

that's the thing...it's a personal disorder. sure, one person may have s.a. or ocd affect them in similar ways as others, but it is never exactly the same. plus, there are also varying degrees of each disorder and how that disorder can affect you day-to-day life.

mca47

ledvedderman wrote:

mca47 wrote:

I'm def. OCD is many, many ways.

And I don't need a professional to tell me something that I already know! haha!

Here here. I know I have OCD and social anxiety. Social anciety is a big reason I don't drink. Drinking means I'll probably go to a bar, and I'm so amazingly uncomfortable out at a bar that it isn't even worth putting myself in a situation where I'll go.

Weird thing is that things like giving speeches, going to a ballgame, or going to the movies doesn't bother me.

Really?

I would think the booze would HELP with the social anxiety. It doesn't reduce the anxiety?

I know I get very social when I'm drinking!

iluvcats

mfc2006 wrote:

an ex-gf of mine had severe OCD along with a crippling for of Social Anxiety disorder & I saw first hand how these things can destroy your life. having gone through that led me to want to help. that's why i'm in psychology. it can be a LOT more than just washing your hands & checking your locks.

if she had social anxiety disorder, what did she tell you about talking to people? Did she get nervous or avoid people? I get really light headed when I talk to certain people and I was wondering if that's it. Did she not make plans with people?

I'm so afraid of thunderstorms, that for a while (like 15 years ago) I was afriad to make plans b/c I did not want to get caught in one.

mfc2006

iluvcats wrote:

mfc2006 wrote:

an ex-gf of mine had severe OCD along with a crippling for of Social Anxiety disorder & I saw first hand how these things can destroy your life. having gone through that led me to want to help. that's why i'm in psychology. it can be a LOT more than just washing your hands & checking your locks.

if she had social anxiety disorder, what did she tell you about talking to people? Did she get nervous or avoid people? I get really light headed when I talk to certain people and I was wondering if that's it. Did she not make plans with people?

I'm so afraid of thunderstorms, that for a while (like 15 years ago) I was afriad to make plans b/c I did not want to get caught in one.

well, it hadn't quite manifested itself when we met. eventually, she progressively began to withdraw from social situations. she skipped class to the point of having to leave school, she couldn't hold a job and basically stayed at home all of the time. it is able to pass along this disorder, which is what happened in her case. her Dad's social anxiety ruined his marriage, forced him to quit college when he was only 2 classes short of graduating at the top of his class, and the last i heard (6 years ago) he was living at a homeless shelter. they both have/had avoidance tendencies with their anxiety. i saw it cripple their lives completely.

comebackgirl

I have to do things in a certain order. I have routines and if I do things in a different order it kind of freaks me out...not enough to interfere with my life. I definitely have a lot of OCD tendencies, but not enough to meet criteria for a diagnosis.

BlackThirteen

I think I probably have OCD. I have a change of clothes for when I get home. I never wear clothes that I've worn out around the house. Basically I have a completely irrational fear of germs. The funny thing is I know it's irrational and stupid but it still bothers me go figure. So that's my OCD "condition...

rhcpjam1029

i have to make sure i'm always clean, i have to make sure things are always locked/shut/closed and secured tightly (and i mean very tightly---to an extent where no one else can even open it like bottles and etc.,), i have to run off of a very situated schedule, i have to touch a lot of things a certain amount of times, i can't be touched by other people, etc. it goes on an on lol.

soulsinging

iluvcats wrote:

i went to the bank the other day and had to go to the teller's office, she shook my hand and i cringed.
as soon as i went outside, i applied hand sanitizer. i try to use my own pen too and i had to use her pen.
i feel like an idiot; in the eighties, for example, we did not think about such things, but times have changed.
as soon as i get home from the store (after pushing the cart), I wash my hands.
they have medicine for OCD. go to Paxil's website.

Yeah, that's OCD. Relax. That obsessive hand-washing exposes you to MORE risk. Your body develops no defenses to basic diseases, and the advent of these things helps to mutate super bugs that are resistant to basic hygiene.

I used to have compulsive buying issues... I couldn't own one cd by a band, I had to either have none of their cd's or all of them. Sometimes it bothers me for some reason that most of the cd's on my shelf come from the latter half of the alphabet (they're all in alphabetical order)... I feel like it should be more balanced. But I kinda got over that and don't really care anymore. Not like I used to anyway.

iluvcats

soulsinging wrote:

iluvcats wrote:

i went to the bank the other day and had to go to the teller's office, she shook my hand and i cringed.
as soon as i went outside, i applied hand sanitizer. i try to use my own pen too and i had to use her pen.
i feel like an idiot; in the eighties, for example, we did not think about such things, but times have changed.
as soon as i get home from the store (after pushing the cart), I wash my hands.
they have medicine for OCD. go to Paxil's website.

Yeah, that's OCD. Relax. That obsessive hand-washing exposes you to MORE risk. Your body develops no defenses to basic diseases, and the advent of these things helps to mutate super bugs that are resistant to basic hygiene.

I used to have compulsive buying issues... I couldn't own one cd by a band, I had to either have none of their cd's or all of them. Sometimes it bothers me for some reason that most of the cd's on my shelf come from the latter half of the alphabet (they're all in alphabetical order)... I feel like it should be more balanced. But I kinda got over that and don't really care anymore. Not like I used to anyway.

but I don't wash my hands 80 x a day. I heard my little half sister did. she felt dirty and would scrub and scrub. I see people at work picking their nose or they have unclean bathroom habits, I think that is why I don't want to shake hands. I only get about 3 colds or less in the winter. When I used to not wash my hands as much (in the eighties) and bite my fingernails in staff meetings, I was really sick often.

my cds are a mess and are not in order.

blondieblue227

I think everyone has little things that they do but it’s when it goes to extreme is when it’s a problem.

My guy has it. seems to get worse with time. it’s a control thing definitely.

Yeah CDS! He was bad with them. Had to have all the artists albums and couldn’t be a scratch on it or case or booklet. It’s fucking insane. He got an ipod, and I was so glad he didn’t have to nitpick over CDs anymore.

And for the drinking. Drinking helps me socialize. I don’t have to drink to socialize but yup, it helps.