bbybyrd
11-21-2004, 10:54 PM
I'm new here and was wondering if I can get some help with this. I'm not even sure how to explain it all but I'll try my best.
I've always been a perfectionist. Everything (cassettes, cd's, movies, etc) have to be in alphabetical order. I have to have my keys in my right pocket and my lighter in my left pocket when I leave my apartment or I panic and think something bad is going to happen. I check constantly to make sure they're in there also. I also count when I walk because it makes me feel safe. I'm not sure if this is OCD or if I'm just strange so I can really use some help with this. :wave:
I've always been a perfectionist. Everything (cassettes, cd's, movies, etc) have to be in alphabetical order. I have to have my keys in my right pocket and my lighter in my left pocket when I leave my apartment or I panic and think something bad is going to happen. I check constantly to make sure they're in there also. I also count when I walk because it makes me feel safe. I'm not sure if this is OCD or if I'm just strange so I can really use some help with this. :wave:
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Myzen
11-22-2004, 09:25 AM
I'm new here and was wondering if I can get some help with this. I'm not even sure how to explain it all but I'll try my best.
I've always been a perfectionist. Everything (cassettes, cd's, movies, etc) have to be in alphabetical order. I have to have my keys in my right pocket and my lighter in my left pocket when I leave my apartment or I panic and think something bad is going to happen. I check constantly to make sure they're in there also. I also count when I walk because it makes me feel safe. I'm not sure if this is OCD or if I'm just strange so I can really use some help with this. :wave:
Hi bbybyrd,
Yes, it sounds like classic OCD to me. A couple of things about the intensity. How does it feel if you break one of the rituals? Also, can you change your rituals or are they always the same ones?
I've had this stuff for years and I managed to overcome it gradually by reducing the rituals to stuff that's not so invasive or publicly visible. I have slowly gained control over what I'm doing. Eventually it gets useful, like perfectionism in my rare book collection. It didn't happen overnight though, it took me years to settle it down.
I hope it gets easier for you.
Cheers, Myzen
I've always been a perfectionist. Everything (cassettes, cd's, movies, etc) have to be in alphabetical order. I have to have my keys in my right pocket and my lighter in my left pocket when I leave my apartment or I panic and think something bad is going to happen. I check constantly to make sure they're in there also. I also count when I walk because it makes me feel safe. I'm not sure if this is OCD or if I'm just strange so I can really use some help with this. :wave:
Hi bbybyrd,
Yes, it sounds like classic OCD to me. A couple of things about the intensity. How does it feel if you break one of the rituals? Also, can you change your rituals or are they always the same ones?
I've had this stuff for years and I managed to overcome it gradually by reducing the rituals to stuff that's not so invasive or publicly visible. I have slowly gained control over what I'm doing. Eventually it gets useful, like perfectionism in my rare book collection. It didn't happen overnight though, it took me years to settle it down.
I hope it gets easier for you.
Cheers, Myzen
bbybyrd
11-22-2004, 11:36 AM
If I break any of the rituals I start to panic and get real paranoid. If I don't count when I walk then I get scared like someone is going to hurt me. If I don't have my keys in my right pocket and my lighter in my left pocket then I get scared and feel that something bad is getting ready to happen. If my stuff isn't in alphabetical order then I get paranoid and feel that someone is in my apartment.
I'm also scared of bridges so when I'm on a bridge I constantly look at license plates and add the numbers up. It makes me calm. And I'm constantly checking doors to make sure they are locked. There are times when I went outside to smoke (over my sisters' place) and when I come back in the house the first thing that goes through my mind is "oh no, did I remember to lock the door" and I'll have that thought til I check to make sure it's locked. :wave:
I'm also scared of bridges so when I'm on a bridge I constantly look at license plates and add the numbers up. It makes me calm. And I'm constantly checking doors to make sure they are locked. There are times when I went outside to smoke (over my sisters' place) and when I come back in the house the first thing that goes through my mind is "oh no, did I remember to lock the door" and I'll have that thought til I check to make sure it's locked. :wave:
broadwaybaby614
11-29-2004, 06:43 PM
yeah, DEFINETLY ocd. without a doubt in my mind. you should go to the doctor though to maybe get some medication.
nsyncrle
11-29-2004, 07:37 PM
I do similar stuff. Some of the rituals I can break, but it's not easy! It can even cause me to get no sleep, to overcome some of them.
Everythig has to have a place and can't be moved, or I freak. I have to keep to doing things a certtain times or I become upset. :nono:
Everythig has to have a place and can't be moved, or I freak. I have to keep to doing things a certtain times or I become upset. :nono:
broadwaybaby614
11-29-2004, 09:41 PM
yeah, i dont have the "putting things in the right place" thing, but when im doing anything handwritten, i NEED WHITEOUT. cuz if the white out isnt right in front of me, just the idea of writing something incorrectly (i mean like illegibly or the wrong word when copying something or drawing something wrong; not an answer to a question) and theres no whiteout... in my mind the world ends hehe. and also like kind of the way things are "arranged." theres no specific order like "pen here, binder here, whiteout here." but more like they cant just be all over. it has to be neat and then once i put it there, i wont put it back in a diff. spot. theres other stuff, but thats the main stuff... the ones that bother me most.
bbybyrd
11-30-2004, 08:36 AM
I saw my doctor and he increased my paxil cr. He also told me that Risperdal and Seroquel (which I'm on both) can also increase the OCD. Saw my therapist yesterday and we're going to start working on the OCD. It's very hard to explain some of this stuff to my sister whom I spend most of my time with. We're going to have a family session after Christmas with my therapist so we can talk about things. Thanks everyone for their feedback. :nono: