What is Wrong with Me? (if anything...)?

Question

I have an obession with counting. Since I was a little kid; but it's gotten way worse over the past year or so (I'm 21 now)

I will hear/say a sentence and then throughout my day (every day) I'll remember that sentence and try to reduce it so it will be 6 words. I'll count 3 words on each hand. Like a dumb game??

When I look @ something with someone, I count instead of admire as a whole. (I'll count windows on buildings, cars going on opposite side of traffic, dotted lines on road ways...I have to count in 2's on this one, etc)

When I see the time on a clock, I'll add 2 of the #'s up to try and equal the other number. I always do it until the equation fits (sometimes it means dividing and then a fraction....SOMETHING crazy until it fits)

I'd like to not think this is OCD? I'd also like to think this is a little more than just boredom....b/c it's too weird sounding. Any clues? I'm mentally stable.

and...nooo math major for me. I'm a fashion major. I hate math with a passion. Which is why this probably sucks. lol

Answer 1

Definately some case of OCD maybe with a touch of anxiety...talk to your primary care physician asap and see what he/she has to say, you may need meds asap. Best of luck! xoxo

Answer 2

It's not like OCD it is OCD! You just get used to it as long as it does not stop you from living a normal life. If it is tell your doctor there are meds that can help.

I count to five all the time everything if 5 or can be counted by 5's. Ya it can suck but at least you are not washing your hands every 3 sec's. lol

Good Luck

Answer 3

You'd like to think it isn't OCD, but your description sounds like a classic case of it.

Not all OCD sufferers wash their hands 1000 times a day, orscrub their homes constantly to kill germs.

You may have a mild case. Only a psychiatrist can diagnose the problem properly...

Answer 4

Have you ever seen that movie Elektra with Jennifer Garner? She did the same thing. She'd like count the number of steps as she was walking.I think you could be OCD; one of the steps says specific counting system. On wikidedia here's some symtoms:

Symptoms may include some, all, or perhaps none of the following:

Repeated hand washing.
Repeated clearing of the throat, although nothing may need to be cleared.
Specific counting systems — e.g., counting in groups of four, arranging objects in groups of three, grouping objects in odd/even numbered groups, etc.
One serious symptom which stems from this is "counting" steps — e.g., feeling the necessity to take 12 steps to the car in the morning.

Perfectly aligning objects at complete, absolute right angles, or aligning objects perfectly parallel etc. This symptom is shared with OCPD and can be confused with this condition unless it is realized that in OCPD it is not stress-related.
Having to "cancel out" bad thoughts with good thoughts. Examples of bad thoughts are:
Imagining harming a child and having to imagine a child playing happily to cancel it out.
Sexual obsessions or unwanted sexual thoughts. Two classic examples are fear of being homosexual or fear of being a pedophile. In both cases, sufferers will obsess over whether or not they are genuinely aroused by the thoughts.
Strange and chronic worries about certain events such as sleeping, eating, leaving home, etc without proper items. An example would be one who literally can't fall asleep without a metronome.
A fear of contamination (see Mysophobia); some sufferers may fear the presence of human body secretions such as saliva, blood, sweat, tears, vomit, or mucus, or excretions such as urine or feces. Some OCD sufferers even fear that the soap they're using is contaminated.[10]
A need for both sides of the body to feel even. A person with OCD might walk down a sidewalk and step on a crack with the ball of their left foot, then feel the need to step on another crack with the ball of their right foot. If one hand gets wet, the sufferer may feel very uncomfortable if the other is not. If the sufferer is walking and bumps into something, he/she may hit the object or person back to feel a sense of evenness. These symptoms are also experienced in a reversed manner. Some sufferers would rather things to be uneven, favoring the preferred side of the body.
An obsession with numbers (be it in math class, watching TV, or in a room). Some people are obsessed with even numbers and loathe odd numbers (odd numbers cause them a great deal of anxiety and often make the person uncomfortable or even angry) or vice versa.
Twisting the head on a toy around, then twisting it all the way back exactly in the opposite direction (see even body section).
Fear of transformation. A fear of transforming into someone or something else. Losing ones self or taking on undesired characteristics is what creates the anxiety and fear. Rituals such as counting, blinking, checking, hand washing etc. may eliminate the anxiety when they are done in a way which "feels right" to the sufferer.
In some cases, a pattern of uniformity on a bank account may indicate obsessive-compulsive spending. For example, an OCD-affected figure skater may issue a check to his/her coach for a private lesson every week, paying the same amount each time. In addition, the affected person may feel complacent about or invincible against the economic issues.


Here's a link to learn more about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive-compulsive_disorder

Answer 5

under normal circumstances Id say OCD but you do not want to hear that! R you good with math?I suggest you major in math in college! Sounds like numbers are you strong suit!

Answer 6

IM suer you are mentally stable this is a little to obsessive though to name it normal in MY oppinion
i dont no much i have depression and anxiety but id just get it cheked
if its not making you slow down on ordinary thigns i dont think its a problem

Answer 7

i did stuff like that as a preteen and teenager....annoyed the crap out of me. i don't do it anymore, but i still have the anxiety that i've had since i was a kid.....no idea if they are connected

Answer 8

i think its ocd