Hi New Member needing some help

[Laurapie319]

Hello,

My name is Laura. And I think I may have OCD. I have tried to talk to people about it but I usually get the response that I am overreacting.

Here is me in a nut shell.

Growing up I always need things to be symmetrical and in order. Although this need for perfection never affected my life, the older I get the more thoughts I have.

I think I first thought something was wrong was not to long ago. As I said I typically am a perfectionist so I never thought to much about it, but one day it occurred to me that these are not rational normal thoughts.

What had happened was I had left my apartment for the weekend and left a friend of mine to lock up for me when she left.

I had given her a check list of tings to make sure where turned off and what not which I repeated to her several times

Over the weekend I had this obsessive thought that my toilet seat lid was up, which puts an indent in the carpeting on the cover. And that the door was left open in the bathroom which dents the carpeting on the floor.

I must have thought and rethought this thought 30-50 times over the weekend and all I wanted to do was drive home and fix it. If I didn't get home and fix it then everything would be ruined.

I called my friend and asked her specifically if she had placed the lid down and closed the door (but not all the way because i didn't want it shut) but just enough so it doesn't rest on the carpet.

After i got home I thought about how "crazy" it was to think about a toilet seat and a bathroom door, and I started to realize there were other things that I thought about irrationally as well.

I started to keep track of these things, which I keep to myself because I have no one to talk to about it.

Here are a few tings a do all the time consistently.

I check my locks several times. Both at my house and in my car.
I line all my bottles up by height and type.
I have my clothes organized by style
I hate when people sneeze (because i think the germs are going to land on me)
i repeat my self very often
i plan exactly the steps I will take before I do anything

Those were just a few things I noticed.

The thing is, I know other people like neatness and being organized but if i don't do these things I don't feel "right" I almost cannot explain the feeling.

Sorry to be so looooong but i wanted to get some reactions.

Am I overreacting does everyone think random thoughts like this???

The longer it goes on I am afraid it will start interfering in my life.

Any thought or comments are super appreciated.

Thanks!!!

 

[Aoeu]

I think most people who do not have OCD tend to rationalize what people with OCD say to them as "overreacting". "Just calm down and don't worry about it, you're fine." It never really seems to help much does it?

I think if these things bother YOU internally then you should see a professional. Imagine what it would be like to NOT have to go on vacation and worry about the indentation on the fabric. That's the type of thing that drove me to get help. I didn't want to be like that anymore.

I think some of what you listed can be classified as "normal". Who likes to be sneezed on? Why not organize things? It makes them neat, in order, easy to manage. HOWEVER if the thought of them not being in that state causes you a lot of worry or anxiety, which most people would not experience in those situations, then you should consider talking with a professional about it. If you haven't thought about it before you'd be surprised how many thoughts, assumptions, and judgments are caught up in our obsessions/compulsions.

I've gone through CBT for my OCD and have had great success and really feel like I've beaten OCD so I always want to encourage people who have or think they may have OCD to talk to a licensed therapist who specializes in OCD about what they are thinking/feeling. In my opinion it is so much better to seek help than to suffer alone or in silence. I hope this helps.

 

[MsA]

I'm responding to your post. For a long time I didn't know that it was OCD until my doctor told me. Then all my friends told me that they knew I had some problem. I just have a slight case of it. Having a clean house was a major issue in my life. I would have crying spells if I cleaned and someone messed it up. I have to have a clean floor. I was put on zoloft 50mg because of OCD, PMPD, and depression. The first few weeks it was just nice not worry about racing thoughts. YOu might want to try it. There are a lot of negative remarks about zoloft but recently I stopped taking it because I got ill and all my OCD symptoms are coming back and I've been a HOT MESS! So I'm starting back up again. Hope this helps.

 

[Dr_OCD]

Hi, sorry but you might have OCD. Your OCD is causing you to slow down, waste a lot of time, you are a "serious" checker, it is good that you notice it. Please seek professional help if possible. Learn to re-condition your checking urges.