Do you have a touch of OCD?

[Jalapeñomel]

I am medicated for OCD, so yes.

[circa1978]

Fwiw, before I had Henry, my OCD was misdiagnosed as depression. If anyone reading this is really having these symptoms, know that there is so much help and support available.

[theoriginalbean]

That was/is me, too, lexxasaurus - I spent my entire adolescence thinking that I was crazy, and terrified to tell anyone because I didn't want to be sent away.

[cinnamoncox0]

May 13, 2016 6:24:53 GMT -5 VillainV said:

There are things that I'm particular about, but it's not really possible to have a "little" OCD. It's a real disorder that real people have, and claiming to have a touch of it kind of brushes off their real struggles.

But I am particular about leaving the kitchen sink on "stream" instead of "spray" and I get anxiety over being on time for things.

Yes, I don't mean this to anyone in particular, but this can be very serious and extremely difficult to manage and try to live with. It can be so hard to diagnose too, as many anxiety disorders are comorbid.

I do have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, but the OCD is what almost debilitates me. I've been this way since I can recall. It's such a mind fuck I can't even describe it. And it took until I was about 32 (4 yrs ago) to get the diagnosis. Until then I just thought I was many other things, no need to get too specific. It's awful.

To anyone here truly struggling with OCD hugs and fist bumps. It's the suck.
Some of these posts say spectrum to me vs OCD. Doesn't matter which ones.
Good luck here everyone has some struggle so I don't mean to diminish anyone's experience, but true OCD is wicked.

(Hugs) everyone
tryingtobehappy I see a lot of similarities between us from what you've posted. Take care, hun.

[cinnamoncox0]

May 13, 2016 12:49:23 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

I have actual OCD as opposed to a touch of it LOL. Mine is what is sometimes referred to a "pure obsession" OCD as I don't have overt compulsions (like counting, checking, etc.)

A lot of what people understand to be OCD (which is an anxiety disorder) is actually Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (a personality disorder).

Me too, I'm predominantly O with C tendencies.

Sucks!! I've found klonopin to be the only thing that can touch it. I tried so many different meds until this one and I see such an improvement. I never thought I'd see any relief.

[frannyr]

This has been helpful and I know my (and I doubt anyone's) intent is to offend or anger. I appreciate all the responses because this does impact my life in more ways than I shared here. I feel deeply for anyone suffering.

[bonquiqui]

I check my straightener and stove multiple times before leaving. I'm so paranoid about it.

[nikki25]

Wow, thank you everyone for sharing and man did it open my eyes to my own behavior.

I definitely have very strong thoughts when driving. Like driving off the bridge or running into a tree at high speed. I think these thoughts when going down the shore which is odd.

I also have to fix crooked pictures EVERYWHERE. I would walk into my boss's office for a meeting and fix his pictures, lol. Thank God he was cool. I have also returned how tonshe to check to make sure the Iron is off and my flat iron.

I did leave my flat iron on in high school and it burned through my hamper. It didn't cause a fire luckily but was close.

[mcmel]

May 14, 2016 10:33:20 GMT -5 bonquiqui said:

I check my straightener and stove multiple times before leaving. I'm so paranoid about it.

Dryer and dishwasher too.

[cabbage10]

My doctor has told me I have OCD but I feel like it's just severe anxiety. I also have the hair straighter issue, garage door and stove problems. I have come home from work to check those things convinced my house is on fire because I forgot them.

The worst though is locking the front door. I can go up and down the stairs 6 times and turn the doorknob and still ask my FI to check. I also do the alarm clock check, I slide the alarm button back and forth to hear the reassuring click it is on.

I also have to turn the Tv volume to an even number or a 5 on the range. I have always had to do this and if someone else controls the volume and doesn't set it right I need to take the remote and fix it.

I won't even get into the driving thing because this post is making me feel sad about all the time of my day I waste on these things .

[loira]

No, but I have little neuroses. I do not consider being neurotic to be the same as OCD.

[hokiegirl82]

I am not diagnosed with OCD, but I do have GAD and am on meds for it and I've had some obsessive phases of my life. Oddly enough, as soon as I became a SAHM 2 years ago almost all of my obsessive practices (checking the alarm multiple times, checking the door locks multiple times, etc) disappeared. I think that the anxiety and stress I was under at my job were bringing out obsessive tendencies in me. Staying at home with a toddler isn't a walk in the park, but I have so much less stress And anxiety now and the obsessions are gone.

