catmom

Date posted: 5y

What is your earliest memory of OCD? Mine is: when I was in elementary school, I used to spend hours tying my shoes until my hands were red & raw because they had to feel equally tight on both feet. This post is just out of curiosity!

smj89

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 5y

I specifically remember being in my Tae Kwon Do uniform, in the mirror, at 12 years old, and ruminating/crying at the possibility that I was a pedophile. At 12.

catmom

Date posted: 5y

I understand! I’ve had sexually intrusive thoughts since 5th grade. I’m sorry you have to go through that pain, ocd sucks ass!!

smj89

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 5y

@catmom Ha! It certainly does! The ol’ butt suck.

Emmaaaahh

Date posted: 5y

We learned about “fire safety” at my elementary school and it made me turn the light on over and over again while trying to fall asleep because I would need to check for smoke

catmom

Date posted: 5y

Hyper-responsibility is the worst feeling!! It puts so much pressure on us ):

Fear Strikes...

Date posted: 5y

2nd grade

The Night Watch

Date posted: 5y

Mine was having to count to specific numbers while performing any task, and having to time it perfect or else I would have a horrible day. I also constantly had to sound out sentences in my head. I couldn’t think streamlined, it was like I forced myself to think slower so it sounded just like when I speak in my head. I knew I could have many thoughts quickly, much faster than I could say them, but I would force my thoughts to slow down which resulted in them kind of oscillating and almost “vibrating” inside my minds ears

catmom

Date posted: 5y

Interesting! I still have issues when it comes to counting to certain numbers or else something bad will happen. It’s so time consuming & pointless!

Emmaaaahh

Date posted: 5y

Wow I didn’t realize that was a symptom of OCD! I’ve never had someone explain it like that before but that’s how I think a lot of the time... it’s so distracting and feels exhausting to slow down your thoughts and make them sound like your voice

The Night Watch

Date posted: 5y

@catmom It definitely is! Idk why it feels so comforting to get to the exact right number

The Night Watch

Date posted: 5y

@Emmaaaahh I feel like it used to help me do math in my head somehow, but yes especially when I was a child it felt like I’d say each word in my head many times so rapidly that it would almost be like just saying it slow out loud. Sometimes I would already be done with the entire circle of thoughts, but I still had to go through and sound it all out in my head for no reason haha

ocdillustrated

Date posted: 5y

Needing to sit up super straight because "if I slouch, I'm a slob". I was right or nine and caused myself loads of back problems

catmom

Date posted: 5y

Ocd makes the weirdest associations in our heads. That sucks!

Sunset1234

Date posted: 5y

I developed a fear of tornadoes when I was younger. I remember not being able to focus in school in 2nd grade because I was checking to see if the wind was blowing hard or not. I asked my parents multiple times a day to check the weather to see if a tornado would come.

Sunset1234

Date posted: 5y

By checking to see if the wind was blowing, I constantly was staring out the window ): my mom took me to a therapist and I was diagnosed for ADHD, but with my new diagnosis of OCD I can totally see the obsessive compulsive cycle playing a part there.

catmom

Date posted: 5y

@Sunset1234 Yeah, the checking sounds like OCD. It’s funny how we get really scared of encountering things that are so uncommon...what a clever little thing OCD is!!

Emmaaaahh

Date posted: 5y

@Sunset1234 Every time I looked in the mirror my brain would start saying the Bloody Mary thing and I would mentally try to tell myself to stop saying it and because of that I avoided mirrors so much

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

I remember always being afraid of seeing others sleeping while I was awake. Id have to check on them to make sure they were still breathing. I was like 12.

catmom

Date posted: 5y

That’s so hard! Ocd is so hard for young children, no kid should have to feel hyper-responsible for someone else’s life! I’m so sorry you has to deal with that.

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

@catmom I still deal with harm ocd and ny son is the main target of my ocd. I hate it. Love your handle though! Im a cat mom too!

catmom

Date posted: 5y

@luchalysol Thanks! My cat’s my little baby!? Harm OCD sucks, I struggle with it too /:

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

@catmom Its horrible. My thoughts make it seem so real even though deep in my heart I know its not who I am. My cat has been a huge support for me, wouldn't trade him for the world

catmom

Date posted: 5y

@luchalysol Same! My cat is my life, I depend on him a lot. I have no idea what I would do without him, cats are the best comfort?

luchalysol

Date posted: 5y

@catmom They are. Id be in a much worse state right now if it wasn't for him.

