quik

Hi there,

I have never been diagnosed or treated for OCD, but I definitely have all the symptoms. Ever since I was in elementary school (I'm a month shy of 26 now) I remember feeling urges that required head shaking and/or grunting to "feel right." I remember going through different tics throughout my life. The head-shaking went on for a few years. So did the oral tics. I've always been a counter and have gone through a couple of different "right" numbers in my life. I'm also very meticulous and anal about neatness and organization. Excessive cleaning was never my thing though. Every night I have to check the stove, the door lock and the alarm clock several times. I tap my fingers and shake my hands in rhythmic patterns. At the computer I have to tap the mouse in rhythm every time I put my hand on it.

In high school I went through a blinking phase as well as one rather embarrassing year where in order to "feel right," I had to constantly open my mouth as wide as possible and feel the "right" amount of stretch. I'm glad I outgrew that one. =)

I have two rather new compulsions that seemed to arise in the past couple of years. One is a fear that if I drive a car I will get into an accident. Or if I have to find parking, I won't find any and I'll end up crashing. I've lived in big cities the past 8 years or so, so there hasn't been much need for driving. Only on the occasions when I had to rent a car for weekend trips or moving. But I would get very afraid of getting into an accident every time. Even sometimes when I'm not the driver I start to feel like we're going too fast and I verge on panic. My other new compulsion is a fear that we are too loud and will disturb the neighbors. I live with my fiancee in an apartment building and I am constantly afraid that the TV, our music, or our talking is too loud. Sometimes the fear is not that we are disturbing others, but that the volume itself starts to cause me to panic a little.

My question is: does OCD tend to worsen with age? I am noticing these new compulsions, though I have been fortunate that none of my compulsions have ever really interfered with my day-to-day life. But I'm wondering if I should seek some professional help in case my symptoms eventually do get worse.

Thanks for listening.