One flat foot

[helenhoo]

Is this normal? My left foot is flat (not completely) and my right has the normal arch. I've never encountered any problems just something I noticed when coming out shower. Footprint shows one with curve with arch and other almost flat.

Seperate issue; I'm also worried that I used excercise bike and one leg felt it more than the other....

[hanshan]

Yes, normal.

[flipp]

Hi Helen.Your feet are normal, I have 2 left feet one foot with 6 toes..lol.
Keep focused.
:hugs:.

[brucealmighty]

I am from wales where its normal to have 7 toes on each foot, a hump and a tendency to eat your own children,
your feet sound fine to me


are you still going to south korea soon?

[GadGirl]

It's called a fallen arch.. Many people have it - do you just scan your body every day to find some sort of issue?

[pulisa]

I'm really in the dark as to how your daily changing observations about your body equate to magical thinking OCD, Reb. What is it that worries you about having a fallen arch? What do you think will happen if you have a fallen arch?

[brucealmighty]

I`m clueless on it too but just found this on `peace of mind.com` which explains ocd

`Magical thinking is an illogical thought pattern characterized by the linking of unrelated actions or events. Individuals may become preoccupied with lucky or unlucky numbers, colors, words, actions, sayings or superstitions and link them to catastrophe or ‘bad things’ that might happen. The individual with ‘magical thinking’ OCD truly believes and lives by these rules and consequences, often with the belief that the mere act of thinking results in the occurrence of a feared event.`

sounds like another way of saying someone is superstitious, I know people who won`t have shoes on a table, put an umbrella up indoors etc and really would be scared if you tried to do either, but they put it down to traditions or folklore so don`t link it to being mentally impaired in any way.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I`m clueless on it too but just found this on `peace of mind.com` which explains ocd

`Magical thinking is an illogical thought pattern characterized by the linking of unrelated actions or events. Individuals may become preoccupied with lucky or unlucky numbers, colors, words, actions, sayings or superstitions and link them to catastrophe or ‘bad things’ that might happen. The individual with ‘magical thinking’ OCD truly believes and lives by these rules and consequences, often with the belief that the mere act of thinking results in the occurrence of a feared event.`

sounds like another way of saying someone is superstitious, I know people who won`t have shoes on a table, put an umbrella up indoors etc and really would be scared if you tried to do either, but they put it down to traditions or folklore so don`t link it to being mentally impaired in any way.

Google "OCD Types" and click on OCD UK's result. Scroll down to Magical Thinking and it will give you examples of the types of compulsions people can have.

Bare in mind that many of the elements of OCD are normal behaviours that have become a problem. Magical Thinking includes superstition, coincidence and the paranoia they come with BUT like ALL OCD, it's about the fact it has become a problem interfering with the person's life NOT that they do something many non anxious people do.

Magical Thinking is something you will see in children quite a lot.

It's only a theme of OCD. It can be singular, dominant, equally impacting as other themes, inferior, etc. It doesn't have to be everything the person experiences.

[pulisa]

It's a good job that Reb's magical thinking doesn't impact on her daily life then as she is still able to hold down a job, go on holiday, stay with friends etc.. Other forms of OCD can be a hell of a lot more restricting and tormenting as my daughter and I know from our own personal experience and I know that you have been tormented by it too, Terry.

[helenhoo]

Is it magical thinking where I obsess over my memory AND whether someone else had seen or heard something I have. I'm having a relaxing break with my cousin and I'm asking things like 'we saw horses earlier didn't we' knowing full well we did. I just wanted confirmation I wasn't imagining it. And 'do you hear children around here' thinking I'd imagined it. I think back to what I've done throughout the day & make sure I haven't missed anything.

Note I don't do this often but it annoys me when I do. Anybody else get a sad feeling with their OCD/anxiety. Like you're pissed off at yourself?

[Katy_o]

Anybody else get a sad feeling with their OCD/anxiety. Like you're pissed off at yourself?

Constantly. Living with anxiety is exhausting. The impact that it has on my life is hard enough to deal with. But what makes me really sad is when I see the impact it has on those around me.

---------- Post added at 19:20 ---------- Previous post was at 19:10 ----------

I am doing everything I can to beat this though with meds, therapy and lifestyle changes. Your constant questioning of your body, mind, everything and everyone around you must be exhausting. I really hope you are seeking professional help and not just looking for help on the Internet.

[pulisa]

I think for most people OCD is a constant, disturbing and highly distressing component of every day life which can cause enormous frustration and anger.

