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View Full Version : I think I have OCD...I do have PD



blondeangel
05-02-06, 19:59
Hi, I am new to this board. I have ADHD and PD (panic disorder), and I am so sure that I have OCD, even though it has not been diagnosed. I was wondering what you thought. I have werid compulsions that sometimes really bug me, not just my boyfriend.
-I change clothes constantly at home...I will change not just if I am hot or cold but I change how I feel, and how the clothes feel on me.
- I will take objects when shopping from behind the ones on the front. If the cashier has to get it, and she takes the front one I can feel my insides sqiurming, and it bugs me.
At school when passing out papers, I take the one underneath the top. One of my psychology professors noticed this once and made a comment "I noticed you don't like to take the papers from the top".
-I will arrange objects so that they are symmetrical ...sometimes if I am bored, but sometimes I feel compelled to do it. i am always arranging my coffee table so that the candles are in the middle and the remote controls are at the side and beside eachother in symmetry to the table. I will organize coasters on the table in a place so that they are symmetrical soem way.
- I double check when I lock doors.
-when crossing streets I have to press the button 2 times
-i put the volume on my tv only on even numbers.
-when I am in a movie store i push in movies that are sticking out...so i don't like going to pick out oves that much because it takes sooooo much strength not to push all the movies in....but I will push a few in.
-my pictures on my wall have to perfectly symmetrical and in line
-I collect empty shampoo and soap bottles....I have had to force myself to throw out most of them (my bf has bugged me about it)..I don't know why I keep them. I allow myself one box fo them now, but it bugs me to throw them away (actually I recycle them).
- I organise my money so that they are folded with the heads up,and I will uncrinkle any crinkiles and unfold folds.
Well...that are the major things. Sometimes these can really bug me and I will do them knowing I am in a hurry or they are just silly...but I do them.
I am sure I have OCD too. Even as a kid I would arrange my books an pencils on my desks, and other kids teased me because it was "weird". My big thing is arranging things and it can be really annoying.
What do you think?

chucklehound
05-02-06, 21:37
I collect coffee jars for some reason too. I also get OCD thoughts that I am going to harm my kids when they are asleep.
Maybe you could get a diagnosis from your GP.

Take Care

Chucklehound

xxxx

Alice
05-02-06, 22:25
I think that one of the important diagnostics regarding OCD is the presence of unwanted thoughts which drive you to engage in compulsive behaviour. For instant believing that you cannot take the top paper or something dreadful will happen, or if things are left out of order and unsymmetrical then something will happen to your family.
Also not completing the behaviours and compulsions results in distress and paranoia about what the consequences will be.
Simply having some of those behaviours, such as double checking locked doors, and having perfectly balanced picture frames are normal, but may not be considered normal if coupled with OCD thoughts. Try to think why you complete each behaviour on your list, and if the behaviours are linked to negative thoughts then it might be time to go to your doctor.

good luck with it!

lotus
05-02-06, 23:34
Hi blondeangel

Only a qualified professional can diagnose you.
Most people have some kind of rituals, specific things that they like to do in a certain special way. That's normal, that's not OCD.

OCD is an anxiety disorder, which means that it's based on anxiety. You have obsessive thoughts, which create anxiety, and in order to alleviate the anxiety, you feel compelled to engage in compulsions, or rituals. They might be either physical /such as hand washing/, or mental /such as ruminating/. When we're talking about anxiety disorders /GAD, PD, OCD/, sometimes people don't fall into a specific category, symptoms often intertwine. For example: intrusive harming thoughts are generally a symptom of OCD, but many people with generalized anxiety and panic disorder also have them without having OCD.

The three most important criteria for an OCD doagnosis are the amount of distress the obsessions and/or compulsions cause, the amount of time they take up, and the degree to which they affect your daily life.

By the way - Alice, I don't agree with you that OCD is when you think "if I don't do a certain thing, something bad will happen /to me, to my family, etc/". Some people feel compelled to do their rituals in order to "feel right", without any specific worries that something bad or dreadful will happen. For example, a peson might touch a certain object repetitively until it "feels right".

Alice
06-02-06, 02:11
hi again

i agree with what you say lotus, i was just giving a common example of unwanted thoughts in OCD. Obviously another example could be that when a person has to touch a object repeatedly the unwanted thoughtsor compulsions are saying, you must touch it again its still not right, or whatever, and these thoughts cease briefly once the behaviour or compulsion is carried out.

blondeangel
06-02-06, 05:06
Thanks for the replies.
Actually I don't think that something bad will happen if I don't do it, I just feel this weird urge inside if I don't...and I sometimes feel anxious and frustrated if I don't do it. Sometimes I try to tell myself to stop and sometimes I successful in stopping, but I feel a bit of anxiety when I do. Sometimes I will stop and walk away...then walk back to "fix" what I think should be fixed.
If I do have OCB I don't think it is that severe. But it does disrupt my life slightly..and my boyfriend bugs me about it, like he will ask me to stop fiddling wiht the objects on the coffee table, and sometimes he seems to get a little annoyed. I find I am mostly annoyed at myself. I already have ADHD and Panic Disorder, as well as emotinal issues (I am very very emotional, and after I was in an abusive relationship began to harm myself by banging my head and cutting my wrists) Having OCD...whoa now that would be a lot of disorders for one person to have! But I am still determined to be a counsellor for children and youth, which I am studying now. I already took early childhood education, (graduated on the honour roll too), and I firmly believe that we need more people in the mental health and social service field that understand more where their clients are coming from.
Thanks again for your replies!

suzy.o
13-02-06, 08:14
Yes it sounds like O.C.D. Maybe you feel out of control in some areas of your life and the organising compulsions you are having is your way of gaining some form of order back in your life?

dawnym
17-02-06, 17:14
I totally agree with suzy.o.
I spent my days organising things and arranging,but while I am cleaning or sorting it keeps my mind busy,stops me thinking.
I have some obsessions that I know do not make my life any easier but have to be done that way.....e.g.when washing up things have to go on the drainer in size order,if someone else has done them and they are just all over I have to sort them before I can put them away.
In my house most things are labelled,my partner says it is just the way I am and he has come to just ignore it.