OCD Discussion
- Locked due to inactivity on Mar 4, '19 3:54am
Thread Topic: OCD Discussion
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So, I feel like there's a lot of misconceptions about OCD and I also feel like it's not taken as seriously as other mental disorders because most of the time people will joke around about it. I also hate it when people (like people that I've just met) tell me that I can't possibly have OCD because my room is messy.
OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
OCD does NOT stand for Obsessive Cleaning Disorder.
My OCD is about repetitive rhythms and doing things in a certain order (such as getting ready for bed), and even numbers. So, the rhythm that I have is for instance, when I'm brushing my teeth, after I run it under the water and brush my tongue, I have to tap my toothbrush on the side of the sink 8 times in a certain way so it makes the correct sound, and then I run it under the water again, brush my tongue and then do the tapping pattern again, and then run it under the water and shake my toothbrush in the same rhythm before putting it away. And if I don't get it right, then I will stand there and repeat it until it feels right (which often times makes me very frustrated because one time I literally stood there for five minutes repeating the same thing until it felt right).
The misconception of relating OCD to anyone who likes to clean comes from that being the most common symptom of OCD because those people are habitually cleaning because they are most likely afraid of germs/getting sick. And that gives them anxiety about it which results in these obsessive cleaning habits because OCD is an anxiety disorder and doing these rituals helps ease the anxiety.
So, basically, OCD isn't just cleaning and some people who have OCD don't have the obsessive compulsion to clean because that's not what gives them anxiety. -
Just_Fluffy NewbieAgreed. I really hate it when people are doing something that involves organizing (e.g. sorting pencils by color, arranging books on a bookshelf) and they say something like "Oh that's just my OCD making me do that." And they don't even have OCD. And then people without OCD might think that the illness is just a minor thing and romanticize it.
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FirstBlackKage NewbieHuh. Didn't know it was an actual serious illness.
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I have really bad self-harm OCD. My most common compulsions are that I feel I have to stab myself in the heart or stomach and dig out my insides, slit my wrists or throat, or claw out my chest with my nails. There are others too but those are the most common. I also have an obsession with hand sanitizing and washing my hands, which causes them to crack and bleed if I don't use lotion frequently. I feel I have to avoid cracks on the ground and if I accidentally step on one I have to press my foot on the ground a certain way. I avoid touching door handles with my bare hands. I have weird touching compulsions, where I feel I have to touch things a certain way and sometimes I give into those ones without thinking. The other day I grabbed my friends foot without even realizing what I was doing, which was kind of funny. I feel I have to avoid touching people (despite the last compulsion I described) and if I touch them I feel I have to brush them off of me. I also have this thing where I feel I have to say curse words under my breath until it feels perfectly right.
There's a lot more that I have, but my point in sharing all of this is that OCD is a huuuuge thing. There are several different types of OCD that affect people in different ways. DOA's is rhythm-oriented, while mine is very physical and tactile. And not only does it cause immense anxiety and pain, but it can even put your life in danger. When people make jokes about OCD like "OMG I'm sooo OCD I have to organize everything" that is actually damaging because it perpetuates stereotypes about the disorder and causes people to take it less seriously. Every time I tell someone I have OCD, which I have to do a lot because as you can see it's a big part of me and effects literally everything I do, I'm always having to tear down all these misconceptions and try to get them to understand how serious it is without making myself seem just plain crazy. OCD isn't a joke and it ruins lives. I know a woman who has pedophilia OCD which causes her to have unwanted pedophiliac thoughts, sometimes about her own children, and she spends some days locked in her room away from them while crying. She can't even tell them what's wrong.
Yeah, it's a very serious illness and it's about time it's recognized as such. -
Yes, I too hate it when people say things like that that when they don't have OCD because then when something does happen that makes me have one of my compulsions, I have to explain the whole thing about what OCD actually is and I'm at the point where I'm just sick of having to explain that it's not what they think it is
if that makes any sense.
There are a lot of people that don't think it's actually a serious illness. I can't tell you how many people I meet that when I tell them I have OCD, they just go, "oh, so you like to clean?" in a joking way and it's just really annoying.
I honestly think that self-harm OCD is the worst and that sucks that you have that
The intrusive thoughts are definitely the worst part about OCD (in my opinion). Just because when I was in my teenage years I would literally cry myself to sleep every single night because I literally thought that I was going to sleepwalk and kill my entire family with a kitchen knife and it was just horrible.
Nowadays though, it's not so bad. I don't know if it's just cause I matured or because I was able to educate myself on what it actually was, so now if they happen, I'm able to basically talk myself through it and dismiss the thoughts with various amounts of distractions. -
i do feel as though there's a possibility i could have OCD, because i have patterns like these too. i have to brush each corner of my mouth exactly thirty times in a specific order. i also repeat stuff under my breath until it feels right. i don't read physical books because i have to wipe my hands or thumbs on my pants because i hate the way the pages feel, it gives me a crawling itchy feelings. when i listen to songs and tap along with my finger, the line has to end with either my thumb or my pinky or I go until the entire song is over, or repeat until i reach my thumb or pinky. if i'm walking from one room to the next, the amount of steps it takes has to be in a multiple of 5. I'll tip toe or jump in order to reach that number. when i blink, it has to be either exactly once or in multiples of 5. there's so much more I have, I just can't think of them all right now. it could be OCD or just my anxiety acting up.
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