How can you tell if a person has O.C.D or is just playing silly mind games?

Question

I just watched a show on MTV about Obbsessive complusive disorder. there was a girl on the show and she had MAJOR problems with her O.C.D she had to do rituals and sorts. She said her O.C.D started off with little things like having to [for example] count lines on a wall over and over again...When I saw that i was like "OMG I DO THT" now i am afraid that I am gunna have like O.C.D please someone help im just 13 and i always play mind games with myself is this just a silly mind game or do i have a real problem!!! Please be nice!!! I need help

Answer 1

There is a difference if you have to count those lines because you need to or you want to count those line for any reasons like out of boredom. Which ones is it?

Do you feel you have to do certain things over and over again to a certain point until you can go on with life?

People who have OCD doesn't enjoy doing these tedious things. No one wants to repeat steps over and over again because it is is fun, it is more time wasting.

Are you counting lines for fun or repeating the same activites over and over again because you want to not because you feel you have to?

People with OCD feel they must and have to repeat or count the same things is because they feel more secured if they do so.

Playing mind games with yourself seems harmless, you are not compelled to repeat or count only if you wanted to.

Answer 2

I can't diagnose whether you do or don't have OCD, but based on the "mind games" you describe you MAY have a tendency toward it. But you know what? It's NO BIG DEAL. OCD is simply an exaggerated anxiety disorder and nothing more. There are also different forms of it; for example, that girl felt compelled to do rituals and such; some sufferers do not get any compulsions beyond the counting and things like that (which doesn't intefere with your life all that much.)

The key is keeping grip on your anxiety, and that takes special mental techniques that differ from the actual compulsions. Please don't panic. If you do have it, it truly is nothing to be frightened of. I promise. Just talk to your doctor at your next appointment, or your parents, and again, don't be frightened. Tell them what you told us and see what happens from there.

Answer 3

Please also remember that people with OCD can lead good, normal lives without a problem in many cases. My husband is mildly OCD. He has to do certain things in a certain order or he can't go to bed and sleep well, and he has to line things up a certain way or sort the things in the freezer properly. But it does not control his life or interfere with the way he generally lives. He just leaves himself some extra time to do these things, which I just ignore, and we go along, happily married for 20 years now.

Answer 4

I am sure if you have it, you would have already been diagnostics with the problem, that your parents would be aware of it , and more then likely on medication.

For FYI MTV isnt the best place to get "educational television"