Hugs to anyone suffering from OCD.

[blondemoment123]

May 13, 2016 8:44:17 GMT -5 tictac said:

I do not have OCD, but I do had GAD, and one of the ways my anxiety manifests is apparently obsessive thoughts. I didn't even realize it was an issue I had (I used to have panic attacks a lot, so THAT'S why I initially sought treatment) until I had been on medication for a while and had a moment of "I didn't check to see if the back door was locked this morning, even though nobody has opened it since the last time I made sure it was locked" and realized I was able to shrug it off with "well, it's probably still locked then" and go about my day.

Before medication, that scenario would have played out with me spending my entire day being unable to think about anything other than somebody was definitely going to break into my house and murder my cats (and only murder my cats, the hypothetical intruders weren't going to rob us or anything, they just wanted to murder the cats). And then after I got home and confirmed the door was still locked, I would have spent the rest of my week being unable to think about anything other than "BUT WHAT IF IT *HAD* BEEN UNLOCKED?!?! MY CATS WOULD HAVE BEEN MURDERED AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL MY FAULT!!!!!"

"Regular" anxiety fucking sucks. I cant even fathom the living hell that actual OCD is.

I can 100% relate to this. Except my scenario is that someone will steal the cats.

[Alex]

My OCD was diagnosed as a young child when I would literally spend all afternoon walking back and forth from the house to the barn. I had to keep checking that I latched the gate to keep my calf in. It was awful. I was so happy to know there was a reason I had the "quirks" that I did.

[Deleted]

May 13, 2016 12:40:49 GMT -5 mnp555 said:

I have trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) which is a manifestation of OCD, and it is awful. It started when I was 9 and I pulled out all of my eyebrows and eyelashes. I was mercilessly bullied about it for years. I have been through years of therapy for it but have only succeeded in refocusing my hair pulling to more appropriate (hidden) places and also to picking at my cuticles (which ends up being to the point of bleeding). My mother has vocalized her wish that I "just stop" and I think my husband wonders why I can't as well. I have anxiety about being "called out" for it, like at a manicure. I am terrified my daughter will suffer from this compulsion too. It makes me deeply sad that my genetics exposed her to this possibility and I feel incredibly selfish for having her, knowing that she could have it too. And this is still not a terrible, life ruining form of ocd-- it is just painful and embarrassing.

Lurker popping in: I have trich too and it absolutely sucks. Currently, the crown of my head is almost completely bald. I pull both ways: focused and unfocused. Focused is worse for my mind; the hair has to come out of my head a certain way--too much or too little resistance and I need to pull another. Then once it's out the root needs to feel a certain temperature--too warm or too cool and I need another. Then the BEST is when a little piece of dry scalp gets stuck to the root and I can run my fingers over it several times before the root finally comes off of the hair. The perfect hair is when all of these factors come together. THEN I need to pull another because maybe--JUST MAYBE--it'll be perfect too. It never is and the cycle continues.

Unfocused is worse for my hair. I can try to force myself to deal with the anxiety to pull when I'm focused on the pulling, but unfocused, I can pull for hours and have a great big ball of hair on the floor before I realize I'm even pulling. The unfocused is worse in bed, before falling asleep and right when I wake up and don't want to get out of bed.

I also have GAD that manifests with obsessive thoughts. I also have the daydreams that PP have mentioned about diving off bridges/jumping from high places or my kid/husband/me dying in car accidents. It had gotten so bad that I was daydreaming in the car and didn't remember driving from point A to point B over a 40 minute commute. I drove on autopilot the entire way. That's what caused me to seek medication.

The TTM is still out of control and it kills me that my mom and husband don't understand why I just can't stop. They will call me out and say "stop pulling your hair" and I say "ok" and in the next instant I'm pulling again. I need to buy fidget toys or something to keep my hands occupied and I need CBT. But my insurance sucks at this point, so I'll live with it some more.

I'm sorry to everyone else who is suffering with OCD and any other obsessive disorder. They blow.