One thing to read about it, another to see it...

[Nack]

Thanks to VH1, I manage to get a glimpse of what people with OCD are like. I mean, I've read and heard of people with OCD, but never seen it first hand. There's a new show on VH1 called "The OCD project" they get 6 people with extreme OCD and tries to treat them...
Its really an eye opener for me. I honestly didn't know it was this bad... again, Its one thing to read about it, and another thing to see it in action.

Here's a trailer of the show:
Watch The OCD Project Supertrailer | View Original Reality TV Shows | VH1.com

Can people relate to this? Is this what it means to have OCD?

 

[Emily_G]

bah! I posted a thread about this and no one responded..it's okay Hubby and I have been watching it...we find it pretty interesting and are very hopefully to see improvement I've seen other shows on OCD, MTV's True Life had one on OCD as well....I find it pretty fascinating.

 

[christinecanada]

I 2 have seen these shows, and I have to admit, it makes me feel a little bit better knowing my OCD is not that bad. I never want to get like that.

 

[chained]

If its just another classic OCD show where they show hand washing, rituals and counting I'll pass on it because OCD is so much more than that. If someone is going to make a show on OCD they need to at least make an attemp to cover all forms of OCD, the ritual, hand washing, contamination, counting, cleaning is just a very few examples of OCD that is why so many people who have Pure - O post things here and everyone is like "wtf you need to see someone" or "this thread needs to be deleted" and things like that. Its because most every OCD show I have ever watched just covers the above stuff that I mentioned and I can assure you that Pure-O is every bit as difficult if not more difficult to handle and deal with because I have had both. Thanks for the link though Nack. I was not trying to be rude but I just want others to know what the other types of OCD are like to deal with.

agreed....

 

[dooby-duck]

There is a lack of education about all kinds of mental disorders and these programmes could easily spend a few minutes discussing the spectrum of OCD rather than focusing on just the sensational aspects which attract the viewers.

I mean I've had OCD probably for many years now but only quite recently found out that those strange, anxious and terrible thoughts that I had were actually part of it.

 

[EscapeArtist]

I'm curious...what are these overlooked forms of OCD? I think I may have minor OCD but I can't find any "types" other than "obsession, cleaning, hoarding.." etc, the 5 "main" types and these don't relate to me.

 

[EscapeArtist]

Would these things be considered OCD symptoms?:
1.Counting and recounting calories all day, just to make sure..
2.Picking at body to the point of damage for years on end, unable to stop
3.I'm afraid of earthquakes, but I don't pray that the earthquake doesn't hit, because I'm afraid that if I pray then karma will get me and it WILL hit, so it's an urge NOT to pray. Sometimes I have an urge to put on a helmet or stand next to an interior corner because it "could happen any second.." well this is definitely a symptom but it doesn't mean I have it..?
4.I find myself reciting stories out loud that I make up when i'm nervous or looking for things... I don't usually do it very consciously
5.Similar to the picking at body thing, I used to have an addiction of making my hair was in place, switched to making sure that my upper lip was still attached by that little gum-string-thing, now it's an addiction of running my hands through my hair to make sure there isn't any dead hair.
6. My social worker told me social phobia in itself is a form of OCD? How is this??

lastly, everybody has symptoms. How do you know you have OCD?

Edit: I've thought of more that could be symptoms. When watching a movie or listening to a song, when it gets to the climax, if somebody interupts me I consider the entire mood of it destroyed, there just was no point in watching that movie if somebody is talking outside of the door while it's at the best part. This could just be my ADD... I often see no point in cleaning, because it'll never be truly ENTIRELY clean, ya know? Or what's the point in eating anything healthy when the healthy stuff is GMOs and the water is permanently contaminated? Might as well screw health all together. I think this way about EVERYTHING... I never realised this is more of a control-based thought though. I think I may have answered my own question about whether or not I have a minor form of OCD.

 

[melbell]

I will admit, it makes me feel better when i watch hoarders, obsessed, OCD project just because i dont feel so alone, BUT on the other hand, i suffer from Pure-O and it is horrible, because i dont have any compulsions to make me feel better so i cant relate to the rituals aspect. I think this condition is hard to explain to people because like most of you said, OCD is often tied with rituals. Most of the help they provide on the OCD project seems more along the lines of stopping the rituals which will prove to them nothing bad happens when the rituals stop, which in turn will lessen their anxiety and OCD thoughts. Pure O is so tricky because it is all mental. I really wish the had more of a spectrum of different cases; it would have been nice to have one person with pure O, or even some ritualists that arent the EXTREME. i think it is shows like this that try to educate "normal" people about OCD, but in turn it just makes them have this idea about what OCD is that isnt all true. Sometimes i feel like because i dont perform rituals, my parents dont think it is as severe as it really is . . . its almost like they downplay my condition. Or if i choose to tell someone i have OCD they say " oh are you afraid of germs and wash your hands alot?".

 

[dooby-duck]

I seem to have ocd both ways. I have some obsessions with their own related compulsions, normally checking things, other compulsions seem more magical in nature. They are the things I have to complete every day or something bad may happen.
I also have obsessions without any obvious compulsions, these are the ones which normally cause me the most anxiety unless I can't remember the checking as that can be pretty terrible.

 

[chained]

Would these things be considered OCD symptoms?:
1.Counting and recounting calories all day, just to make sure..
2.Picking at body to the point of damage for years on end, unable to stop
3.I'm afraid of earthquakes, but I don't pray that the earthquake doesn't hit, because I'm afraid that if I pray then karma will get me and it WILL hit, so it's an urge NOT to pray. Sometimes I have an urge to put on a helmet or stand next to an interior corner because it "could happen any second.." well this is definitely a symptom but it doesn't mean I have it..?
4.I find myself reciting stories out loud that I make up when i'm nervous or looking for things... I don't usually do it very consciously
5.Similar to the picking at body thing, I used to have an addiction of making my hair was in place, switched to making sure that my upper lip was still attached by that little gum-string-thing, now it's an addiction of running my hands through my hair to make sure there isn't any dead hair.
6. My social worker told me social phobia in itself is a form of OCD? How is this??

lastly, everybody has symptoms. How do you know you have OCD?

Edit: I've thought of more that could be symptoms. When watching a movie or listening to a song, when it gets to the climax, if somebody interupts me I consider the entire mood of it destroyed, there just was no point in watching that movie if somebody is talking outside of the door while it's at the best part. This could just be my ADD... I often see no point in cleaning, because it'll never be truly ENTIRELY clean, ya know? Or what's the point in eating anything healthy when the healthy stuff is GMOs and the water is permanently contaminated? Might as well screw health all together. I think this way about EVERYTHING... I never realised this is more of a control-based thought though. I think I may have answered my own question about whether or not I have a minor form of OCD.

well those are OCD tendencies, but not necessarily OCD.. lemme explain..
see I had a lot of OCD tendencies two years back, and now i dont, ive realized that ocd was only a defense mechanism against my real problems, sa and low self esteem, life in general..
they protect u as silly as it sounds, and i dont think OCD can be diagnosed in the teens with all the changes happening..

 

[coyote]

500 posts on Social Phobia World in 2 1/2 months....is that symptomatic of OCD?