Is this OCD?

[Janna Sheppard]

Hi!

This may sound funny but from an early age, possibly as young as 5, I have performed 'rituals' - my best friend calls them 'habits'. These still plague me now.

I have to do things a certain amount of times - usually an even number and if I don't I get extremely stressed and can't think straight coz I think things are going to happen to people that I care about. It's not me that physically causes these things but in a way it is because I havn't performed what I was supposed to.

Examples are turning light switches on and off. I have been known to do this around 8 to 10 times and my friend always says she can tell when I'm at home because she sees me doing this.

My previous boyfriend noticed my habits and now everytime I do something he asks me what it is I think will happen, which I find rather embarrassing.

If I'm tired or in a rush the situation gets worse and so am consequently late for things and everything I do takes a long time. It happens at work aswell and I'm paranoid that people will notice that I have touched the same place on the wall or have opened and closed the door over 10 times.

Reading is a nightmare - I have found myself reading the same paragraph at least 4 times not because I don't understand it but because I get very distressed and can't concentrate on anything else until I have.

I have been known to sit in silence for hours trying to get my thoughts straight. I have to think the same things several times in a row and if something else enters my mind at the same time I have to start all over again rethinking both the previous thought and the new thought or something will happen.

Please advise me as this has been going on for almost 17 years and intrudes on every area of my life. It has got to the point where I will avoid doing certain things because I know it will take me 20 minutes to do it rather than just two.

[Helena]

Hi, I am a chartered Counselling Psychologist and it does sound like you are experiencing the symptoms of OCD. You do not have to live the next 17 years with this level of stress and anxiety. The best thing to do is go to your GP and ask to be referred to a psychologist at the community mental health team. The professionals working there will be familiar with these types of difficulties, and who will be able to help you to make some changes that will reduce the impact of thises worries on your life. There is no miracle cure, but if you are willing to work at it, significant change is possible. I wish you really good luck, Helena

[Wishfulthinking]

Hi Janna,

I am new to this site and read your email yesterday but didn't feel i was experienced enough to comment on your query. I did recognise similarities in the things you do. I have recently come to realise that i am suffering from what i believe to be OCD and having suffered from Panic Attacks for some years have noticed the connection having glanced at this site. For me i think the OCD is another way my brain decides to react to what is happening. I don't think my symptoms are that bad but do think that it's good to recognise the sypmtoms before they get progressively worse. I have certain habits that tend to work on a cycle and when something interupts the cycle i tend to go back to the start. Reading like you is something i find really hard and especially if something or someone distracts me. I can go over and over the same sections and then get bored as i never get any further. My brain seems to struggle to seperate from all the other things going on long enough for me to concentrate. There are lot's of what seem like fairly insignificant things to many but they do interfer with day to day life. My husband tries to be sympathetic but doesn't really understand it. We caught the end of a programme on cable the other night that showed examples of people suffering with OCD and they were extreme but i think atleast it show's that is it a problem and a medical one at that. I don't wish to go on medication but it has been mentioned b4 about going to see someone (cant think of the term for it) but at the time the referal never came through and i just thought hey ho thanks for nothing lol. Some day's are better than others and i can't work out why. I can get through most of my day off and feel really pleased with myslelf for getting so much done (my way!) and then im back struggling the next.
I intend to see what i can do about it one way or another. All the best to you and yours x
Cognitive Therapy that's the term i was looking for.

[kate]

Hi all,

Just stumbled across this thread as I'm worried about my daughter.

For the past 6 months or so, she has started to ritually count things and they always have to arrive at an even number.

She also has to do this to stop "bad" things happening to us, her family.

Also, if she has said someone looks ugly or something else along those sorts of lines, she has to pray and tell God that she didnt mean it, in order to prevent bad things happening.

She has also recently started to have to exit the bathroom backwards, but I'm trying to help her break the habit on that one by going up with her and waiting outside the bathroom.

She also has to repeat things a number of times until she gets in right in her own mind.

I am worried that this could be the start of OCD, but I could of course be wrong and it is just her being an anxious type.

I'm also racked with guilt cos I would imagine that she has picked up the anxiety from me. Just something else to beat myself up over.

Has anyone any suggestions?

