Do you have OCD?

OMG hey, you know what that happens to me too. For me it used to be washing my hands and doing things in even numbers. Now it's intrusive thoughts and some sort of way to get rid of them and a general obsession over something. not like some of those kids with twilight *shivers*....I mean drugs. Right now im fascinated with heroin and meth. I have an addictive personality. So I just research it.

 

HAHAHAA YES ...........I love you.

 

marry me?

 

Of course you fool! *swoons*

 

My sister suffers with OCD. It's actually a lot better than it has been. She suffers various other mental disorders and her OCD was also diagnosed in hospital. She takes medication for it which really helps. If she didn't, I think there's a high chance the disorder could literally take over her life.

I don't believe OCD is as common as thought. I find a lot of people I know diagnose their own OCD but I do think lots of people suffer with obsessions, and maybe even obsessive-compulsive symptoms (without having OCD), some worse than others. I (for example) obsess about cleanliness. I couldn't care less about mess, but the thought of germs repulses me. It started when I had a bad skin reaction to medication and developed a mild eczema so I'd worry about keeping clean. I used to hate touching things when I was out and about. Work was the worst thing. If I handled money or even used a computer that hadn't been disinfected since it was last used then I had to wash my hands thoroughly. I'd wash my hands randomly too, to make sure there really were no germs there. I washed and washed until my hands were painful, cracked and bleeding. I had open wounds and it was pretty nasty. That was when I realised I had to stop. I started keeping a little bottle of Purell in my pocket. Antibacterial hand gel is actually pretty shit stuff but it helped me a lot, I started using that instead of washing my hands all the time. I do still wash my hands too much, they're always dry and they crack in the cold weather but they're not painful and I do still worry about germs but not as much. I guess this can be fairly common. I get lots of colds, a few friends think it's because I'm petrified of germs so my body doesn't fight them so well. Food and drink when I'm out and about can be hard work if I've got germs on my mind too. It's generally not a problem in a nice restaurant but if I'm at someone's house and I feel uncomfortable then all I think about is germs. I realise how rude it is to refuse food or a drink, especially when the only excuse I have is germs- there's only so many times I can say "I've eaten, I'm not hungry" or "Yes, I'm coughing and dying in the heat but I really don't need a drink right now" but I'll literally throw up. I do know it's all in my head. However it doesn't stress me out. I just think of myself as silly.

I'm amazed at how many people think it's something that can just be shaken off. It's a very real disorder and not an easy one to overcome. There are a few people in my family who don't understand and can't accept my sisters illness. She has other more serious illnesses than OCD and the most frustrating thing is getting one of them on the phone saying "You must tell her to study. Or get a job. Occupy her mind. She needs a hobby, she has to shake this off once and for all.." Like I'm going to suddenly say "Oh great advice, thanks! That solves everything. If I'd only thought of telling her that myself a few years ago then we could've avoided this whole situation all together.." Anxiety disorders are not that hard to comprehend, people just need to accept them.

 

Oh, how sweet!










uke:

 

Everything but the dead cat.

 

yes OCD is not having an interest in a certain topic. That certain interest happens to all sorts of people in different ways. Some people get that about sports some people get that about cars. Most people get some strong interest in a certain topic. A lot of people it comes and goes till you get a new one. but that is not OCD.

OCD is like: Oh no I just touched a booger under this desk! Then all of the sudden you get this constant thought that won't go away constantly saying to you like a voice in your head" unless you wash your hands something bad is going to happen". And this thought will constantly annoy you and bug you till you go and wash your hands.

another form of OCD:

you leave your house and say you had washed your hand or something before you left your house. Then all of the sudden you get a thought that constantly bugs you. The though is wondering if you turned the sink off before you left. and your mind keeps telling you that you might have left the faucet on and the water is still running. but the thought will keep bugging and annoying you till you go and see if you did turn the faucet off or not. same thing happens with did I lock the door?

ummmm

there is sexual OCD. don't really need to explain that one.

There is visual OCD. such as on a table things must be placed a certain way your you have a constant annoying thought till things are placed in a certain way.


The most common OCD though is the one where you have a thought that something is going to harm you or something bad will happen. such as germs and hand washing.


but no OCD is not I am interested in DMT. unless your like driving in your car to the store to go pick up milk and then all of the sudden have way to the store your like" OMG I MUST GO DRIVE BACK HOME AND RESEARCH DMT" and if you don't you will feel a constant thought that clouds your mind and bugs you.

 

i totally know what you mean about the whole focus and attention span thing. That is what I still struggle with the most. Especially sometimes in social situation people think I am ignoring them. Like sometimes I can socialize fine and other times depending on my mood I cannot focus.

A lot of my friends would get mad because sometimes they would call me to hang out and I would not be in the mood. So I would just tell them nah I just feel like chilling at home. and they would be like WTF why do you want to chill at home. and I am like that's what I am in the mood to do right now.

I am bi-polar too though. Sometimes I get in super social moods with lots of energy and I love to go to parties and such and I am super focused and I get no OCD and no thoughts or anything like that.

then of course I have times where I get OCD easily. Where I am very quiet. I get lots of anxiety. I prefer to be alone sometimes when I am like this it depends though. Usually when I am like this I have the focus problem. It makes it easily for people to not like me when I am like this.

 

I suffered that same exact hand washing OCD you have. The same exact way you described it. I used to wash my hands so much that they become super dry and discolored. For me though It came out of no where 1 year. Then it lasted about 1 year. Then 1 year later it completely went away. Now I almost never wash my hands unless I go to the bathroom. I can even drop a sandwich in the middle of the street pick it up and eat it now.

 

Exactly, it's almost like the ocd evolves over the years. Now its more like intrusive thoughts and different ways to deal with them other then washing your hands.

 

haha yep. it's like ok I beat this OCD now I get to face this new one.

 

this person has the power to not do that, they have choices, just because they convince themselves that they dont and refuse to deal with reality doesnt mean they should be given a crutch to walk on for the rest of their lives.

but its a lot easier for the victim and a lot more profitable for the pharma companies and health care industry to keep them "sick"

the victim generally doesnt want to be better, because that would mean they have to take responsibility for their shitty lives.

 

While I think that people can certainly learn to cope with OCD without medication, I think its ridiculous to suggest that someone can stop a person's OCD tendencies simply by calling them out on it.