Anyone with OCD...?

Question

What are some of your rituals? Some of your obsessions? How does OCD affect your life?

Serious Answers please.

Answer 1

I have OCD but suffer more from compulsions than obsessions.

Some of my compulsions:
-+- counting EVERYTHING (letters, numbers, objects, patterns, etc.)
-+- rearrange my nightstand every night
-+- eating in a clockwise order
-+- organizing foods by color (such as m&m's, skittles, etc.)
-+- & most of all PERFECTIONISM!! Every single thing I do must be obselete & exact no matter what it is. This causes me a lot of difficulty with completing tasks on time.

Some of my obsessions:
-+- brushing my teeth (over & over & over, especially when upset)
-+- washing my hands (not like most OCD sufferers, but I do like them very clean)
-+- counting the amount of calories I ingest each day
-+- laying equally on each part of my body while sleeping (like if my left arm is straight out, my right arm must be as well)

I fortunately do not suffer from rituals. OCD affects my life in many way. Completing tasks on time is the most detrimental factor of my disorder.

I hope this was helpful to you!

Answer 2

Thank goodness I don't have a bad case of it. However, I have a "strong need" to type a 6-page letter about what the immediate family has been up to for the past year and mail it to 40 family members each Christmas. I like "very much" to eat just one type of food at a time (until it is all gone) on my plate. I have a "strong need" to eat everything on my plate. I have a "strong need" to keep promises, and to mail out birthday cards and not miss anyone. I have a "strong need" to put error-checks in my programming code and make sure my code is "perfect" before I let users begin to use an application I've created. (I can't just say, "They need the application now; I'll let the users have it and just tell them what 'bugs' still need to be fixed.)

I think the need to complete "it all" tends to make one feel overwhelmed which then makes one feel depressed and anxious.

It wouldn't surprise me if many detail-oriented jobs (such as accountants, mathematicians and schedulers) are occupied by OCD people.

Answer 3

i count syllables. i count syllables in multiples of 5 on my fingers at all times. if it doesnt come out equal i get frustrated and add on syllables by counting (one, two, hel-lo there) ive been doing this since first grade when i first learned what a syllable was, and im 20 now. it is frustrating. i also grind my teeth to count, sometimes i do it so much that it hurts. and if i stumble across a sentence with 5 syllables or multiples of, i can read it over at least 10 times, just counting it. i wont even be able to tell you what the sentence said. i would just be able to tell you the number of syllables. i didnt even realize this was a disorder until 2 years ago. i want to get medicine becuase it gets so annoying but i have no insurance so i have to wait. =(

also, i have to have everything in descending order. all my hair products range from tallest to smallest.

and one more, i need things exactly how i want them. everyone gets frustrated with me for things like.. when i put my clothes in the dryer, i have to have the knob EXACTLY where it "feels right." even if it just means i have to touch the knob or move it a hair. its rediculous, i know. but its life. =(

hope this helped you

Answer 4

One of my grandsons has this condition - it is quite sad, because he counts everything all the time. He cannot walk across a wood floor without counting every board in front of him, he is exhausted from the constant counting, and his routine has to be the same or else he freaks out with any small change. He is now taking something to help balance him out, I will say though, he is quite a genius, and I am confident that has something to do with it.