want to name your obsessions?

[WhoeverLovesGod01]

I used to count 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1 patterns...does that mean I have a disorder? (Serious question.)

 

[HisEagle]

How come I never noticed this forum before?

One of my weird compulsions is the need to make sure everything is left in a state of progressing "forward". Don't know how else to explain it. I'll give examples:

When I'm flipping through the TV channels with my remote, I have to make sure I stop pushing the button while the channels are increasing in numerical order. If I want to watch channel 13, I can't skip up to 14 and then go back to it.

If I want to turn the volume down on the TV - say for example, from level 15 to level 10, I have to go down to 9 first, and then up to 10.

Also, everything has to move from left to right. When I'm typing (for example, these messages), if I need to delete a word, I have to move to the space right next to the previous word and then hit my space bar before I can start typing again.

Ain't it good to know we're all so weird?!?

 

[HisEagle]

I used to count 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1 patterns...does that mean I have a disorder? (Serious question.)

It depends on how much it adversely affects your ability to function in life. It's possible you could simply have a personality quirk, but no other real symptoms of OCD.

OCD can be debilitating and maddening. It's hard to explain. The mental "itch" to do something (the compulsion) which accompanies an obsession has to be "scratched" in order to move on and focus on other things.

When I first discovered my OCD, I was about 7-8 years old. I was lying on the floor of my parent's living room, and there were those old thick wooden slat blinds on the windows. I suddenly developed an insatiable urge to run my hands up and down them - for no real reason - and I simply could not make the thought go away until I got up and did it.

Being obsessed with numbers is indeed a symptom of OCD, but if that is the only thing you are experiencing, you may not necessarily have it. There are a lot of other things that go along with it.

 

[CarolinaMom]

Here's a couple more I thought of. I count when I chew, and I do the "evening out" thing in a lot of ways. Brushing my teeth, for instance. I count the brushes, lets say 10 on the left side, then I have to brush 10 on the right side also. AGGGHH! Silly!!!!

 

[mikewould]

my OCD is flossing my teeth!

 

[PajamaBoy]

I have a lot of tics, I fidget a lot, somewhat linked to my ADD, but also I'm obsessed with patterns, and numbers, also cleanliness, and dryness. I hate being wet, and I hate being dirty. I also check things, and worry about things a lot.

On the more extreme side, sometimes I think I'll die or someone else will if I do certain things, or if I don't do something.

I only recently found out I qualify as OCD, but I haven't been diagnosed, because I wouldn't want to admit it to a doctor.

But yeah . . . OCD, oh I need to fix things, I like order. If a tag is sticking out, or if something's uneven, or untucked, or disorganized in some way, I need to fix it. It drives my friends insane, but mostly they just laugh at me.

 

[bumblebee62331]

Ok here we go.

My biggie is my fingernail biting ([SIZE=-1]onychophagia).

I also get my change out at least ten minutes before the bus comes and I count it. And re-count it. I count it over and over and over and over until the bus comes. I just can't help it. For some reason, I have to keep checking to make sure I have the right change.

Before I go to sleep, I check my alarm is on and on the right time. I do this over and over and over. It means that I normally stay up quite late, simply because the second I get drowsy, I panic that I am going to go to sleep and I have to 'wake up' and check my alarm again.

If I have to ask someone a question, no matter what it is (someone I don't know), I will repeat the question in my head over and over and over. I will sometimes say it out loud as well.

My lessor ones are:

If I stub my toe, I have to purposely stub the other one, etc. Everything has to feel equal on both sides of my body. I used to feel that for example, my left hand was mad at me and hated me becuase my right hand didn't get hurt.

What else? I can't think of anything else....

I'm scared of the garbage truck, but that's not OCD, I don't think. Every time I hear it coming, I hold my breath and run to the other side of the house, far away, and wait until it's gone. I panic like crazy lol. My boyfriend thinks it's funny.

Oh I always have to have the wardrobe door and bedroom door closed or I can't sleep.

I (subtly) check my zipper after using the bathroom, over and over to make sure it's zipped up.

I'm sure there's plenty more.
[/SIZE]

 

[gracechick]

Somebody said that reaching out to touch others or being touched makes some OCDer's uncomfortable.

Is this a symptom does anyone know I hadn't really heard of this bfore.

 

[bumblebee62331]

Somebody said that reaching out to touch others or being touched makes some OCDer's uncomfortable.

Is this a symptom does anyone know I hadn't really heard of this bfore.

I believe that's one of the symptoms of people who fear contamination obsessively. It's one symptom of OCD but not everybody has it. OCD covers a huge range of symptoms - for example, I'm fine with being touched, within reason of course. I hope this helps.

 

[gracechick]

My brthlw has germ obsession & I never thought about that bfore. Don't know if it bothers him to hug people or not hmmm Should keep that in mind & my sis goes through her moments of moderate germ obsession.

