OCD - I have it, do you?

Principessa

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I know some of you have issues with anxiety, OCD, and germ type stuff. I swear I am getting worse about that as I age. It used to just be that I had to count things in threes.

It's not just that I count things in 3's. Sometime in my teens I started doing sets of 3's. So, if I count 3 windows on a building from left to right, I then have to count the same 3 windows right to left, and then again left to right to complete the set of three.

I know exactly when my germ phobia started. Fall 1997 when I started teaching and traveling cross country for work. I love kids but they are bubbling, snotty cauldrons of germs, mucous, and spittle. It never fails the sicker the little ones are the more they want to hug you and hold your hand. :yuck:

Now there are days when I swear the germ thing is almost paralyzing. :redface: For instance, this happend back in June. I had just left Wal-Mart and was in the parking lot. As I approached my car I noticed a Coke can on it's side behind my right rear tire. Like an idiot I went to nudge it out of the way with my foot. It spun around and warm sticky Coke sprayed over the front of my right foot. I was wearing flip-flops and my first thought was, "Aaaccckkk! I've got someones Coke back wash on me!" I got in the car and wiped off my foot with a paper towel. It was all I could do not to hyperventilate. I started trying to remember if I had a cut on my foot, what if this person had meningitis or encephalitis. No cuts, thank God.

I calmed down enough to drive home. Once home and in the garage I took off my flip-flop and sprayed it and my foot with the closest thing available. . . Windex. I figured the ammonia in it would neutralize anything contagious. (Hey, it worked for the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding!) Once inside, of course I went to the bathroom and thoroughly washed my feet with anti-bacterial soap and a few spritzes of Clorox Clean-Up. After that I was okay.

Oddly, I can live with clutter, as long as it's clean. I am a pile for everything, and everything in it's pile person. However, you could do surgery in my kitchen or bathroom. I swear I should own stock in Clorox-Clean up and ammonia. I have given myself migraines just from the cleanser fumes when I clean the bathroom. :frown1:

It's official isn't it? I am totally batshitcazy aren't I. :redface:


What do you count, if you count?
What's your number that you count by?
Are you a germaphobe? About your person or your car, household etc.?
 
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anglerect

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Hey, you are normal, you just have a heightened sense of awareness of people's filth!You know how I know you are normal?Because you are coherent, lucid,fluent,very loquacious and clearly expressive in your entertaining write up !
All you have is anxiety and OCD and perhaps a few phobias.
You just need to speak to your family physician and go on a seratonin boosting medicine, get 8 hours of sleep and maybe do a work shop where you are imersed in germs and you will learn to cope!
 

Principessa

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As opposed to whomever else is on this board?
:rofl: Well I know I'm not the only obsessive-compulsive, germaphobe here, but it's interesting to hear the forms it takes in different people.

Do you big cocked guys obsess about another guy possibly being bigger?
 

Principessa

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Hey, you are normal, you just have a heightened sense of awareness of people's filth! You know how I know you are normal?Because you are coherent, lucid,fluent,very loquacious and clearly expressive in your entertaining write up !
Thank you but there is a fine line between genius and insanity. Not that I am a genius but, well you know what I mean. :biggrin1:

All you have is anxiety and OCD and perhaps a few phobias.
Is that all? :tongue:

You just need to speak to your family physician and go on a seratonin boosting medicine, get 8 hours of sleep and maybe do a work shop where you are immersed in germs and you will learn to cope!
Yeah, I'm not immersing myself in germs. I don't even do hot tubs if I can help it. Most people see hot tubs as being relaxing or sexy I see a giant petri dish. :rolleyes:
 

nay-nay

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wel as i told you before i count by 10s. i count cars and any sort of patterns that i see anywhere (i.e. a blanket, rug, wallpaper). i also count spots on the wall and ceiling (such as nail holes). when i worked at my tribe's casino, i used to count the slot machines in front of the area that i worked in. my friend noticed i was looking around frantically and she was like "what's wrong?" so i told her and she laughed hysterically. and then after a while it started to scare her b/c it causes so much anxiety. i almost get panick attacks over it.

i basically count anything i see where there looks to be 10 or more. clouds, trees, houses, cars, buttons on the tv/dvd player, street lights, signs, letters on the signs. i count EVERYTHING.

i have the thing where i have to rinse out my cup until it "feels right." i have to swoosh it around in the cup til it overflows and then i pour it out. rinse the rim where you drink from and then i gotta swoosh the water again. i can repeat this as long as 5 minutes until it "feels right." i never really let anyone get me something to drink b/c i know they aren't going to do it and i won't be able to drink from the cup. when that's done...i can fill the cup all the way up and then i gotta chug at least half or however much "feels right." but it's gotta be at least half. and then i can pour out whatever's left and then fill with whatever i had planned on drinking in the first place.

i type everything as well as if there's an invisible keyboard below my fingertips. if it's a commercial or billboard/sign along the highway or street, i have to type it before it passes. if i don't finish in time, i get very angry and annoyed.

i always have to write the letter M when i'm sitting here doing nothing. then i automatically have to go into another M, but sideways (to the right). and then an M upside down, and then one to the left, so it looks like a shape. like the blue shapes on this quilt that go around the squares. http://www.centerforthequilt.org/MemoryQ-images/StarMemoryQuilt.jpg

i haven't actually been diagnosed with OCD but i'm quite sure that i have it. i get so pissed b/c i fucking have to count EVERYTHING. it gets to be too much sometimes. it causes sooo much anxiety. i feel like all i ever do is count and draw M's. :rolleyes: i honestly have no clue where i even got the letter M. i've done it since i was about 12 or so.
 

Principessa

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Nay-Nay, I only do the invisible typing thing to keep track of my sets of 3's.

