how to recognise OCD thoughts from logical thoughts?

Answer 1

OCD is an anxiety disorder causing obssessive, obtrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviours to offset the thoughts. My sister has had it probly all her life, however we first noticed it when she was around 14. Everyone can suffer obssessive thoughts when stressed & over tired. We can check to see if our door is locked 2 or 3 times & then when we go to do so a 4th but say to ourselves now we know it's locked & then go to sleep. The OCD person cld not or if she/he did but didn't do it enough & didn't feel ok about it & fell asleep,when they awoke wld have to do some kind of little ritual to make it ok for not doing it enough. Or they may just do little rituals to try to stop from the exhausting obssessing. They know it's illogical. They know that the car just hit a bump, they did not hit a person because there is no person lying on the road but they still come bck to check over & over again just to be certain for hrs & hrs, missing appointments, having family members worrying about them. They cannot stop it. For some the anti anxiety/anti depressant medications & behavioral therapy is of some help & some ppl find it disappears when they reach their 40's. There are some great books out & support grps now for OCD sufferers & their family & friends.

Answer 2

It's hard unless you talk to someone who's had it or a doctor because in our minds, it is logical. I have had mild to moderate depression and anxiety most of my life. I started taking medication for it in my adult years. On one of my visits for medication refills during what I thought was social conversation I was telling him an anecdote about something I did. My doctor informed me that my behavior was OCD. I said I don't have OCD, I don't wash my hands a million times a day. He said no, but you do track snow storms for days, television to television to radio as far in advance as possible. (I did). I'd always been a confident driver in the snow. One winter, I had a little fender bender (no one else was involved). I'd hit a guard rail. I didn't damage the guard rail and there was only $500 damage on my car, but it destroyed my snow driving confidence. From then on, I counted down months (through spring, summer, fall) until snow season. I tracked weather systems on the tv upstairs, the tv downstairs, the radio in the car during the winter months. I thought it was being cautious, if a bit over cautiouis, but did not think I was OCD. Once he diagnosed me, there were all sorts of behaviors that fit. When my teens were late coming home, the first hour, I would pace from the front door to the back to see ASAP that they were safe. I would turn the lights out in the house so that I could concentrate on any car that passed my house, lest they slow and release my daughter back to me. Now, my depression/anxiety medication has been changed to one that also relieves OCD symptoms. It's a new life.

Answer 3

My sister has OCD. One thing she obsesses and worries about is after she gets out of her car, she'll press the remote to lock her car doors. She'll walk 10 feet or so and ask if she locked her car. Then she'll walk further and ask again. Then even when she gets inside the door of the establishment, she'll wonder if she locked the car and she'll even hit the remote a couple of more times. That is an OCD thought or thoughts.

When she's carrying on a conversation, she's thinking normal or logical thoughts. A person with OCD will think their thoughts are logical, but to people that don't have OCD they are not logical.

If you think or obsess about a certain situation or action more than anything else that you think about, it is an OCD thought.

I think everyone has a form of OCD thoughts. For me, I know I obsess and think too much about my weight or if I've eaten too much. I usually obsess or think too much (worry) about my sister and if she needs something.

I hope that helps.

Answer 4

my only suggestion is that when the thoughts start to inhibit your daily living routine - you need to see a doctor...