It has been 7 hours, and I finally finished my term paper!

[3tbear]

I am so tired, I can barely hold my head up. I've been on the computer all day working on it. It's the one I did on Obsessive Compulsive disorder. I think I've memorized everything. All of that information just sticks in your brain after awhile. Writing about such illnesses can also get to be a bit depressing. I also feel so bad for the people that have this illness. It's the compulsions people have that are so overwhelming. I've never met anyone who has this illness, or perhaps I have and just never knew it.

[Juliannaluv]

*raises her hand shyly*

I have a mild case of it. I check the doors about 12 times before I go to bed to make sure they're locked (even the front door that never gets used or unlocked). I also brush my teeth about 7 or so times a day. My dentist scolded me because I had begun brushing the enamel off my teeth. I don't brush as frequently as I used to. When I brush before bed, I usually brush for about 6 minutes because I just don't feel like I am getting my teeth clean enough. My toothbrush has a 2 minute timer 0n it and I run it through 3 cycles. My kids always tease & call me a "teeth freak".

I can't start laundry unless I know I can get it all done. If I start a load before bed, I won't go to bed until ALL the laundry is done & put away (even if I have to stay up all night) and if I start cleaning a room I don't stop until it is completely finished. I can't just dust a room or vacuum. It is all or nothing!!

I have heard of the people who wash their hands raw & stuff like that. I am glad mine isn't that severe.


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[sblme28]

My mom thinks i have a slight case of it...even though I've never been diagnosed.

The thing is...these symptoms are only once and a while...so...I just think I'm anal about things...

I also cant just dust and vaccuum...gotta clean it all or not at all. (I am a messy person...but i hate dirt!)

I like symetry when it come to my body. Like if i brush my right hand on something by accident, I gotta brush my lfet hand on it to...or my skin starts to crawl. Again...not ALWAYS...just sometimes.

I check things alot too...when I think I forgot to do something...I'll check it a few times.


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[3tbear]

I read about that, how people wash their hands 'til they are raw. Some people even go so far as to use things like Mr. Clean or Lestoil to wash their arms and body 'cause they just don't feel clean enough. I'm actually learning alot about things in my Psych class from all the papers we have to write. I've always believed that it pays to increase your knowledge. I actually enjoy learning.

I also read that most people have the same compulsions as those with OCD, they just don't feel compelled to act on them.

[MLM77721]

I also have some minor symptoms of OCD....


I have to do things in the same order every morning or else I get panicky and anxious and my whole day is ruined. Pretty much the only thing I can do is call in sick and stay in bed all day. I have had severe times with it, where one day I washed my hair before I washed my face in the shower and I nearly had a panic attack... I was crying and carrying on. That was a few years ago.

I am OCD about cleaning my room. I clean it EVERY DAY even if it doesn't need it. I also want things bare.. but I have also gotten better about this too. I wouldn't hang things on the wall, I would only have my bed made and a few things in my room, everything else packed up in the closet. Now I can have things looking nicely, but I clean it all the time.


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[luvs2shopalot]

WOW 3tbear! You really did work on that all day. I remember this morning when you said you had to get it finished.

Congratulations!

What do you know about people who used to have these symptoms but they seemed to have disappeared?

I used to be a cleaning fanatic but from the looks of my home, that has obviously gone by the wayside. I used to check light switches, door locks, candles and the knobs on the stove. I haven't done it in several years though.

I only seem to get a little off about things when I'm overly stressed, overly tired and too short on time.

:raises hand: I'm a reformed? checker...

[3tbear]

luvs2shopalot, I read that people with OCD sometimes don't have their symptoms all the time, like they go away, then come back. But I guess if someone had a bad case of OCD that they'd have the compulsions pretty much all of the time. If you want to read a good book on the subject one of the books I took out of the library is called:

"Tormenting Thoughts & Secret Rituals" by Ian Osborn, M.D. On the bottom of the front cover it says The Hidden Epidemic of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Another good book on the subject is: "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing". I can't remember the author of that one. It's not just about one person, that book is about all sorts of obsessions, disorders. They are both good reads. I found them both to be quite interesting.

I still check more than several times each night to make sure one of the knobs on our stove is in the Off position before I go to bed. I think it's just me being anal, 'cause I don't feel I have a compulsion to do this. If I let myself, I could just walk away and not check. It's more of a control thing with me, and 'cause if I didn't check, I might worry, and then I couldn't sleep. I guess we all have a few quirks huh?

Well, I definitely don't have a compulsion to clean, nope, not me. My house has the comfortable lived in look (LOL).

[verwon]

I'm diagnosed OCD. My doc put me on meds for it because I would worry about stuff so much, checking the door, cleaning, checking the stove, the ashtrays and etc. that I wouldn't hardly ever eat or sleep. The med helps some but does not get rid of it totally especially if I am upset, worried or mad.

[3tbear]

verwon, are you taking Anafril? All the books I read said that is the most commonly used med for OCD.

[mayfly]

I am pretty mellow about this kind of stuff, but one thing I do is check the back door 2 or 3 times before I go to bed. One thing that helps me is to say "The door is locked" when I check it. For some reason I aways would forget later if I checked or not, but by saying it out loud it sticks in my mind. My dh teases me. I tease him back because he has to check his alarm clock 3 times before he goes to bed.


In real life OCD is no laughing matter for some people. We had a youth kid who has an extreme, severe case of it, and they have not totally been able to get it under control. We also had a kid on our soccer team who had it, but his was controlled.

[luvs2shopalot]

Thanks for the info. 3tbear. I will look for the book the next time I go to the library.

I like the sounds of the 1st one you mentioned.

[3tbear]

You're welcome luvs2shopalot.