Believe it or not I knew exactly what shape your M's made before I looked at the quilt. :redface: Maybe cause I just like quilts.:tongue: I don't have a fave letter like you do. I can be a little anal about cleaning dishes and such but once I know they are clean I'm fine. However, I have to have glasses open end down in the cabinet. I do that because otherwise dust gets in them and you have to wash them again before each use. I'm just too lazy for that. :lmao:

Fortunately I'm not so bad I can't leave the house. Of course that's probably because I like going out and having new things to count. :tongue:








 

nay-nay

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i don't mind dirt and grime. i used to LOVE to play in the mud and the dirt. my mom would put me in cute little dresses and they'd turn out black 5 minutes later. she used to call me a "mud puppy." :biggrin1:

i was sexually abused when i was very young, and i believe that is why i never feel clean. i always feel dirty and gross. sometimes i just don't even bother showering just cuz i know that no matter how much i scrub, i'll still feel...filthy.

but when i clean, i CLEAN. i have to clean EVERYTHING. i have to wash dishes. then i have to clean the counter and table. even the stove. sweep. mop. then i clean the sink and surrounding areas. then i have to dry EVERYTHING. even the sink. i don't like water spots. it drives me NUTS.

i cannot stand to sit on toilets. i'm like ugh. someone else's ass has been on it too. and then i'm like...if a guy sits on it...won't his junk touch the seat in the front? gross. i'm bothered by it because i stayed with a friend once and her roommate let me use her bathroom. there was a little bit of blood on the front part and i'm like OMFG! :eek: i don't even see how it could've gotten there. pretty sure i don't sit directly on the seat with my clit rested on it. LOL. and then i'm like "Do women really do that!?" so ever since then, i automatically assume that everybody's junk has been on it and i can't bear to sit on the toilet seats. i have strong legs now because of it (and good aim when i pee). :biggrin1: LOL
 

Viking_UK

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I count footsteps and stairs mainly, and usually in sets of four. It doesn't feel right if they're not in fours. I don't get mad or feel insecure if things aren't in fours, but it doesn't feel right. It doesn't suit my idea of the way things should be. I sometimes try to stop myself counting, but within minutes, as soon as my attention wanders, I'm counting again.

I'm very particular about washing and wash my hands very frequently, but I've got a healthy disrespect for being too hygienic if that isn't too much of a contradiction. Basically, I'm aware that if I got into a pattern where I was sterilising everything, it could easily become an obsession, besides not being a healthy thing to do anyway.

I don't know if that classes as mild OCD or whether it's just me being me. The trouble is I've read up on the subject, and what can happen then is that if you think you know what to look for, you can start seeing patterns and modes of behaviour that lead you to believe you suffer from it and OCD is one disorder which is self-perpetuating.
 

nay-nay

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i count stairs as well. and i cannot step on a crack on the sidewalk or the floor if there are tiles big enough for my foot to fit in them.

"don't step on a crack or you'll break your mother's back." :tongue::biggrin1: hahaha
 

Jovial

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What do you count, if you count?
Sometimes I count the letters in words or phrases and I like if they split apart nicely like
"Whatdoyo ucountif youcount"

3 groups of 8 letters each. I seemed to do this in my head more in the past, but lately I don't do it much. I like to see how many letters are in long words.

I count stairs as I go up or down them. The house I grew up in had 13 steps going upstairs and 13 going down into the basement. :redface:
 

JustAsking

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They say that if the OCD activities total more than an hour of your day, then it is considered clincial OCD. Shy of that, one is just annoying, I guess.
 

Principessa

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They say that if the OCD activities total more than an hour of your day, then it is considered clincial OCD. Shy of that, one is just annoying, I guess.
I know I'm annoying, people tell me that all the time. :biggrin1: I just figured they were jealous cause I'm so cute.
 

Viking_UK

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I just remembered another thing I'm prone to doing - checking. I'm never sure if I've locked the door and very go back to it to make sure.

Jovial, it's unusual to have 13 steps. That used to be considered unlucky. I'm just glad I'm not superstitious on top of everything else.
 

Rikter8

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I just remembered another thing I'm prone to doing - checking. I'm never sure if I've locked the door and very go back to it to make sure.

I have never been diagnosed with OCD, but I know what your speaking of NJ. I, like Viking, also have a habit of checking and double checking door locks. I've worked very hard at getting a system down every morning, so that I can pull away from the house worry free.

My dad also did this when we were kids...He'd quadruple check that lock so much...that we actually wore out locks because he'd always 'Jiggle' the lock to make sure it was good.

If your not on meds, you might want to look into them - IF its controlling your life or spiraling out of control.

Germs are just Germs. They make us stronger. People that are Germaphobes tend to get worse sickness than others who are not, since their bodies don't have the built up resistance.

There are self help books for reference as well that may prove to be very helpful. I paid $600 for an entire self help collection (DVD's, workbooks, etc) for my depression, and there is a section in there for OCD, for those that might have it.

Just remember that Thousands of people suffer from this exhausting trait, but don't let it get you down.
 

D_Gunther Snotpole

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As a child, I used to count things (three was an important number), check, and handwash obsessively.
I would also often look at a word and, in my head, place all the letters in alphabetical order. (For 'order,' for example, I would think, d-e-o-r-r. But I preferred much longer words for the challenge they offered.)
For some reason, all that tendency is gone.
Don't know why.
 

cockoloco

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As a child, I used to count things (three was an important number), check, and handwash obsessively.
I would also often look at a word and, in my head, place all the letters in alphabetical order. (For 'order,' for example, I would think, d-e-o-r-r. But I preferred much longer words for the challenge they offered.)
For some reason, all that tendency is gone.
Don't know why.

So if I said for example

1, 2... 1, 2...1, 2.....4 it does nothing?

And what if I type the word sesquipedalianism?

:cool: