Is This Common in OCD Sufferers?

[Roseheart]

Hi, you may have seen my thread before where I said I thought I had OCD. Well, I was just wondering if the following is common in OCD sufferers, or if it's unrelated. So, here it is:

Almost everything I do has some kind of "system" to it, usually to do with the date or the time. For example, I try to drink four bottles of water a day, and I have ten gulps at certain times of day (e.g. 10 gulps at 10:00, 10 more at 10:15 etc.). Also, when choosing something from a restaurant menu, for example, I ask what somebody else has ordered and then count down the menu from their choice whatever the date is (so if it's the twelfth of January I'll count down twelve) and choose that, but I'd have to stay in the same section (e.g. meat dishes), and I even have a system for choosing which person to ask. I have different systems for different things like this, but I don't get distraught if I stray from the systems. It's mainly because I don't like making decisions because I want things to be "equal"... if you know what I mean? So, for example, if playing a video game or something, I'd use a system to choose which character to play as (or if there's a "Random" button I'll almost always choose that)... if you've seen the film Forrest Gump, where his mother told him "Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get," then it's sort of like I don't want to know what I'm going to get when I choose what to eat or which character to play as... I hope that makes sense. I could go into much more detail about every little system I have (I probably couldn't remember them all), but then this list would be way too long, because I have one for practically everything. I also have a list of things I do each day and they're all in a particular order. For example, Bible reading, Check the news, work out what I'm going to wear tomorrow (using a system), check Christian Forums...

Thank you and God bless

Roseheart

 

[babegirl111]

Most definitely sounds like OCD hon!!!

 

[Roseheart]

Thanks for your answer - I thought it might be, but I wasn't sure because it didn't seem like something I'd seen on one of the list of symptoms before, and not many other OCD sufferers on here seemed to have it as far as I could tell.

God bless.

 

[tripletiger1200]

I've had things like this, and I'm sure many others on here have too. I think that because it isn't as distressing and doesn't cause as many problems with functioning (at least in my case) you won't see as many posts about it.
If you do not follow these sytems do you feel distressed? Do you fear consequences if you don't complete these sytems perfectly? Those are two things common in OCD sufferers. The best thing you can do is to talk to a doctor or qualified mental health professional if you feel like you may be suffering. I've found that having a doctor diagnose me has reassured me when I feel like I may just be a wicked or crazy person, rather than thinking I have OCD. Once you know the problem it is that much easier to work with.

 

[Roseheart]

I've had things like this, and I'm sure many others on here have too. I think that because it isn't as distressing and doesn't cause as many problems with functioning (at least in my case) you won't see as many posts about it.
If you do not follow these sytems do you feel distressed? Do you fear consequences if you don't complete these sytems perfectly? Those are two things common in OCD sufferers. The best thing you can do is to talk to a doctor or qualified mental health professional if you feel like you may be suffering. I've found that having a doctor diagnose me has reassured me when I feel like I may just be a wicked or crazy person, rather than thinking I have OCD. Once you know the problem it is that much easier to work with.

I don't feel extremely distressed... maybe slightly annoyed. I do think that if I do have OCD, it's quite mild. I am planning to see a doctor, though.

Thank you for your post.