Anyone with OCD (the kind where you organize stuff) that can list symptoms?

Question

I think I'm just paranoid, but recently at my friends house I went a bit crazy and started to organize and straighten everything. Some things on her shelf didn't look "balanced" and it really annoyed me. When she stopped me from organizing stuff I got really mad. This has only happened once, but I have had a growing tendency to be very annoyed by assymetry and things like that. I don't think I have OCD, but just making sure.

Answer 1

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a potentially disabling anxiety disorder. A person who has OCD has intrusive and unwanted thoughts and repeatedly performs tasks to get rid of the thoughts. For example, if you have OCD, you may fear that everything you touch is contaminated with germs, and in order to ease that fear, you repeatedly wash your hands.

The effects of OCD range from mild to severe. OCD can disrupt your social life and relationships as well as your ability to work or go to school. 1

What are the symptoms?

OCD is a chronic or long-term illness, and the symptoms typically increase and decrease over time. Treatment can lessen the severity, but some symptoms may linger after you begin treatment. Anxiety is the most common symptom of OCD. For example, you may have an overall sense that something terrible will happen if you don't follow through with a particular ritual, such as repeatedly checking to see whether the stove is on. If you fail to perform the ritual, you may have immediate anxiety or a nagging sense of incompleteness.

Symptoms of OCD include: 2

Obsessions, which are recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas, and impulses that interrupt normal thinking and cause anxiety or fear. The thoughts may be sexual or violent or create a concern of illness. Examples include:
Persistent fear of harm to yourself or a loved one.
An excessive need to do things perfectly or correctly.
A fear of contamination.
Compulsions, which are behaviors or rituals that are repeated intentionally to try to control the obsessions. Some people have rituals that are rigid and structured, while others have very complex rituals that change. Examples include:
Washing or checking.
Counting, often while doing another compulsive action, such as hand-washing.
Repeating things or endlessly rearranging items to keep them in perfect alignment.
Hoarding.
Praying.
People vary in their understanding of their obsessions and compulsions. Sometimes they may recognize their obsessions and compulsions as unrealistic, and at other times they may be unsure of or believe strongly in their fears.

What causes OCD?

Researchers have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of OCD, but they are studying brain abnormalities, genetic (family) influences, and environmental factors. Brain scans in people with OCD have shown that they have different patterns of brain activity than those without OCD and that abnormal functioning of circuitry within a certain part of the brain (striatum) may be related to the disorder. Abnormalities in other parts of the brain and an imbalance of brain chemicals, especially serotonin, may also contribute to OCD. 3

How is OCD diagnosed?

A diagnosis of OCD is based on your symptoms, your medical history, and a physical examination. Many people with OCD live with the condition for years and go without treatment because they are afraid or embarrassed to talk to a health professional.

Symptoms that confirm a diagnosis of OCD include: 3

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are intrusive and inappropriate, cause anxiety or distress, and are not simply excessive worries about real-life issues.
Attempts to suppress or ignore the thoughts or get rid of them with other thoughts or actions.
A recognition that the obsessions are created in your own mind and do not make sense.
Repetitive behaviors, such as hand-washing, ordering, praying, or checking that you're driven to do in response to the obsession. The behaviors are done to prevent or reduce distress or prevent a dreaded event.
In OCD, the obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming (more than 1 hour a day), greatly interfere with your normal routine at work or school, and affect social activities and relationships.

OCD is a very disruptive illness and is different from the inflexible character traits of OCD personality disorder, such as being a perfectionist and being overly conscientious.

How is it treated?

Treatment for OCD includes counseling and medications. Antidepressant medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as fluoxetine (for example, Prozac), are most commonly used. Your doctor may increase the dosage of your medication or change to another SSRI if the first medication prescribed doesn't help. It may take several weeks before you feel the effects of an antidepressant and it begins to affect thoughts and behavior.

Counseling used to treat OCD includes exposure and response prevention, a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Exposure and response prevention is behavorial therapy that provides gradually increasing contact with the feared obsession so that anxiety is reduced. For example, if you were obsessed about germ contamination, you would repeatedly touch an object you believe is contaminated and not wash your hands afterward. You would repeat that behavior until your anxiety was reduced. Cognitive therapy may also be used to help overcome the faulty beliefs (such as fear of contamination) that lead to OCD behaviors.

