I’m hoping to incorporate a character with OCD into one of the books I’m writing, but I’d love to get some facts from you guys so that I can really portray it accurately. Because I have very few physical compulsions I don’t feel like I know enough about those to really write about it well. I wanted to look at the less glamorous side of OCD (its a sci-fi novel so its going to be fairly unglamorous anyway) and would love to portray it accurately and sensitively. Would anyone be able to give me information about compulsions such as skin picking, checking, etc. The compulsions that are so common but don’t get a lot of exposure or awareness because they aren’t “quirky” or “cute”. I really want to do it justice and portray it properly. Any help or information on this would be greatly appreciated! I really want to get this properly and create more awareness / realism in fiction!

My main compulsion is checking. Especially self checking! I’m always checking to see if I’m aroused, my body for symptoms, my feelings about awful things like murder and rape etc. I also bite my skin as a nervous habit.

I have intrusive thoughts, especially around religion and my faith. I constantly have to fight ‘bad’ thoughts. I repeat phrases in my head or keep good images almost on a continual basis. It’s like a script is always running in the background. I can hide it a lot unless my anxiety is really high, then I get ‘stuck’ and can’t move on until I get the thoughts right. It’s torturous and exhausting.

Hey there, I am a checker, I pick at my fingers, I bite them, I write out random numbers because it feels good, and everything needs to turn in a clockwise motion.. What would you like to know about it?

I’m also a checker/ reassurance finder. I ask the same question over and over to my close family/friends that know what I’m dealing with. I check my body for signs of arousal. I reread articles about the theme I’m dealing with. All these things take up most of my day.

I also tap my pointer finger with my thumb down to my pinky counting 1 through 4 for each finger I tap when I get anxious.

Thanks so much guys! This was all really helpful. I’ve tried researching common compulsions but the main one that comes up is organising things! If anyone feels comfortable telling me how much time they spend on compulsions and how it’s affected their relationships (which is a plot point in my story) that would be super helpful but no pressure!

Oh, I spend hours! 3-8! The only people that are truly aware of my state is my family and it drives them insane. At one point they threatened to put me in a mental hospital because of how bad my anxiety was! It definitely hurt my friendships and relationships as well because of how often I put my compulsions before them. They don’t really know this though. They just assume that I’m very introverted. I can’t exactly open up either. How do I tell them about what’s bothering me when my obsessions are so unrealistic and irrational? I don’t want to sound crazy.

Are you asking for specific examples of the compulsions we engage in?

I probably spend 40 minutes out of the hour doing my compulsions mentally and physically

It’s the doubting disease.

I deal with contamination, checking, intrusive thoughts/harm ocd. As an example for checking I’ll check the front door before going to bed. I’ll turn the lock (in multiples of 3) and press on the door and repeat the word “lock” in my head. This can go on for awhile. Then I’ll usually stare at the door, and even though I can clearly see it’s locked it’s like my brain doesn’t believe it really is, there’s that constant “what if” in my head. As for relationships, for me it has the most impact on those I live with. It’s much easier to hide my symptoms from people when I’m only around them for chunks of time. I can tell that my compulsions can annoy my roommate even though I told them all about it before we decided to move in together. I think the compulsion that most affects my relationships is avoidance. I’ll avoid places and people, and because of my contamination ocd I’ll avoid things I view as “dirty” and end up leaving things around the apartment that I’m too afraid to touch Let me know if you want anymore info! Hope this helps!

I've been picking at and biting my fingers for as long as I could remember. It drives my bf crazy and when he's not around I don't even notice that I'm doing it until I'm bleeding everywhere. It really upsets me because I'm too embarrassed to show my hands to anyone. It takes a lot out of me to go to the nail salon because I feel like they're judging me. I have a regular lady that I go to now and she makes me feel pretty good and confident when I'm there and I feel a lot better once my nails are nice and pretty.