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.