- Username
- shar24
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I'm afraid I don't have any experience on minimizing that, but I can assure you that I have similar issues. Not only do I perform multiple cleaning rituals (picking at my eyebrows, skin, lips, etc.), but I also over-audit everything I say or write before sharing it. It's rough. The only thing I can offer on the latter issue is that I am starting to reach a point (at least in some aspects of my life) where I feel confident that I can just say something now and understand more later, whether I need to apologize for offense or I otherwise don't have the full picture and need more details. It's incredibly difficult to take that risk, and there's no rushing it for anyone - but I sincerely hope for you that you will make progress towards a point where you feel comfortable initiating a conversation in some form or another and facing the responses head on. It'll be messy for sure, but I genuinely think this can be counted as progress. :)
Hey, this definitely sounds like OCD although I don't struggle with the same compulsions. A lot of people view OCD as an umbrella and some people even have changes in their symptoms over time. Since I was a child, I've always picked at my lips when they are chapped, even to the point of bleeding. I've just made a habit of always carrying lip balm to avoid having flakes because I know if they're there I will pick them. The best known treatments for OCD are ERP and ACT. The first is exposure and response prevention where you gradually engage in situations that might cause you to perform a compulsion, but resist performing it, so that you condition yourself to do it less often. ACT is similar to mindfulness, and I know a lot of people on this app try to do guided mindfulness meditations because they really do help. Sorry I couldn't address some of those compulsions but believe me, a lot of people here understand what you're going through and wish you the best!
I have trichotillomania (I pull my eyebrows out when I'm anxious). It bothered me for years but then I just stopped caring when people thought.
Thankyou for your comments , means alot ☺️
Hey guys. I'm a young teenager living with severe ocd. But my family tend to make fun of me for it. I have mainly the thoughts, over thinking, and perfectionist. But they won't let me get help. I have SPD. (Skin picking disorder) which has tagged along with my ocd...and I've been doing it for awhile..the worst its ever been, was when I peeled my thumb skin all the way back and u could see everything bc the thoughts said "if you dont than you wont be able to tell if u still have control, who knows u could take this pen and gouge someones eye out" typical thoughts. I just need help..coming to terms with my ocd..and informing my family that it's not getting better.
For most of my adult life I was told by professionals that I suffered from general anxiety disorder. But most recently after switching psychiatrists, I was diagnosed with OCD, which is the cause of my severe anxiety. And now everything makes sense. Some things I didn’t realize was actually my OCD: - Immense fear that i’ve forgotten something I do instinctively every day. Locking the door, flushing the toilet, turning off the heater, etc. I can not recall a time i have ever forgotten to do these things, but I have so much anxiety that something bad will happen because i’ve forgotten to do them that I will drive all the way back home or to work to check and make sure they’ve been done. It got so bad that I would drive to my office at 10 pm at night because i had the sudden realization in bed that i couldn’t remember if I locked the door. I now have to take a picture of the locked door every time i leave so I can reference it for later and assure myself its been done. - Obsessing over what people think of how i dress, act, talk, etc to the point that I can’t communicate properly because Im trying to think of the correct thing say or how the other person is perceiving me in that moment. It makes social situations exhausting and fills me with dread whenever i have to talk to any one new. I just want to be liked, to have friends, but because of this anxiety Ive found that being alone is the least stress inducing, so I usually don’t talk to people besides family if I don’t have to. - Goes with the above, but constant thoughts that if im not liked by others, i am horrible person. Its all or nothing, either everyone likes me or im worthless. It makes every interaction insanely stressful and i obsess over every word i said for hours after I get home. - Texting is a nightmare. Writing, re-writing, and RE-WRITING texts to make sure they sound okay. Then asking my fiance to read them himself to make sure they sound okay to an outside person before sending them. And then the immense fear after sending them that what I’ve said is going to be taken the wrong way and waiting on the edge of my seat to see if/how they’ll respond. And im not talking about serious conversations, this is just simple back and forth. - Sending long paragraphs with as many details as possible to try and avoid the above. When probably just an “okay” would’ve sufficed. - I work in marketing/graphics, and all my coworkers know I’m obsessed with symmetry and even spacing. Everything needs to feel balanced, or its completely wrong. I refuse to send out anything im not 100% happy with, and ill spend extra time adjusting spacing and sizing by less than a 5% difference over and over again until im satisfied. Ive had coworkers ask what i’ve changed because its so minuscule to them. But in my eyes anything that isn’t spaced evenly or lined up correctly is glaring and unacceptable. - Being consistently late to things because my compulsions and obsessions take my mind away from time management. Im just considered the person that can never arrive on time. Its a running joke in my family at this point, but it still makes me feel bad. My parents always instilled the need to be punctual so you’re not wasting other peoples time, but my brain can’t make it happen no matter how hard i try. These are just a few of the things that I’ve come to realize are attributed to OCD. I honestly thought for a while that this was just simple anxiety and that everyone felt this way, especially because my mother deals with similar issues. Has anyone else dealt with similar issues? Im on anti-anxiety medication currently, and it seems to help most days. I’m interested in learning more about others experiences and if any one has come up with coping mechanisms that help them work through their symptoms. p.s. apologies for the long post lol
Hi everyone! This is me writing this while having an intense OCD attack and seriously I don’t know how to handle it. At this point I cry almost every day, I’ve lost my appetite, and I don’t know what to do anymore. This summer I’ve seen a movie where one of the characters had schizophrenia and did what my intrusive thoughts were about, which is harming others. I panicked immediately and did what I wish I didn’t, but I didn’t know back then it was a compulsion: I googled the symptoms. I felt relief at first, but then I started asking myself what if I have those symptoms? What if my thoughts will become voices and I’ll believe them? (This is still one of my biggest fears) Ever since then it’s a never ending cycle, everything I see and hear I question if it’s real or only me hearing/seeing it. I overanalyse my body sensations like when my ears ring, or I feel a tightness around my head etc. I went to see a therapist to start treatment, and he told me I have nothing to worry about, cause it’s unlikely I’ll develop it. I felt at ease, and for a few weeks I felt so much better, cause that talk with the therapist went well and I finally got the diagnosis which is OCD. But then, I was scrolling on Instagram, and I saw a video and ever since then it’s getting bad again. It gotten so bad that my mind “plays” random phrases/music/words in my head, and it’s sometimes in my internal voice, sometimes it’s in others’ and it’s so scary cause I’m just going on with my day and they’re just there. Also for example I hear my mom cleaning the dishes and as she puts them away they make a sound and I hear a word in it, but it makes no sense yet I panic over it cause it was a word? I feel like I don’t even have own thoughts anymore, other than those and the ‘What if this means…?’ thoughts which cause me so much anxiety I feel like I’ll explode. The reason I’m writing this is that maybe someone who went through the same thing can help me, and give me some tips how to stop ruminating and mentally+physically checking (my emotions, my facial expressions, body sensations etc.)? I’m currently going to a group therapy which is seem to help, but I feel like I need to see a therapist alone where she/he can help me with my exact problem? Maybe it’s seeking reassurance and that’s a compulsion cause what if this isn’t OCD but still I don’t know what to do. Thank you!
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