Vavina_4

Date posted: 5y

I was in 2nd grade and “my friends” wanted to go to one of the “haunted” restrooms at my school and do Bloody Mary, many of them said they saw something and honestly I don’t remember if I did or not but I know I got traumatized and that’s where my ocd came out. I would check the doors every night in 5 groups of 5 (one for every member of my family) I would check the windows and close them the same amount of times and as well as my closet 5 times. I even remember asking my mom to see my birth certificate cause I believed she was the real Bloody Mary and would cry to her.

catmom

Date posted: 5y

I do things by the number 4 , one for each member of my family as well! I took what was supposed to be a joking funny quiz in elementary school about whether or not my parents were aliens & it said they were! That became my worst fear for MONTHS, I was obsessed with figuring it out! It sounds stupid, but stuff like that is terrifying to deal with as a kid!

edonss033

Date posted: 5y

My first ocd memory was when i was probably about 11-12... i had a hamster and I was always thinking something was wrong with him... i kept him in the bathroom accross from my room because he would make noise at night, and i would constantly be getting out of bed to check on him. Probably did it about 10 times each night. I also had a bunch of stuffed animals i slept with and before bed would organize them in a specific order, say my prayers to god and then kiss every stuffed animal on the head 3 times... if i didn’t do those things i couldn’t sleep ? in school when i was in like 7th grade i also had this fear of accidentally peeing or pooping myself in class lmao... i would constantly be checking the floor and wanting to go to the bathroom to check my underwear ?? OCD is so weird

catmom

Date posted: 5y

Agreed, OCD is so random! It makes us worried about the weirdest most small things! I think i had quite a few rituals regarding my stuffed animals too when I was younger! ?

Emmaaaahh

Date posted: 5y

@catmom Me too! I felt like they had feelings almost and if I didn’t sleep with every one of them in my bed then they would feel left out and do something bad to me!!

Figuring it ...

Date posted: 19w

Newly diagnosed and Curious.

Hi, I’m new to this app and newly diagnosed. Question for you all, What things did you normalize and do without a second thought that when diagnosed, you realized was actually your OCD? Mine was how concerned with germs I am. I hold my breath when I open a door so the rush of wind doesn’t infect my lungs from whatever is in the room. I thought everyone was really careful and concerned like me. But Ive learned it’s not normal the lengths I go to. What was yours?

Insephy

Date posted: 17w

When did you realize you have OCD?

Last year during April I started to experience groinal responses when I looked at kids. I was terrified of what it could mean and decided to attempt two weeks later. The very next day I had those responses I decided to attempt. I didn’t really have the courage to do so at that time but I started experiencing images about disturbing things done to kids and as days went by it got worse. April 16 was the last straw and I couldn’t take it anymore. I ended up in a mental hospital but before I ended up there I had searched up what I was experiencing. That’s when I started to understand that it was OCD. I felt relieved for a few moments until I felt the urge to get more information. I saw lots and lots of things and many comments saying that it wasn’t normal and that people who went through this were disgusting people who shouldn’t be allowed to roam free. That’s when my anxiety and fear became worse and I tried to get rid of it but nothing worked. I shook the entire time I was awake, I didn’t have motivation for anything anymore, I just felt so disgusting. In the end, I’m so glad I ended up in that mental hospital or else I wouldn’t be here with my friends and family. Thank you for reading my story, I’m so glad that I’m not alone

POCD

geodrimilis

Date posted: 16w

Can I be born with ocd?

So basically I didn’t know till my hocd started. But looking back at my life I had ocd since I was a kid. Like 6-7 years old. First time happening I remember that when I was doing stuff many times I had to say something like a little poem in my head to stop it. Then I had this thing were if I felt my left foot touch the floor 5 times I had to do the touch the floor with my right foot too. Then I had something I guess contamination??? Basically after washing my hands I had a sensation on my hand like I could still “feel” the germs and I had to wash them again. Then I started having thoughts of my family members getting hurt. I had intrusive thoughts about me hurting my dog. Then I had this obsession that a guy who used to be in my school is looking for me to beat me up. And how it’s this obsession about my sexuality even tho I never doubted or questioned it before. Is that possible??? Like can you be born with it? I’m pretty sure both my parents have it too. At least at some level. Take my father for example he had an obsession that he was going to die the moment he turned 30.

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond

What is your earliest memory of OCD? Mine is: when I was in elementary school, I used to spend hours tying my shoes until my hands were red & raw because they had to feel equally tight on both feet. This post is just out of curiosity!

Related posts

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Be a part of the largest OCD Community