Thanks

Kate x

[sarah]

Hiya Kate

Firstly, im not gonna tell you not to worry because we all know that we panic peeps have a special gene that makes is worry more...lol

Your daughters counting might be something that will grow into nothing but a phase. My mate in no way has OCD but she counts things in multiples of 5. When I made up her baby's bottle she made me shake it 20, 25, 30 times but it doesnt rule her life, its just a thing she does.

I think you are doing the right thing by going to the bathroom with her, sounds like a good start to me. Maybe just by talking to her and asking her why etc she might open up to you and you can work through it together.

For years when I was little I used to have certain rituals I had to do (not going in to them, they sound real stupid now..lol) but even now situations will come along and I will find myself doing these things now and I just do it for a bit then laugh it off.

Unless youve got a crystal ball there, theres no way of telling if its just a phase or something thats going to develop, maybe you should just keep and eye on her and see how it goes.

Is she seeing or hearing things maybe on the news or at school which is causing her to think more about the bad things that happen in the world?

Wow sorry kate that was a garbled message I just gave you there but I hope you get my drift...lol

hope you are ok.

love Sarah
xx

[kate]

Hiya Sarah,

Thanks for the reply.

I have asked her if she knows why she is doing it and she says it its just to stop anything bad happening.

She doesn't ever not want to go to school, even when she is ill so I don't think she has any problems there.

I think that I might be the problem in that she has picked up on me being anxious.

Another thing she has told me she does is, when she needs to brush her hair, she has to choose one and then touch each of the other brushes an even number of times.

I am at a loss to think of any other reasons why she is getting anxious cos I never have the news on the telly cos it depresses me too much!

I am hoping it is in fact just an anxious phase she is going through, but I suppose only time will tell.

Should I do anything in the meantime though does anyone know?

Or should I just ignore it and hope it rectifies itself?

Kate x

[Meg]

Kate,

It's like making up her own superstitions and keeping to them. It is very common with children for them to build their own safety net around themselves, things they alone can control.

Ask her if she can agree with herself to make it less counts than now and then in a few weeks get her to agree with herself to lower it again and so forth

Another more drastic way to tackle it is to try to make activities spontaneous and quick so you can bypass one of these things as she's in a hurry and excited about something else.
She may be able to shrug it off when she remembers and reason that it was ok this time and nothing has happened so will be ok next time or you may have the screaming habdabs.

Does she have any rituals at school ?



Meg

"Come to the edge."
"We can't. We're afraid."
"Come to the edge."
"We can't. We will fall!"
"Come to the edge."
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

- Guillaume Apollinaire

[kate]

Thanks for the advice, Meg.

I just asked her if she has any rituals at school and she says she doesn't know!

Will try asking her again later but I think she is embarassed about it all. Understandable I suppose.

Do you think it is my anxiety having rubbed off on her?

Kate x

[G-Man6]

Hi Kate R,
I am new to this forum. I was reading through the the different postings, and noticed the reference to your daughter and her rituals. I have experienced anxiety for a number of years. The anxiety eventually turned into an anxiety disorder followed by Obessive Compulsive Disorder. My main symtoms were fear of contamination, excessive handwasing and showering, excessive checking of different things where I live both inside and outside. I am not a doctor so I can not say whether or not your daughter has OCD. There are some helpul books in the selp-help section of most book stores which can help determine if she has OCD. Alot of people can have obsessive/compulsive tendencies at times and not have OCD. I have been able to make my obsessions/compulsions manageable using a combination of self-help books, medication, cognitive and behavior therapy. I am currently on partial disability and working to get off disability. One thing you can look at is to see if your daughters rituals are affecting the way she functions. This is one way doctors determine if someone is exhibiting signs of OCD. I also experience anxiety attacks once in a while. One book that helped me determine whether I had I had OCD was called Getting control of your obsessions and compulsions by Dr. LEE Baer. I hope this helps.. G-Man6

[kate]

Hiya G Man,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not too sure as to extent of my daughters rituals as she is very secretive about them.

I don't know if she has told me the full story or not.

I first asked her about them several months ago as I noticed she was repeating things, such as saying she loved me, several times.

She told me she has to say them to stop anything bad happening.

She then told me of further things ie the praying bit over the last few weeks.

So, I am not really able to say how much these rituals affect her life.

I will take your advice and visit the library tomorrow.

Thanks for your posting and I will let you know how I get on.

Kate x