does anybody else have rituals

[pete24]

as the title says does anybody?Mine are silly things that involve going for a poo.Ihave to wear my ipod[cant hear any suspious splashes etc]or cannot look at my hands till i have washed them after poo.....loads more and they ruin my day.The one thing i have learned is that any trivial incident on the loo is the most important thing in my life at that time....until something else happens....then next day i struggle to remember what that was

[PokerFace]

Yea a lot of people do! I have to check my pulse the minute I wake up and before I go to bed. I used to write them down to compare them over the days and work out averages etc but I stopped that as it was getting a little TOO obsessive and not helping. When I have a missed beat or paticularly painful chest pain I have to count to 100 so nothing bad will happen and if I mess up I have to start again cuz it has to be perfect! x

[countrygirl]

Most Drs say that health anxiety is just one manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorder and I personally agree with this as its our lack of control over our bodies that freaks us the most. Although i don't have rigid rituals as such I hate not being in control and find that any situation where I feel out of control give me same feelings as I get when I have a health symptom and don't know what it is so assume this is my problem. I am also extremely clean and very tidy and organised and cannot bear clutter but not tot he point of it affecting my daily life but again I think it is all connected.

[Davyboy]

Nevermind....

[nanny]

I don't know if i would call mine rituals but i have such a routine that should anything come along to disrupt it i go into panic mode big time. I have to do the same things on the same days etc or i go haywire.

know this isn't much help to you but just wanted to let you know you are not alone.

[alicegreen]

Most Drs say that health anxiety is just one manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorder and I personally agree with this as its our lack of control over our bodies that freaks us the most. Although i don't have rigid rituals as such I hate not being in control and find that any situation where I feel out of control give me same feelings as I get when I have a health symptom and don't know what it is so assume this is my problem. I am also extremely clean and very tidy and organised and cannot bear clutter but not tot he point of it affecting my daily life but again I think it is all connected.

You have just described me to a tee!

[pete24]

it isnt just the ritual but the aftermath when you start doubting yourself.Was that blood i saw ?then i stress for hours before going to the toilet[if i can]for reassurance.I know the symptoms for bowel cancer but if everything is not perfect i have to return to the loo.Thats why the ritual is so important so i minimise any so called threats.