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Health Issues OCD Thread
- Thread starter Freesia
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hungryraccoon
Forum Legend
Hand washing is my thing too. It's nowhere near as extreme as it used to be though. Can you feel 'germs' or dirt on you?
I'm pretty crazy about doing things in a certain order, in my way. & if anyone interferes or messes this up, they're in trouble.
Also everything needs to be planned so that I can make sure I can schedule all my OCD ways in & have enough time.
Etc etc etc, could go on forever.
I say that it is better now, but I think as time has gone on I have found ways to incorporate OCD into my life without it being as disruptive as it was before.
Surely if you have OCD you always have OCD? It's never going to go away is it. You have to just get the hell on with it, unfortunately.
I'm pretty crazy about doing things in a certain order, in my way. & if anyone interferes or messes this up, they're in trouble.
Also everything needs to be planned so that I can make sure I can schedule all my OCD ways in & have enough time. Etc etc etc, could go on forever.
I say that it is better now, but I think as time has gone on I have found ways to incorporate OCD into my life without it being as disruptive as it was before.
Surely if you have OCD you always have OCD? It's never going to go away is it. You have to just get the hell on with it, unfortunately.
Renee1
Rawry
My boyfriend has OCD. I haven't picked up on any of his compulsions yet but I suppose I will once we're living together.
I have had issues with OCD from a young age although I didn't recognise I had it until I was in my late teens. The rituals and handwashing get a lot worse at certain times like when I was doing exams or have some other outside stressor.
Obsessive–compulsive disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I just thought I would put this information up in case people reading this don't know much about OCD. I read it quickly so I don't know if it is accurate as it is Wiki.
Obsessive–compulsive disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I just thought I would put this information up in case people reading this don't know much about OCD. I read it quickly so I don't know if it is accurate as it is Wiki.
OP
OP
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Well what I do feel is a sort of dirtiness on myhands, I hate touching doorknobs and using public restrooms, etc. I try and ignore it these days. My hands have got better. When it is really bad my hands get a lot of bandaids because they crack from the washing.
hungryraccoon
Forum Legend
I don't know. I've never had any treatment for it and I've only known one other person in real life to admit they have OCD. It was very disabling for him as he washed for about four hours a day. Maybe most people incorporate the behaviour into their daily life as you say and use it as a coping mechanism, despite it being an unhealthy way of coping.
RabbitLuvr
I love rabbits.
My hand washing is down right now, and I manage to not care about it most of the time. I get very very particular about hand washing when it comes to dealing with the rabbits. If I'm going to touch them or feed them, or handle anything of theirs, I absolutely have to wash my hands, sometimes twice, and I have to dry them on a clean towel.
When I go to rabbit meetings, I see people put lotion on their hands then pick up a rabbit. I want to scream at them.
I don't use hand sanitizer because I have eczema on my hands, and they're often dry and cracked, so sanitizer is very painful. I will not touch the handle of a toilet in a public restroom (I flush with my foot), and I use a paper towel to open the restroom door. I hate hate hate the restrooms with no paper towels, as I then either have to go get a big wad of toilet paper to use, or wait until someone else goes through the door. I also hate when there is no trash can directly next to the door, as I then have to carry around a paper towel (which is now filthy) until I find one, or I just throw it on the floor in the restroom. (Sorry!)
I went through a period of time where I obsessively checked the stove before I left the house. I would check it multiple times, and usually had to go back inside and check even after I'd checked it. It made it very difficult to leave the house, and I was late to work many times because of it.
I have to check the door before bed, to make sure it's locked. Even if I was the last one home, and I always lock it on my way in. Even if I see my husband lock it. I can't sleep unless I make sure it's locked.
When I go to rabbit meetings, I see people put lotion on their hands then pick up a rabbit. I want to scream at them.
I don't use hand sanitizer because I have eczema on my hands, and they're often dry and cracked, so sanitizer is very painful. I will not touch the handle of a toilet in a public restroom (I flush with my foot), and I use a paper towel to open the restroom door. I hate hate hate the restrooms with no paper towels, as I then either have to go get a big wad of toilet paper to use, or wait until someone else goes through the door. I also hate when there is no trash can directly next to the door, as I then have to carry around a paper towel (which is now filthy) until I find one, or I just throw it on the floor in the restroom. (Sorry!)
I went through a period of time where I obsessively checked the stove before I left the house. I would check it multiple times, and usually had to go back inside and check even after I'd checked it. It made it very difficult to leave the house, and I was late to work many times because of it.
I have to check the door before bed, to make sure it's locked. Even if I was the last one home, and I always lock it on my way in. Even if I see my husband lock it. I can't sleep unless I make sure it's locked.
thefadedone
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I have noticed that sometimes when you try to stop performing a certain ritual , you end up swapping it out for another one.
ledboots
Peace
I have heard of Exposure and Response Therapy that is used for people whose OCD is interfering with their lives in a major way. It is pretty radical therapy.
"There is a form of therapy that consistently alleviates OCD symptoms, but it’s among the cruelest and most agonizing procedures in all of psychotherapy. And it doesn’t involve protecting the person with OCD from his or her worst fears. In fact, this treatment requires that the sufferer confront them, directly, and without any kind of protection.The treatment is called Exposure and Response Prevention, or ERP therapy. ERP works when, guided by a trained therapist, the sufferer approaches the object of his or her fear without indulging in any compulsive ritual behaviors. These exposure exercises often involve doing things that would make anyone, even someone without an anxiety disorder, deeply uncomfortable. A sufferer with obsessions related to contamination and infection, for instance, might have to plunge his hands in a dirty toilet or a bucket of discarded tissues and then sit there, for hours, without exercising his handwashing ritual behaviors. No handwashing. Period. " continues here (mobile link) http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/triggered/201205/full-exposure-the-sickening-treatment-ocd
"There is a form of therapy that consistently alleviates OCD symptoms, but it’s among the cruelest and most agonizing procedures in all of psychotherapy. And it doesn’t involve protecting the person with OCD from his or her worst fears. In fact, this treatment requires that the sufferer confront them, directly, and without any kind of protection.The treatment is called Exposure and Response Prevention, or ERP therapy. ERP works when, guided by a trained therapist, the sufferer approaches the object of his or her fear without indulging in any compulsive ritual behaviors. These exposure exercises often involve doing things that would make anyone, even someone without an anxiety disorder, deeply uncomfortable. A sufferer with obsessions related to contamination and infection, for instance, might have to plunge his hands in a dirty toilet or a bucket of discarded tissues and then sit there, for hours, without exercising his handwashing ritual behaviors. No handwashing. Period. " continues here (mobile link) http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/triggered/201205/full-exposure-the-sickening-treatment-ocd
hungryraccoon
Forum Legend
ledboots
Peace
hungryraccoon
Forum Legend
So terrible! Even a person without OCD would find that horrible, haha.
