mhoward
04-15-2001, 08:39 PM
Hi, just wanting any advice really. I'm an 18 year old male, who's had this problem for quite a few years. It's similar to OCD where I have to wash my hands, but it's not exactly like it. Events, happenings and people that I don't like, or I am un-easy around causes me to put a lot of focus on my hands. This leads to me needing to wash my hands for fear of contamination of the things that I like. It's not exactly like OCD, but there are some similar traits. I do not frantically tidy, and I only need to wash my hands briefly once I have a thought, hear a song or touch something that is linked to a neagative memory. It never used to be too much of a problem, but it feels like it's gradually getting worse, as negative events happen through my life. I am a postive person, with an excellent job, family and friends. But, when a negative event happens, I seem to link it to a song or an object. When I hear or see that object, my palms become all warm and sweaty, and all my concentration is put on them.
I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I don't know what to do, or what exactly it is. I wouldn't of thought it's OCD, as there are too many symptons which are missing. I would be grateful for ANY advice anyone could give me.
I would be ETERNALLY grateful.
Thanks
Mark
I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I don't know what to do, or what exactly it is. I wouldn't of thought it's OCD, as there are too many symptons which are missing. I would be grateful for ANY advice anyone could give me.
I would be ETERNALLY grateful.
Thanks
Mark
Sponsor
Luvcarosel
04-18-2001, 01:15 AM
Hi, I just wanted to let you know that there are medications for compulsive disorders. I know that prozac is one of them. You should
consult with a doctor and share your feeling with them. I have a compulsive disorder: I find myself always wanting to clean the house.
I cannot stand disorganization, dirt, I feel
anxiety when I cannot get things in order or the kids make the house a wreck. You can also consult with a pyschiarist. Take care and good luck let me know what you decide todo and how everything works out. Lisa
consult with a doctor and share your feeling with them. I have a compulsive disorder: I find myself always wanting to clean the house.
I cannot stand disorganization, dirt, I feel
anxiety when I cannot get things in order or the kids make the house a wreck. You can also consult with a pyschiarist. Take care and good luck let me know what you decide todo and how everything works out. Lisa
incoherant
04-18-2001, 11:07 AM
Have you tried hypnotherapy?......
[This message has been edited by incoherant (edited 04-18-2001).]
[This message has been edited by incoherant (edited 04-18-2001).]
pert
04-21-2001, 07:03 AM
i'm not totally sure, but i think you can have ocd related to or assoc. w/an anxiety condition, depression or other.
i believe i have a form of it where i check things but not the usual rechecking say the door locks.
this is where i am fanatically neat and organized or have to have things a certain way which it never is.
as for the hand thing i can relate bigtime although i'm not a washer; moreover i'm a starer.
i think it has to do w/upsetment of some kind, the fixation on hands.
i mean ,if we were content we wouldn't have this.
so i'm suggesting w/me, it may be even something to do w/loss,say in a relationship,some type of rejection or personal stagnation.
i believe i have a form of it where i check things but not the usual rechecking say the door locks.
this is where i am fanatically neat and organized or have to have things a certain way which it never is.
as for the hand thing i can relate bigtime although i'm not a washer; moreover i'm a starer.
i think it has to do w/upsetment of some kind, the fixation on hands.
i mean ,if we were content we wouldn't have this.
so i'm suggesting w/me, it may be even something to do w/loss,say in a relationship,some type of rejection or personal stagnation.
Lookabare
05-25-2001, 06:17 PM
PLEASE, go to your nearest library and get the book "Tourette syndrome and behavioral disorders". Most people don't realize that you can have mild forms of this syndrome. I was 38 before I found out I have it. That book changed my life. Not physically but emotionally. I make sense to myself now. I don't have the obsessions like you mention but everyone is different. I bet you'll be amazed at what you read and I bet that you'll "find yourself" in that book. And if you do, it may be very possible to treat . You never know. I highly recommend getting that book and reading it cover to cover. It's divided into parts for medical personnel and "normal people" like us! So, skip over the medical terminology when it gets into it. It explains the general information for you at the ends of the chapters making it very understandable. Also at books end it shows a copy of a test used to determine whether or not you have tourette syndrome or not. Check it out ok?