[hanshan]

My OCD is way down at the mild end, but it really annoys me that I can't leave the house without checking the same things several times - when I know I've just checked them.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It's a good job that Reb's magical thinking doesn't impact on her daily life then as she is still able to hold down a job, go on holiday, stay with friends etc.. Other forms of OCD can be a hell of a lot more restricting and tormenting as my daughter and I know from our own personal experience and I know that you have been tormented by it too, Terry.


I think for most people OCD is a constant, disturbing and highly distressing component of every day life which can cause enormous frustration and anger.

Yes, and it depends on it's context too. Some of the issues that my OCD has picked relate to daily life with my sleep cycles so it's hard to have normality in your life when you are fighting to take back control of what most people take for granted.

It's also the usual Mild, Moderate and Severe categories. When I see people say someone is Severe just because they post a lot of reassurance it means a lot less to me than the fact they are able to maintain a full time job when I've spent years just struggling to do anything in a day let alone the big things. The severity levels look at the impairment to regular life and that is why a GP will see someone able to work & socialise/go on holidays, etc as a major plus point. They tend to worry when we start retreating from work as they know that's a downward spiral into more intense daily problems, something that I have done twice and suffered badly for.

So, MT can be just as bad if the anxiety is there. MT wasn't as bad in terms of intrusive thoughts for me, it was the compulsions that were linked to it that drove me mad. I just couldn't stop those strong urges but they were all non harmful in nature, unlike how we don't act out of intrusive thoughts which are ego dystonic in nature.

Anyway, Reb's worries over schizophrenia point towards another form too and then there has been all the physical HA stuff with the brain tumours, moles, etc. So, her OCD is intertwined in some ways where themes are crossing over, which is something I had a lot of. But it's that extremely irrational impossible linking between something to X that made me think MT was in play.

---------- Post added at 12:43 ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 ----------


Is it magical thinking where I obsess over my memory AND whether someone else had seen or heard something I have. I'm having a relaxing break with my cousin and I'm asking things like 'we saw horses earlier didn't we' knowing full well we did. I just wanted confirmation I wasn't imagining it. And 'do you hear children around here' thinking I'd imagined it. I think back to what I've done throughout the day & make sure I haven't missed anything.

Note I don't do this often but it annoys me when I do. Anybody else get a sad feeling with their OCD/anxiety. Like you're pissed off at yourself?

OCD UK's page has useful examples:

https://ocduk.org/types-ocd

Magical Thinking Intrusive Thoughts - is the fear is that even thinking about something bad will make it more likely to happen - sometimes also called ‘thought-action fusion’.
Sufferers are beset by intrusive bad thoughts. They try to dispel them by performing rituals - magic rituals, in effect - that are often bizarre and time-consuming and involve linking actions or events that could not possibly be related to each other. *For example having the thought 'I may strangle someone' is regarded as being as reprehensible as actually strangling a person. **Another example is believing that simply imagining a horrific car crash will increase the likelihood of such a crash taking place, or a person may feel that if they don’t count to ten ‘just right’ harm will come to a family member.* Other examples of magical thinking, or thought-action fusion intrusive thoughts include:
A certain colour or number has good or bad luck associated with it.
Certain days have good or bad luck associated with them.
A loved one’s death can be predicted.
One’s thoughts can cause disasters to occur.
Stepping on cracks in the pavement can make bad things happen.
Whatever comes to mind can come true.
Breaking chain letters will actually bring bad luck.
Attending a funeral will bring death.
One can inadvertently cause harm to others with thoughts or carelessness.
Hearing the word ‘death’ will mean repeating the word ‘life’ to prevent death.
In each example listed above, the thoughts and events happening could not possibly ever be linked, but the person with OCD will believe that this possibility does exist, and as a result, this will cause them immense stress and anxiety.* As a result, their silent internal compulsive behaviours will take hours, and often prevent them interacting with anyone else during this time.

I think you have typical issues with checking for reassurance, issues with Cognitive Distortions, and some MT and it's all colliding at times. The phantom smells stuff is possibly MT because of the highly irrational nature of it how you were attempting to link it to danger in various ways.

So, it wouldn't surprise me if you read these descriptions and then found examples of where you have had thoughts like this.

The more creative the mind, the more likely I reckon MT could be. But that's just me thinking about how some people are open-minded than others who can be more rigid and wouldn't seem as likely to wander so much into these areas.

