I’m not sure if I have OCD but I thought I’d share some of my symptoms and see if anyone can relate. I’m 20 years old and I’ve been experiencing all of these things for as long as I can remember. Over the years they’ve become less severe and more manageable. I have a big issue with textures and the way things feel on my body like if I could feel the seem of my sock on my toes or not being able to sleep because I could feel a wrinkle in my sheets. I’ve also always struggled with feeling like I’m unable to breathe, like I can’t get a full breathe, which I’ve now realized is anxiety. I also will think if I don’t do “blank” something bad is going to happen so I’ll have to do whatever it is, this one specifically has gotten way more manageable over the years. I also have a really bad habit of picking my fingers until they bleed I think it’s because if I see a hangnail I feel like I have to fix it for whatever reason even I know I’m making it worse and it’s painful my brain tells me it’s fixing it

The ones that I can definitely relate to are the ones where if I don’t do something specific that my mind has told me to do, something bad will happen, and the one about picking my skin. The first part is doing something called a compulsion. You OBSESS over a particular thing, such as worrying that something horrible is going to happen, so you do a COMPULSION to relieve that bad feeling and giving in to the tricks your mind is playing on you though the OCD. Hence, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The second one is called Dermatilomania, which is essentially skin picking. Personally, I have Trichotillomania, which is hair pulling. I have super minor skin picking but huge hair pulling. I’m not sure if you can have those without having OCD, but OCD can definitely connect itself to those two pulling and picking conditions. I would definitely schedule an appointment with an OCD therapist to do a diagnostic test to see what’s up. I believe NOCD offers a free 15 minute call or something like that to answer general questions about the organization to see if you’d be interested in continuing. My life has improved immensely since joining therapy here. Good luck, and I’m here if you need me!

Also for correct terminology, both Dermatilomania and Trichotillomania and also tics, which I have a few of, are called BFRBs, which stands for Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors.

@Fruitpunch Actually not sure if tics are technically considered BFRBs in the medical field but I do have them and they can be connected to ocd.

I have not been able to comfortably wear socks since as long as I can remember, and am literally repulsed by the sound they make rubbing the carpet (i just avoid shoes that need socks now haha!) and I had the same thing when I was younger where I felt like I couldn’t get a deep enough breathe!