MimiM
08-11-2001, 04:12 PM
Mark, I am very similar to you, and yet I have been diagnosed with OCD... and yes, my OCD consists of negative thoughts too - when I think of something "bad" which has happened in my life I feel the need to wash my hands, hair and showr. That's called forbidden thoughts which is a symptom of OCD.
Also, if I see things I don't like, for example "certain people" or "certain objects" that will cause me to wash. I will also AVOID going to certain places, order my parents to drive different routes etc. I feel if I ever get in contact with "those" places my life will never be the same, I will be contaminated FOREVER!! Just the thought of certain people and places makes me feel "dirty".
I also can understand the feeling that you get when you see, hear etc. something that is forbidden in your world... For me I get this tingling sensation on my scalp and I MUST wash my hair to get rid of it or else I will have a pure anxiety attack... it's something that I HAVE and MUST do to make me feel safe and secure again. This must sound absoletely barny to the average day to day folk. But to me it all makes perfect sense - it's REAL.
Yes, I link things as well. . . like, "Oh, I can't touch that picture, it was there before I had OCD... therefore it must have been developed up town, and in that case, we must have gone along CERTAIN routes, therefore the picture must be destroyed." You wouldn't believe the amount of things I have thrown away in my life due to contamination.
I have had therapy, in fact I still do, I am on medication to try and control my obsessive urges, but still NOTHING will able to get rid of it, because I won't let it, without OCD I wouldn't feel secure!! It's as simple as that.
[This message has been edited by MimiM (edited 08-11-2001).]
Also, if I see things I don't like, for example "certain people" or "certain objects" that will cause me to wash. I will also AVOID going to certain places, order my parents to drive different routes etc. I feel if I ever get in contact with "those" places my life will never be the same, I will be contaminated FOREVER!! Just the thought of certain people and places makes me feel "dirty".
I also can understand the feeling that you get when you see, hear etc. something that is forbidden in your world... For me I get this tingling sensation on my scalp and I MUST wash my hair to get rid of it or else I will have a pure anxiety attack... it's something that I HAVE and MUST do to make me feel safe and secure again. This must sound absoletely barny to the average day to day folk. But to me it all makes perfect sense - it's REAL.
Yes, I link things as well. . . like, "Oh, I can't touch that picture, it was there before I had OCD... therefore it must have been developed up town, and in that case, we must have gone along CERTAIN routes, therefore the picture must be destroyed." You wouldn't believe the amount of things I have thrown away in my life due to contamination.
I have had therapy, in fact I still do, I am on medication to try and control my obsessive urges, but still NOTHING will able to get rid of it, because I won't let it, without OCD I wouldn't feel secure!! It's as simple as that.
[This message has been edited by MimiM (edited 08-11-2001).]
Tara A. Baldini
10-13-2001, 09:07 PM
What exactly is OCD? What are the symptoms?
Kathrin
10-19-2001, 02:18 PM
OCD = onsessive compulsive disorder.
I was diagnosed with this. Taking meds now and did therapy, and after years finally doing ok with it!! :-)
The characteristsics are obsessions (intrusive thoughts, that are anxiety-provoking, and yo somehow know they are irrational but still can't get them out of yourmind, and the more you try to get them out the more they come back, usually), and compulsions (the rituals you do in order to keep the anxiety in check. Can be something like handwashing, or chacking, or counting; can be to ward off something bad from happening, like germs or dangers or something superstitious, or it can be just because of some unspecified need to do this because otherwise it "just doesn't feel right").
Ahm... I forget your name, the person who posted this first. It DOES sound like it could be OCD. What makes you think makes it differ from OCD?