MT is only one possibility, it's not the only one to me. Your schizophrenia worries fit the Schiz OCD theme that is common and the moles & brain tumours fit into the typical fear of contracting illness side of OCD (which I find a highly complicated one to differentiate from other anxiety disorders!).

[hanshan]

Thanks, Terry for your post. I know that I am down at the mild end of OCD because although I have to battle the "stop-and-check-it" disease just to get out of the house, once I do, I am magically set free. I don't know why, but work and travel aren't major problems.

Perhaps people with OCD posting could be referred to guidelines for severity of symptoms with regard to everyday life.

[pulisa]

I suppose I have always thought of any form of OCD as having a major effect on daily life and not as annoying behaviours which rarely impact on quality of life.

[Sparkling_Fairy]

I definitely have the magical thinking, have had as a child.
But I don't find it affects me on a daily basis. It's become such a part of my routine and I very often don't even notice I do it anymore. So it definitely doesn't have a major impact on my life

[helenhoo]

I get so confident in beating It though and then I'm back here with a new worry.

Worried just because I jerked while falling asleep and started dreaming as I feel to sleep. I worry because I was knowingly walking around garden and house pottering and looking for something to do/sit but I worry I was confused (I wasn't) every little damn thing I see a symptom of something and it's a constant battle. I'm trying to be as happy as I should be but I'm alert all the time.

[hanshan]

Momentarily jerking awake as you fall asleep and start dreaming is completely normal.

I used to get it all the time. I'd dream that I had accidentally stepped off a kerb or similar. My guess is that it is some primitive survival mechanism - a last check to see if it is safe before falling asleep.

[flipp]

Terry, I have a few of those on that list. I must ask my Psych next time I see him if I am a Magical Thinker.
Thanks for the info.:D.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks, Terry for your post. I know that I am down at the mild end of OCD because although I have to battle the "stop-and-check-it" disease just to get out of the house, once I do, I am magically set free. I don't know why, but work and travel aren't major problems.

Perhaps people with OCD posting could be referred to guidelines for severity of symptoms with regard to everyday life.

Hi hanshan,

Apologies for the late reply, I'm still catching up on bookmarked threads.

This is what the NHS say about assessment of severity:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obsessive-compulsive-disorder/Pages/Diagnosis.aspx

OCD is classified into three levels of severity:

mild functional impairment*– obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviour that occupies less than one hour of your day
moderate functional impairment*– obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviour that occupies*one to three*hours of your day
severe functional impairment*– obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviour that occupies more than three hours of your day

So, for me, I was way up there in severe. The treatment I had was based on my GAD though and not as severe. That's just how the NHS tend to operate, you go through a funnel to remove as many people as possible and those needing the more intense levels tend to be moved from list to list over a long period of time because severity plays little part in the real NHS where IAPT & CMHT rely on a GP deciding where to send you. And NICE make a point about very few GP's being trained to even recognise the lesser known themes in OCD.

That's a very basic way to assess severity anyway. According to NICE, severity when it comes to in-patient services is determined based on the disabling nature of the disorder. The more you engage in something, the more disabling, but that's not the only indicator of impairment otherwise hoarding would barely ever make it past mild yet that can be very detrimental to physical health for obvious reasons. Other criteria in assessing severity with NICE also includes the refractory/resistant nature and how damaging it is in terms of inability to care for yourself, suicide risk, self harm, etc.

---------- Post added at 09:04 ---------- Previous post was at 06:47 ----------


Terry, I have a few of those on that list. I must ask my Psych next time I see him if I am a Magical Thinker.
Thanks for the info.:D.

Glad to be of assistance, Karina.

OCD UK's lists aren't comprehensive for all themes but they have some really good examples to help people recognise things. Some themes aren't on there at all, OCD can be pretty wide ranging hence why the professionals don't include much of this stuff in the diagnostic manuals and concentrate more on core issues.

Magical Thinking is probably found in many people, it's like how we thought we had superpowers as children (in that we think we can affect the physical world with thoughts and mitigating behaviours) or how some people "touch wood". Like much in OCD, it's normal levels of behaviour blown out of all proportion and no longer seen as "meh" issues like someone "touching wood" would.

It can be a tricky one sometimes. With some of mine I didn't even known what the feared event could be, just that something bad would happen. And it was "it could happen in the future", which is hard to apply a compulsion to because you don't know whether it's 5 minutes away or 5 years away! You get tied up in knots with it.