Driving my family nuts (weird) - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Message Board

amy67 · 03-02-2005, 01:49 PM

I'm not sure if this is OCD or not, but it's something I've dealt with almost all my life. I have a major problem with making sure my ears, and belly button, and even my nose, are always clean. I pick at my belly button until it bleeds, thinking there is dirt in it. I am constantly blowing my nose, and cleaning out my ears. The worst part is that I do it to my husband and son too. I am always picking scabs and zits on my husband. I am constantly making sure my son doesn't have boogers in his nose (he is only 15 months so he has a lot of boogers). My husband doesn't understand this, and pokes fun at me, and even gets mad sometimes. How can I stop this? Any advice would be great.

Pillowtalkk · 03-02-2005, 02:45 PM

I have this problem to , I dont know why i like to pick scabs and even try to sometimes on my kids, now my son decided to take up this bad habit.Ears i clean mine alot but my kids i am always on them making sure you cant see anything . when they was little i would pick and pick. My cats had a ear infection awhile back the Vet said keep it clean well he shouldnt have said that , i was always cleaning and picking in his ears . My EX's belly button was a inny so he always had stuff in it from his pants , i would tell him either he get it or i will. I have done this for years . My mom used to yell for my scab picking.....

Rark · 03-02-2005, 03:37 PM

Definately sounds like OCD to me. Seeing a therapist who properly understands OCD, and then if medication is recomended you could go for that, may help.

You could also try a web search on "OCD help" or something of the like. Try some techniques they recomend and it could lessen the problems. I do NOT recomend buying any of the self-help books or tapes or procedures. Read the samples and stories about how they worked...Anything you buy will probably be a very long and drawn out version of those techniques. If you still feel this is just too much, therapy wouldn't be a bad idea (once again, some therapists still aren't very aware about the true nature of OCD. Most are pretty well informed now, but in any web search you use you'll probably hear about faulty diagnosis and ideas of how to fix it. If you decide to see a therapist and it resembles something like that, find a better one

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tony55 · 03-06-2005, 08:25 PM

I keep finding more people with 'habits' like mine! Yes, I also obsessively keep my ears, nose, and belly button clean. I've gotten ear aches before from poking around my ear too much. If you need a therapist I would check the list provided by the OC Foundation. I would also go to an OCD support group and ask for their suggestions. And, I would also ask the therapist how much experience they have treating OCD and what percentage of their current patients are being treated for OCD by them. Medication has helped me considerably. It gives me a "I don't give a damn" attitude, which for the average person would probably be bad, but when you obsess so much about stupid things it is a good thing, as Martha would say.