OCD Rituals?

Question

Please describe your OCD rituals, if you have them, and what feelings you get from doing- or not doing- them, and what you think will happen if you don't.

Answer 1

Oh, wow. Where to begin! Prepare yourself.
Counting:
-I count all of my steps- i go from one to eight and then start over again. I mean *everywhere* I walk. I have to be on a "good" number when I enter a new room (i.e. 4 or 8), and if I'm on my "bad" number (6), then I have to go back and redo my steps.
-I count other people's steps (either in real life or on TV)
-I count how many words are in the sentences I read (like in a book or magazine), and how many letters are in the last word of every sentence. If it's a bad number, I have to find a sentence with a good number and read that one a few times.
-I also count syllables sometimes, if my OCD is really going for it
-Counting how many times i click my mouse on my computer, retyping words sometimes, crap like that
Checking:
-I have to check all windows, doors, etc., eight times before I leave my house or go to bed.
-Check to make sure light switched are off, doors are closed (even though i know they are, ugh)
-Have bottles, containers, all facing one way, touching them a good number of times.
Cleaning:
-Washing hands several times, using hand sanitizer SO many times my counting can't even keep up ; )

And if I don't do any of these things, I'll obsess that I'll die the next day, or have really bad luck, or something lovely like that.

Please keep in mind that I have pretty bad OCD.
Whew, done! Hope this gave you the info you need!

Answer 2

this is my habit i am currently on medication to help control it

A=5 B=11 C=5 D=7 and so on i do it for all the lower case letters as well it is almost like looking at the letter through a digital clock then if i see a word on a sign or book or a registration number it might just be a word that comes into my head i will count all the sides of the letters as above and see what each word is "worth"

i do this all the time

also if i am looking at an object for example a television i count the sides then add one to the next side so by the edges of the shape i make a number i also do this with peoples faces or glasses or a cup or anything

the problem with this sort of counting is i am so occupied with doing this i am missing what people say so i am almost blacking out when people are talking to me

also because this type of ocd can not be seen like the hand cleanibg or light switching people do not realise i have the problem the only thing they see is someone who looks like i am ignoring them or concentrating on something else

i have done this and i can picture the scene now and my psychiatrist calls it a coping mechanism from when i was abused as a child

i dont think about what will happen if i dont do it, i just do it

best wishes to you


xxx


vici

Answer 3

I used to have to always step exactly where the person walking in front of me did. It was really annoying because I always ended up walking behind people instead of next to them and just following them everywhere. And if their legs were longer or shorter than mine, it was hard.

Also, when I eat lucky charms I have to save all the marshmallows for last then eat them one at a time.

And when I'm reading, or sometimes when i'm talking, I have to imagine I'm typing everything. Like I have to visualize myself typing it out like I would on a keyboard. That slows me down a lot.

Answer 4

Get the urge to repeat high impact phrases from past conversations or media while remembering them. I used to rap my knuckles on walls as I passed sometimes. Feels awkward while suppressing it, but having other stuff to do gets me over it quickly.

Haven't thought about it in a while.

Answer 5

It's from too much left brain, verbal, reasoning activity instead of being in touch and understanding emotions and intuition. The whole society is shifting away from that paradigm.