The most effective treatment for OCD may be using medications and counseling together.

Answer 2

You are confusing people with OCD with people who are neat freaks. People who are neat freaks like everything organized because they cannot think in cluttered environments. They can't function unless their environment is organized in a particular way, and get distressed when they are taken out of this environment because their mind find it confusing. People with OCD have a neurological disorder in which communication between the central portion of the brain known as the basal ganglia, and the frontal lobes of the brain are impaired. The inner portion of the basal ganglia spits out junk in the form of thoughts and fears and movement commands. In most people, this is filtered out, in people with OCD, and in the case of movement commands, Tourette's Syndrome, this isn't. So people with OCD are often bombarded with intrusive thoughts of sexual or violent natures, which distresses them, because the thoughts are counter to their nature and unwanted. Further more, because the communication between the two parts of the brain are impaired, when the inner portion gives a command like "check to make sure the door is locked" and the person executes the command and checks to see if the door is locked, the frontal lobe cannot convey a confirmation message back to the inner portion of the brain. So the inner portion sends the message AGAIN and the person will get the sensation that they did not check the lock, even though they know they did. If they do not comply, the inner portion of the brain starts sending danger signals and this produces anviety, because the person feels that they actually didn't check the lock and are doing something negligent by not checking it again. So many go back and check it again, and again. The inner portion of the brain will also send random danger signals, and when this happens, it's called magical thinking. A person with OCD might go to open the door with their left hand, only to be sent a danger signal with the feeling that if they touch the door knob with their left hand, something bad will happen to someone they love. Again, this is a strong feeling they often can't overcome because of the problem with the circuitry in the brain. Other portions of the brain will come up with rituals to deal with this. And the interesting thing is, they are almost always the same in people with OCD. This is why people with OCD are seen as compulsive counters, and checkers, and so on. The ritruals, or compulsions, as they are called, is the brain's way of compensating and rerouting the command confirmation signal through other parts of the brain to the inner region of it, to bypass the bad circuitry.

Answer 3

Okay, alot of people throw terms around these days, so I'll give you an important one.

Pathological. Everyone has certain characteristics of pychiatric disorders, however, you do not have the disorder unless you are pathological, meaning: The symptoms interfere with your work, family, and social life in a very significant way.

I straighten things too, and every now and then I'll go back three times to make sure my car is locked - but it's not pathological.

Answer 4

I am the same exact way- except, mine has gotten worse and more frequent. It seems to be the worst when I'm stressed, were you stressed when this happened?

If things aren't symmetrical- it really, really bothers me. If I can't fix it (for example, I was shown a picture of a house with mix-match windows that didn't look right), it will nag me over and over.

If yours gets more frequent, it is considered a sign of OCD. It's not as extreme as other examples, but it is one. I also have anxiety which goes hand and hand.

Hope yours gets better!

Answer 5

I do things like that too. Mostly when in other peoples car... I organize the center console, want to throw away trash, line things up and balance things out. I like to have things in a symmetrical balanced and organized way- most of the time. I'm not sure if I'm OC or just strange... I think a mess is just unpleasant...

Answer 6

Sounds like OCD. I have it. I actually got into a fight, joking, with a friend cause they thought it would be fun to mess up towels and sit on my so I could not fix them lol. I also find I have to do things certain ways and certain times. For me I also hate odd numbers. Not all the time but most of the time I have to have things even. Sounds like you have the start of OCD, join the club lol.

Answer 7

Oh, I could make you a list, but that might go on forever.

Usually OCD symptoms are a manifestation of anxiety related to lack of control of your surroundings. It's usually only a problem if it affects your everyday life in a negative or destructive way.

Answer 8

I was at the vet's today, and while I was waiting for them to finish pilling my cat, I straightened every framed item on their walls. I'm not OCD, but I also like symmetry. I organize my desk in my classroom the same way. I think you are...gasp...normal.

Answer 9

You'll have to ask a professional for that one.
I didn't think I had OCD until I refused to eat when my brother took something out of its alphabetical order and wouldn't put it back.

Answer 10

if you think you have it you probably dont.. if other people notice then yeah you might... i have ocd and before the medication i felt like it ruled my life