Kathrin
I was diagnosed with this. Taking meds now and did therapy, and after years finally doing ok with it!! :-)
The characteristsics are obsessions (intrusive thoughts, that are anxiety-provoking, and yo somehow know they are irrational but still can't get them out of yourmind, and the more you try to get them out the more they come back, usually), and compulsions (the rituals you do in order to keep the anxiety in check. Can be something like handwashing, or chacking, or counting; can be to ward off something bad from happening, like germs or dangers or something superstitious, or it can be just because of some unspecified need to do this because otherwise it "just doesn't feel right").
Ahm... I forget your name, the person who posted this first. It DOES sound like it could be OCD. What makes you think makes it differ from OCD?
Kathrin
RedRobynNAU
10-30-2001, 10:56 PM
Not that I'm by ANY means an expert...but it sounds like OCD to me, as well. You should get it checked out. It couldn't hurt...
Tara A. Baldini
11-30-2001, 10:31 PM
OK then it does sound like OCD. Do get this checked out.
sweetwawa
12-02-2001, 11:41 AM
i treat ocd by going to 12 step meetings.
i gain support and hear others stories with anxiety and similar problems.
i also read,meditate and occasionally take the herb kava.
i have dealt w/this for years ongoing and will do what i can.
i eat right too.
i believe we can conquer any weakness or problem if we put our mind to it.
i mean,if we have epilepsy or other physical ailment,its still a matter of coping.
isn't it?????
something we have to live w/daily-a limitation.
the more we can accept it the more gracious we'll be i hope.
------------------
save face:)have
grace;find hope;
keep faith; end war..
i gain support and hear others stories with anxiety and similar problems.
i also read,meditate and occasionally take the herb kava.
i have dealt w/this for years ongoing and will do what i can.
i eat right too.
i believe we can conquer any weakness or problem if we put our mind to it.
i mean,if we have epilepsy or other physical ailment,its still a matter of coping.
isn't it?????
something we have to live w/daily-a limitation.
the more we can accept it the more gracious we'll be i hope.
------------------
save face:)have
grace;find hope;
keep faith; end war..
stefanies41280
12-07-2001, 04:49 PM
There are books on the internet you can buy to read up on OCD. There are also books that can help. I know of them is called Brain Lock, you should read them. It can't hurt!
P. Connell
12-08-2001, 05:02 PM
It's a pretty good bet that any type of repetitive behavior that is linked with a physical need for relief is going to be either a tic or an obsession/compulsion.
Tics and obsessions are right up my alley because I have a son with tourettes and OCD. Some tics look like obsessions/compulsions, and some OCs look like tics.
I assembled this list a long time ago of common tics and obsessions/compulsions and have passed it along to a lot of folks. You might want to read down the list and see if you notice any other similaries. I found a couple of things on this list that I do and I had no idea that they were tics :D.
Anyway, here it is:
Here's a list of types of tics divided into categories. Remember, there are a three different types of tic disorders...most tics "wax and wane"....all tics are not tourettes. A diagnosis of Tourettes comes when you are seeing both motor and vocal tics together and for a sustained period of over six months.
