- Date posted
- 22w
Lists
Lists lists lists, bane of my life. Since I would say last 4 years any worry that pops in my mind I put down on the notes app on my phone then come back to it sometime. Is this OCD?
Lists lists lists, bane of my life. Since I would say last 4 years any worry that pops in my mind I put down on the notes app on my phone then come back to it sometime. Is this OCD?
I can relate. Lists and notes is a major concern for me. Normally I have to write things down often on several pages of papers I carry around with 2 pens . At some point I shred the notes and start all over again. For me it really is all or nothing, I do better not taking any notes at all because otherwise I end up writing a novel ? LOL ! No middle ground with this subject for me I have been dealing with this for years.
My psychiatrist says my note taking and list making is contributed to/ is a symptom of my ocd
I'm not the only one then, how did I say to stop it ?
Maybe it is? Maybe it isn’t? But I can relate!! This is actually how I figured out I had OCD. I was super embarrassed to tell my talk therapist how many lists and notes I made because I knew it was a little odd and that she would tell me to stop. I didn’t feel like I *could* stop. If I couldn’t write them down it was like they would just bounce around and I would try to hold the thought in my attention so I wouldn’t forget something important. For me, these are mostly about solving my mental health issues. I also used to copy all these lists and pages of thoughts from Google docs to a physical journal. I would reorganize the same thoughts. I just wanted to understand and remember them. When I saw I had >80 typed pages of notes for the past few months, I told my therapist and it seemed like there was like a lightbulb turned on in her head for why I wasn’t getting better. My psych diagnosed me with OCD years ago but I didn’t understand it. And all the meds without the right therapy weren’t working. I started NOCD a few weeks ago. Still making lists, though far less. And I haven’t copied an entry since Dec 31. Do you feel like making the lists reinforce the worries or makes them better? And better for how long? Thank you for posting. It’s amazing to know other people do it.
Thanks for detailed response, I would say putting the subject on the list gets rid of the initial distress so I can get on with my day but then when I come to review the list I sometimes can just delete the subject in the list and not give it a second thought but sometimes a subject can be on my list for weeks
@Chris85Floki Makes sense to me.
@Ginny L So how do I stop ? Do I just stop?
I've never seen a therapist or been diagnosed, so I went surfing through to find this community. I've seen a lot of OCD symptoms written online. Here is what I experience that I feel may be OCD. If any of you guys agrees, please let me know. I have only ever been able to call my mom by her first name. I have never been able to not do that. She tried to make me call her mom once as a kid but it felt so wrong that I started crying. Everytime I see a wet floor sign, I say "piso mojado" out loud. I have plenty of harsh intrusive thoughts, such as committing acts of violence when I see people not using their turn signals, interrupting performers at a concert. I make myself re-press on my phone alarms 10-12 times each day in the same rythym until it feels fully set to go off. Light switches get flicked off and on, I can't stand not doing it. I have to double-check everything and make myself re-look through the same drawers at work for hours. I love to write, but I never get far because I need approval from others. My head is also always filled to the brim with thoughts which has made writing and things like memory a lot harder. I can't use spoons. I can only use forks for almost everything. I can't stand them. That's all I can think of for right now. Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
I’m curious how many other people experience this! I’ve been diagnosed with severe OCD for 20 years now, about 10 years ago my little OCD brain came up with a series of words. It is saying everyone in my families name and then something negative, and then something positive. Since my brain attached to this series of words, it hasn’t stopped repeating in my mind. Like I said, it’s been 10 years, and this “phrase” is constantly repeating over and over in my head. When it’s finished, it just restarts again. My brain is constantly exhausted since it’s always talking. It’s kinda hard to word this so idk if it’ll make sense to you but let me know if this is something that you might experience as well!
This list by ai gives a good summary of my symptoms. Does it resemble OCD or is it something else? 1. Compulsions (OCD-specific behaviors): • Feeling the need to flex or contract muscles an even number of times, equally on both sides of your body. • Needing to reverse actions (for example, if you roll your eyes or trace a line with your finger, you feel compelled to do it again in the exact opposite way). 2. Intrusive Thoughts (OCD-specific ruminations): • Daydreaming about people you care about getting hurt (e.g., school shooting, injury, or kidnapping). • Sometimes feeling like you might want something bad to happen to someone you find attractive—possibly because of a desire to help or save them, though it’s confusing. • These thoughts can sometimes provide a twisted sense of relief while remaining distressing and confusing. 3. Sexual Orientation OCD: • Experiencing confusion or doubt about your sexual orientation. 4. Contamination Thoughts: • Feeling like things are contaminated, especially after touching something gross. 5. Sensory Compulsions: • Feeling the need to smell your hand after touching areas like your ear or hair. 6. ADHD-like Symptoms / Additional Observations: • Fidgeting or moving your legs when standing or sitting.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond