Is this OCD?

[Xamublack]

My wife has these rituals that she has to do before bed every night and they seem to be getting worse. She has to stare at the house keys on the counter for maybe 5 to 10 minutes to make sure they are there because she says it doesn't register and if she doesn't make sure they are there something bad might happen.

Same thing with a number of other things like the lint filter in the dryer and the locks on the doors etc. I know all of this sounds exactly like it should be OCD, but the thing is she doesn't suffer from any of it during the day, only at night before bed.

She says that if she hasn't cancelled out her list at night that she can't sleep and I think she has some kind of phobia of not getting enough sleep .. so I can't tell if its OCD or some type of non-sleep-a-phobia type of ritual.

If anyone has experienced this are there some tricks, books, videos or anything that she can use to direct herself off of this path?

[Stormsky]

hi
yes it is OCD, the fear that something will happen if she doesnt perform those actions.. like you said the brain doesnt register the first time round, and gets stuck in repetition...there are plenty of threads on here on OCD for you to look at... it doesnt happen in the day, as her fears are probably safety in the house, ie the checking doors before leaving house or locking up before bed., and checking things cant set the house alight... i have the same locking up at night, checking the doors more than once, making sure gas hob is off more than once...

[blingkasa]

Hi, yes it is OCD, its a form of checking because she feels that if she doesnt do it something bad will happen and the more she tries to not do it the more anxious she will feel. I have it. I have to do certain " rituals" too, if i dont do them then i feel uneasy and cant relax. If you go on Youtube there is a programme called " The OCD project" which is a series showing what OCD is and how exposure therapy can cure it. Also a Doctor called Jeffrey Schwartz has written books on the subject. It would be great if your wife could get some support or therapy. And how great to have such an understanding partner. All the best !

[Carys]

Yes, it is, as stated by the others above.

I have had a stressful week this week and have been checking, double, triple and quadruple etc. checking things before leaving the house (that is my checking time, rather than bedtime) It took me ages to get out of the house on Monday as I ran back round the house 4 times to go round the rooms checking everything was off. I do the staring thing too......with things like the rabbit run being locked....as I think I am not registering it is locked and the rabbits will get out. I can't tell you how many times I've started driving away from home and then gone back in to check....again...just incase I am about to start a house fire for example. Maybe your wife is feeling anxious at the moment and this is coming out in her OCD behaviour ? When I am not stressed I am able to be far more in control with OCD behaviours.