COMMON TICS
Simple Motor Tics
Eye Blinking
Shoulder Shrugs
Brushing or Tossing Hair Out of Eyes
Mouth Opening
Arm Extending
Facial Grimaces
Lip-licking
Rolling Eyes
Squinting
Simple Vocal/Phonic tics
Throat Clearing
Grunting
Yelling or Screaming
Sniffing
Barking
Snorting
Coughing
Spitting
Squeaking
Humming
Whistling
Complex Motor Tics
Pulling at Clothes
Touching People
Touching Objects
Smelling Fingers
Smelling Objects
Jumping or Skipping
Poking or Jabbing
Punching
Kicking
Hopping
Kissing Self or Others
Flapping Arms
Twirling Around
Tensing Muscle Groups
Thrusting Movements of
Groin or Torso
Twirling Hair
Walking on Toes
Copropraxia:
Sexually Touching Self
Sexually Touching Others
Obscene Gestures
Echo Phenomena:
Others' Actions
One's Own Actions
Self-Injurious Behaviors (e.g., Biting,
Hitting, Picking Skin Or Scabs)
Complex Vocal/Phonic Tics
Making Animal-like Sounds
Unusual Changes in Pitch or Volume of Voice
Stuttering
Echo Phenomena:
One's Own Words or Sounds
Others' Words or Sounds
Coprolalia:
Obscenities
Socially Taboo Phrases
________________________________________ ___
Now, here is a list of compulsions associated with OCD:
Obsessions consist of repetitive unwanted or bothersome thoughts. Compulsive and Ritualistic Behaviors are when the person feels that something must be done over and over and/or in a certain way. Research shows 50 to 60% of persons with TS also have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
OBSESSIONS
Being concerned with symmetry, exactness, cleanliness, order
Needing to know or remember things
Overfocusing on minute details
Having to have "JUST RIGHT" feeling
Overfocusing on one idea or action
Overfocusing on moral issues (right/wrong, fairness)
Focusing on specific numbers
Being concerned with colors of special significance
Needing to experience sensations (skin cut or burned)
Having a preoccupation with knives, scissors, blood
Worrying about harming self or others
Worrying that something terrible might happen (fire, death)
Being concerned about dirt or germs
Thinking about hoarding or collecting
Thinking about food and eating
Thinking about forbidden behaviors
Engaging in mental coprolalia (sexual thoughts, images, impulses)
Having aggressive thoughts, images, impulses
COMPULSIONS
Adjusting/readjusting clothes to feel just right (socks, sleeves)
Evening things up (touching with one hand then the other)
Overfocusing on one idea or action
Counting or grouping objects
Counting objects over and over again
Excessively ordering and arranging objects
Touching objects an exact number of times
Constantly fiddling with objects or clothes
Checking and rechecking (doors, locks, windows)
Repeating actions (in/out door, up/down from chair)
Needing to say or do what told not to say or do
Needing to finish verbalizations if interrupted
Needing to start over if interrupted
Repeatedly asking the same question
Having to respond to verbalization even when unnecessary
Persevering on a task
Not being able to change to a new task or activity
Echopraxia (repeating the actions of others)
Copropraxia (making obscene gestures)
Repeating sounds, words, numbers, music to oneself
Playing computer video games over and over in mind
Pallilalia (repeating aloud own words)
Echolalia (repeating others' words)
Coprolalia (uttering obscene words)
Touching objects, others, self, wounds
Sexually touching self
Sexually touching others (breasts, buttocks, genitals)
Picking skin/sores
Cutting or burning skin
Sucking thumb
Cracking knuckles
Vomiting
Sniffing or smelling hands or objects
Licking or biting others
Excessive handwashing, bathing, cleaning
Erasing repeatedly
Writing and rewriting until paper looks perfect
Stealing
Biting nails
Tics and obsessions are right up my alley because I have a son with tourettes and OCD. Some tics look like obsessions/compulsions, and some OCs look like tics.
I assembled this list a long time ago of common tics and obsessions/compulsions and have passed it along to a lot of folks. You might want to read down the list and see if you notice any other similaries. I found a couple of things on this list that I do and I had no idea that they were tics :D.
Anyway, here it is:
Here's a list of types of tics divided into categories. Remember, there are a three different types of tic disorders...most tics "wax and wane"....all tics are not tourettes. A diagnosis of Tourettes comes when you are seeing both motor and vocal tics together and for a sustained period of over six months.
