- Date posted
- Yesterday
Can someone explain this subtype
Whats perfectionism ocd like and how do you know if you have it?
Whats perfectionism ocd like and how do you know if you have it?
For me it’s spending a lot of time making sure things are aesthetically “just right” and over achieving to try to control how people perceive me. I’m sure there’s probably many different feared outcomes that cause perfectionism though.
Here are some of my symptoms. I’m not sure if you can relate. - having an all or nothing attitude -reading an email or a text over and over again to make sure everything is perfect like capital letters, commas, spelling, things like that. (like I’m doing right now) -rereading things, a million times to make sure I got the message/didn’t miss anything. - closing windows on my phone and computer and restarting constantly to “reset” myself when I get overwhelmed. - needing to be constantly doing things all of the time to feel productive. - trying to have the “perfect”weekend or “perfect” day and getting upset if anything derailed it instead of just rolling with the punches. that’s the way I see it anyway!
I can try explaining it. It's like doing movements repeatedly until it feels right. Like a blink of an eye or movement of your arm. You keep doing it until it feels right because when you don't it makes u uncomfortable and distress. Something like that.
Perfectionism for me is fear of missing a detail or not doing something correctly. Those mistakes may lead to loss of reputation at work, I'm in banking so making an error could cause my company a financial loss, a regulatory finding or upset a client. In my personal life its making sure I do everything for my family so they are happy, safe and cared for. I think perfectionism can be unique to you, but often involves over achieving and minimizing those accomplishments in your own view. Just right ocd could be linked but for me personally they are not. Just right would be if I had to rewash my hands because they didn't feel clean enough or something similar. It probably looks different for others based on things that are high on their value scale.
@HeartMama can just right include like worrying if a day doesn’t fee perfect?
@Radiumslayer I'm not sure if that would fall under just right or perfectionism, I struggle with both. I would say that for me it would feel more like perfectionism, where there wouldn't be a compulsion that I had to repeat to make it go away,, maybe more like I had to do a mantra or specific thought or deed that could make whole day being off better. For me just right would be I had to do something over and over again, in mine that would be handwashing or counting, something short. I'm sure they could look different though for someone else. But searching that deep for a definite answer is an ocd perfectionism at its best, right?
@HeartMama Ok thank you sorry its just been a weird new thing and I wanna make sure its not some new ocd thingy and just normal anxiety
@Radiumslayer Im not sure if its either after reading but still got no clue
Whatever the subtype is or is not, the treatment ends up the same. Exposure to something that triggers that same uncomfortable feeling and anxiety and using RPMs to accept that feeling and allow it to be there.
@HeartMama whats that
@Radiumslayer What is what?
@HeartMama sorry shoulda been more clear rpms
@Radiumslayer Oh, sorry! Gotcha, I assumed you were already under a therapist. Response Preventions, so you take a tool that your therapist has helped you create and use it to bring the anxiety down to a lower level while NOT doing a compulsion. So like for me if I had a feeling something bad was going to happen if a day felt "off" or just "not right" I might sit with the discomfort and listen to a looptape of myself saying that I'm strong enough to sit with this discomfort or that I don't need to figure this out right now that I am strong enough to accept the uncertainty. Does that help?
@HeartMama yes thank you
So this is not a very major thing at all, but it's something that came up yesterday and I couldn't sleep because of it. I'm a big fan of this video game, it's called Xenoblade Chronicles X. Well, after 10 years, it's finally getting a re-release on modern platforms. It's super exciting. From the clips I've seen, it seems to be a very faithful remaster that improves upon the imperfections of the original. However, what my brain is stressed about is that they sort of changed the user interface/font style of the game in order to make it more legible and less crowded. They also revamped some of the character models too. Not a bad thing at all, but I was such a big fan of the old user interface that all the new changes are stressing me out. It's making me want to purchase old hardware just so I can replay the original instead of the re release So all day I've been looking at side-by-side comparisons and getting disappointed by the new one. Which sucks because there is objectively nothing wrong with it! All of my dreams last night were about the game and I wasn't able to get proper sleep. So is this perfectionism OCD or is this an aftereffect of my other subtypes or am I just being extra nitpicky?
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.
I haven't been able to read about experiences similar to mine when it comes to my perfectionism OCD so I was wondering if anyone had any "uncommon" experiences.
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