Anyways I'm just not comfortable with it & never have been.
For some bizzare reason it can create alot of anxiety no matter the person or age...Dunno just wondering if anyone else has heard of it or knows what Im talking about.

 

[Ceili]

I didn't get in bed til almost 2 am,got up and got my child to daycare,work at 8 am.I am dead tired,why? Because as I was cleaning my kitchen around 10 pm last night I noticed that under my fridge there were some spilt macaroni noodles and I was determined to get every noodle up and wash and clean under my fridge.I'm not able to move a huge fridge but I eventually got under my fridge with utensils and worked like a nut to get a mop and wipes under there.I worked at this until I was sweating it was that frantic. It was around midnight then and I noticed that my fish tanks were filthy so I cleaned those,then I went into full counter cleaning frezny...spraying,scrubbing... I get these frantic modes that I can't control. I hate this about myself but I hate dirt even more.

 

[fragmentsofbeauty]

yeah..I changed my mind hehe

 

[mikewould]

readng books!

 

[Godzgurl]

i have mild OCD. my problem is with praying. i find myself making a ritual out of how i start and end prayers. i used to be obsessive about biting my nails but i got over that. when im taking notes or something i also obsess about how the letters look and everything has to be perfect looking ( which is hard to achieve because i have awful handwriting).

 

[stephanie8184]

I have not yet been diagonsed with OCD, but I am almost positive I have the disorder. My problems are more focused on obsessions than compulsions, and it is more in my mind. I have problems with thoughts coming into my head that I don't want to be there. Also, I have a constant fear that I will think bad thoughts and sin. I obsess over worries and then they actually become problems. Sometimes it seems that I can never get my mind to stop thinking and obsessing and worrying.

I am wondering if anybody else experiences obsessions like this. My compulsions are probably that I try so hard to keep things from coming into my head and that I am constantly seeking approval that I am a good person from the people closet to me in my life.

Also, I notice that the obsessions get worse when my life gets more stressful and when I am in situations that trigger these obsessive faults. The thing that gets me about OCD is that I REALLY DONT want those thoughts to be there and I wish they would go away.

I pray that Jesus will heal me from this for I feel that more than anything out there, He is the one who can save me from this disorder.

A verse that he has placed on my mind lately is "the truth will set you free" and in applying this verse to my condition, I have to sort through the thoughts that are really mine, and the thoughts that are not mine and come to realize which ones are true.

Please pray for me, as this is quite a struggle.

 

[stephanie8184]

I definitely have hoarding tendencies which I am currently fighting. I think I have something called "Pure O" OCD, which means you have the obsessions without the compulsive behaviors. You can learn a lot about that by searching for info on the internet. Some hoarders are pure O types.

My obsessions relate to unbidden thoughts that are disturbing. Then I have to backtrack mentally to figure out how that thought popped in to my head. I never knew that I did that until I read for the first time about the pure o type. I knew that I had a problem with rumination. But there is more to it. It's definitely an emotional/anxiety reaction to certain troubling thoughts. The say that those with the compulsive behaviors are using rituals to counteract the anxiety while a pure o type will use mental processes to solve the anxiety. YOu get stuck ruminating and mentally problem solving for long periods of time.

I think that my case is similiar to yours. I deal with unwelcoming and persistent thoughts, and I struggle with why they come into my head. I have to think it through over and over, and sometimes I feel like it is my fault that the thought came into my head. But the thing about this, is that I didn't want the thought to come into my head in the first place! It can be a very stressful thing, and it makes me depressed and anxious and feel guilty.

I do not have issues with compulsions, my issues are with obsessions and it sometimes affects my personal relationships, amount of sleep I get, and my work. Sometimes I worry and obsess over not having certain images and thoughts enter my head, that in doing so I don't allow myself to sleep because if I put my guard down, an unwanted thought may enter my head.

 

[unpardoned1]

I have had OCD since a young child, when I was little I would fear my mother would be killed if I didn't do certain rituals to keep her safe. I would walk backwards, do certain movements...ect...as I got older they transferred onto other things.

When I got married it was that I was scared my husband would leave. When I was pregnent with my first son I would actually have to walk up and down the stairs a certain number of times--for example 12 times---and do it in sets of 12! If I screwed up, I would have to start all over again. I'm just using 12 as an example, but it was a certain number. I would clean obsessivly and if I had a bad thought about my husband leaving, I would have to start all over again. It was torture, this went on all day for a very long time.

I also had prayer rituals or thought rituals in my head that I had to say a certain number of times and a certain number of sets. For example I would say a phrase 7 times and that would count as one set. I would have to do seven more "sets" I would think that this keeps bad things from happening.

This could also happen with asking my husband questions. I would have to ask a certain number of times...usually to keep bad things from happening.