COMMON TICS
Simple Motor Tics
Eye Blinking
Shoulder Shrugs
Brushing or Tossing Hair Out of Eyes
Mouth Opening
Arm Extending
Facial Grimaces
Lip-licking
Rolling Eyes
Squinting
Simple Vocal/Phonic tics
Throat Clearing
Grunting
Yelling or Screaming
Sniffing
Barking
Snorting
Coughing
Spitting
Squeaking
Humming
Whistling
Complex Motor Tics
Pulling at Clothes
Touching People
Touching Objects
Smelling Fingers
Smelling Objects
Jumping or Skipping
Poking or Jabbing
Punching
Kicking
Hopping
Kissing Self or Others
Flapping Arms
Twirling Around
Tensing Muscle Groups
Thrusting Movements of
Groin or Torso
Twirling Hair
Walking on Toes
Copropraxia:
Sexually Touching Self
Sexually Touching Others
Obscene Gestures
Echo Phenomena:
Others' Actions
One's Own Actions
Self-Injurious Behaviors (e.g., Biting,
Hitting, Picking Skin Or Scabs)
Complex Vocal/Phonic Tics
Making Animal-like Sounds
Unusual Changes in Pitch or Volume of Voice
Stuttering
Echo Phenomena:
One's Own Words or Sounds
Others' Words or Sounds
Coprolalia:
Obscenities
Socially Taboo Phrases
________________________________________ ___
Now, here is a list of compulsions associated with OCD:
Obsessions consist of repetitive unwanted or bothersome thoughts. Compulsive and Ritualistic Behaviors are when the person feels that something must be done over and over and/or in a certain way. Research shows 50 to 60% of persons with TS also have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
OBSESSIONS
Being concerned with symmetry, exactness, cleanliness, order
Needing to know or remember things
Overfocusing on minute details
Having to have "JUST RIGHT" feeling
Overfocusing on one idea or action
Overfocusing on moral issues (right/wrong, fairness)
Focusing on specific numbers
Being concerned with colors of special significance
Needing to experience sensations (skin cut or burned)
Having a preoccupation with knives, scissors, blood
Worrying about harming self or others
Worrying that something terrible might happen (fire, death)
Being concerned about dirt or germs
Thinking about hoarding or collecting
Thinking about food and eating
Thinking about forbidden behaviors
Engaging in mental coprolalia (sexual thoughts, images, impulses)
Having aggressive thoughts, images, impulses
COMPULSIONS
Adjusting/readjusting clothes to feel just right (socks, sleeves)
Evening things up (touching with one hand then the other)
Overfocusing on one idea or action
Counting or grouping objects
Counting objects over and over again
Excessively ordering and arranging objects
Touching objects an exact number of times
Constantly fiddling with objects or clothes
Checking and rechecking (doors, locks, windows)
Repeating actions (in/out door, up/down from chair)
Needing to say or do what told not to say or do
Needing to finish verbalizations if interrupted
Needing to start over if interrupted
Repeatedly asking the same question
Having to respond to verbalization even when unnecessary
Persevering on a task
Not being able to change to a new task or activity
Echopraxia (repeating the actions of others)
Copropraxia (making obscene gestures)
Repeating sounds, words, numbers, music to oneself
Playing computer video games over and over in mind
Pallilalia (repeating aloud own words)
Echolalia (repeating others' words)
Coprolalia (uttering obscene words)
Touching objects, others, self, wounds
Sexually touching self
Sexually touching others (breasts, buttocks, genitals)
Picking skin/sores
Cutting or burning skin
Sucking thumb
Cracking knuckles
Vomiting
Sniffing or smelling hands or objects
Licking or biting others
Excessive handwashing, bathing, cleaning
Erasing repeatedly
Writing and rewriting until paper looks perfect
Stealing
Biting nails
sweetwawa
12-14-2001, 09:11 PM
aren't we all ocd to a degree?
i'm hoping to relax my anxiety by will and strength over fear.
baths help.
talking to others here helps.
thank you stephanie for recommended reading.
and the above post was excellent too.
i'm hoping to relax my anxiety by will and strength over fear.
baths help.
talking to others here helps.
thank you stephanie for recommended reading.
and the above post was excellent too.