It finally subsided a little until I had blasphmous thoughts about the Holy Spirit. (unpardonable sin) They would pop in my mind over and over again and each time would be torture. Finally I was mad and I actually had a bad thought about the Holy Spirit from my own anger(that he was the evil one(devil)Now I feel that I am going to Hell for that and I am really having a hard time. I confessed it but I still feel that since it was from me, it can't be forgiven.
I also have alot of movement issues. I move my hands or head or legs in certain ways if I have a bad thought or sometimes just because I feel I have to. I keep doing it until it "feels right". I recently had it with breathing. I breath in and out in certain rythyms until it "feels right" This is a hard one because I get very light headed and get palpitations.

If I'm typing or writing and have a bad thought, I will have to erase past the point when I had the bad thought!

Prayer rituals are a major problems since most of my prayers are very very ritualistic. They aren't even real. When I talk to God its like I'm a robot. When I have a bad thought I'll say" Dear Jesus forgive me for the bad thought In Jesus name I pray amen" When I pray seriously, If I have a bad thought I stop and ask forgivness again and sometimes I repeat the same request or even prayer to God.

This doesn't even scratch the surface. My life is torture!!!!!!!!

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

I'm not sure that I necessarily have serious OCD, but I definitely sometimes feel a serious urge to do things that are obsessive-compulsive. Often I can ignore this, but a lot of the time I really have to do certain rituals. Before I go to bed, I often have to look behind the TV and the side of the bed and wardrobe, with the bedroom door fully closed. I generally cannot sleep without the curtains fully closed, and one of them cannot have folded over partially. When my duvet cover and pillowcase are the one that has a different pattern on each side, both often have to be turned over so the pattern on each matches. This also applies even if I've pulled the duvet off the bed while I'm sitting in a chair.

I can't sleep with the TV on standby, and I usually have to put the TV on channel 2 and then onto channel 1, which I have to do by pressing 'channel down' and not '001'. Then I have to press 'TV' to get rid of the TV guide bar. Then I'll turn off the cable box before turning of the TV with the remote and then at the TV. I also usually can't sleep with the VCR on or with a tape in it. Once I get into bed I always sit up, turn on the light and look under the bed again from every side. I'll always look behind and around me after my eyes have adjusted to the dark.

If I go into the kitchen late at night to get a drink or something, I will always check the door. Often I chekc it when I walk in, after I get a drink from the fridge and again before I leave. I also will then check the front door as I walk past. Sometimes I end up checking the back door 3 or 4 times every time I go in there, and go in there about 4 times in an hour or so!

Generally it depends on how much I feel urged. Sometimes I can sleep with drawers open, a few dirty clothes on the floor, the channel not on one and the curtain folded over. Other times, all these things have to be sorted out before I can go to bed, no matter how tired I am, and occasionally I arrange my shoes back-to-front in pairs. Sometimes it's very annoying because I'm very tired and I end up sitting up, closing the door, turning on the light and checking the room 5 or 6 times in quick succession. If I get the slightest silly cliché horror film imagining about what could be in the room, then I have to check.

Generally this doesn't affect my life at all...I know it doesn't sound like it though! But that's because they're pretty much all things to do just before going to bed, and very often I can ignore most of them.

The only other thing (and I'm not sure if this is considered OCD...?? ) is that occasionally I have horrific thoughts that come into my head for no reason. They don't really bother me, I just push them away. And they certainly aren't serious considerations or anything. It's much better now, but in the past I could now and again get really sickened by myself for having the most violent or perverse thoughts, even though they did not at all appeal to any part of me. :o

 

[NotHardcore]

I eat burgers, sandwiches, etc in a circular manner.
I write "LJ" in liquid soap on my shower pouf.
4 is a bad number, so I avoid things in fours.
3 is a very good number.
Before leaving the house, I have to go to my room and say to my rabbit, "Bye bye, Hailie. I love you, baby. *makes two kissy sounds* Be a good bunny, mommy loves you. Bye. Love you!"
I brush my teeth once with toothpaste, then 6 times with water, then I brush my tongue, then I brush my lips.
I'm slightly germaphobic.
If something can be symmetrical, then it should be.
I have an obsessive fear of being vomited on.
If my brother is in the car when I get dropped off at school, I have to tap his window with my fist while he taps the same spot with his fist on his side.

I probably have more, but those are the only ones I can think of.:o

 

[Casstranquility]

I've never been diagnosed with OCD, but, I know I have obsessive thoughts.
I have to touch people before they go to bed, or I have thoughts that something bad will happen.
Sometimes I have to watch a car pull out of the driveway, or something bad will happen.
I have to say certain prayers, or something bad will happen.

I've gotten control over some of my obsessive thoughts, but, it's easier to go along with them then to worry.

(I think they may be compulsions rather than obsessions...)