anyone have OCD?

[uksucks]

I have contamination/cleaning/washing ocd

It was pretty bad earlier this year.

I would wash my hands like 20 times per day 5mins each

I once took 5hr washing in the shower

Currently on holiday. Still not normal but a lot better. Having a change in environment helps.

All because of autism it increases likelihood for having other mental stuff.

 

[uksucks]

@Gengar

 

[Gengar]

I do. I can relate, I have the germophobic kind of OCD as well. I'm constantly washing my hands, in fact, my hands are so dried out from overwashing and also because of the type of soap that I use, which is antibacterial liquid soap. At my worst, I wore throwaway gloves like nurses do in high school, never gave handshakes to anyone, didn't study at home because my books were contaminated in my eyes, had special clothes for school only and whatnot. This is also the reason why I don't keep paper money or coins on me. I would also have to shower three times in a row and lather my entire body in soap bubbles, or otherwise I wasn't clean enough to enter my room. OCD sucks, it impacts every aspect in your life and even your family and friends get affected by your behavior. The episode of Scrubs with Michael J. Fox in it portrayed a very realistic depiction of how frustrating it felt back then. You would definitely relate to it if you saw the scene. Very great acting.

 

[Swarthy Knight]

Had it my whole life. How do I fix this without meds

 

[uksucks]

I do. I can relate, I have the germophobic kind of OCD as well. I'm constantly washing my hands, in fact, my hands are so dried out from overwashing and also because of the type of soap that I use, which is antibacterial liquid soap. At my worst, I wore throwaway gloves like nurses do in high school, never gave handshakes to anyone, didn't study at home because my books were contaminated in my eyes, had special clothes for school only and whatnot. This is also the reason why I don't keep paper money or coins on me. I would also have to shower three times in a row and lather my entire body in soap bubbles, or otherwise I wasn't clean enough to enter my room. OCD sucks, it impacts every aspect in your life and even your family and friends get affected by your behavior. The episode of Scrubs with Michael J. Fox in it portrayed a very realistic depiction of how frustrating it felt back then. You would definitely relate to it if you saw the scene. Very great acting.

It's reassuring to see I'm not alone.

How long have you had it and how did it start?

Personally I've always been a bit of a germophobe, but it's more the physical disgust feeling of having your hands etc not being clean. Like I'm not scared of actually getting Ill or catching something. Few people seem to understand that. Like it's not a rational thing.

Most people will eat fast food like McDonalds with their hands, wipe them on a napkin then go on with their day. I could not stand the greasy feeling, I'd have to wash them. Small stuff like that and then over time it slowly progressed. Covid etc had nothing to do with it.

Also it's hard to draw the line. Sometimes you should wash your hands. Where do you find the balance. It's hard.

 

[Schizotypalcel]

Emetophobia (scared of vomiting) start for my ocd into harm ocd, shit sucks.

 

[uksucks]

Had it my whole life. How do I fix this without meds

Whole life is interesting. Usually stuff like this only manifests as you get older and life's complexities reveal the weakness in your personality.

As for fixing it. I don't know. Exposure is probably the only way.

 

[Schizotypalcel]

Had it my whole life. How do I fix this without meds

Exposure i got over some of my ocd but it just lead to other ones.

 

[karbo]

i have not been to any psychologist or psychiatrist so not officially diagnosed with anything but i suspect i've gone through periods of heavy OCD-like symptoms. can be debiliating as fuck, for me personally the symptoms exponentially worsen with the state of my gut health and overall physical and mental wellbeing

 

[uksucks]

Exposure i got over some of my ocd but it just lead to other ones.

Which did it help and which other ones

 

[PlayersGetPlayed]

Really bad yeah. Things like dropping my phone 7 times, or hitting my head whenever I have intrusive thoughts that are bad (those happen a lot). Mainly religious-affiliated stuff.

 

[Swarthy Knight]

Whole life is interesting. Usually stuff like this only manifests as you get older and life's complexities reveal the weakness in your personality.

As for fixing it. I don't know. Exposure is probably the only way.

I remember having my first major OCD episodes back when I was around 7. Been 2 decades now and it's still pretty bad, tho the severity fluctuates a bit. I tried meds but can't be on them any more to avoid health risks. Might eventually try TMS or sumshit if I can't find another way.

 

[Schizotypalcel]

Which did it help and which other ones

I went from being deathly afraid of anyone having a sickness or showing signs of it to the extent of the flu or a cough bc i was afraid of vomiting to, harm ocd which is only problematic when i'm holding objects that can do harm to others or like watching a movie with murder etc.

 

[Gengar]

It's reassuring to see I'm not alone.

How long have you had it and how did it start?

Personally I've always been a bit of a germophobe, but it's more the physical disgust feeling of having your hands etc not being clean. Like I'm not scared of actually getting Ill or catching something. Few people seem to understand that. Like it's not a rational thing.

Most people will eat fast food like McDonalds with their hands, wipe them on a napkin then go on with their day. I could not stand the greasy feeling, I'd have to wash them. Small stuff like that and then over time it slowly progressed. Covid etc had nothing to do with it.

Also it's hard to draw the line. Sometimes you should wash your hands. Where do you find the balance. It's hard.

I know exactly what you mean. I don't fear getting ill or whatever, I just need to feel clean and if something happens that doesn't make me feel that way, I have to take the necessary steps to do what it takes to feel clean again. I have had it since around 2011, perhaps 2010, so that's over a decade I've been dealing with this. It started with overthinking. I remember hanging out with a friend and getting spare change from the cashier and I thought "Isn't this money technically dirty? Everyone touches it." And then I asked my friend if he could take the change instead. Then at school, at my desk while wearing a t-shirt and having my arms on the table, I suddenly thought "Isn't this desk technically dirty? Everyone touches it." And then I started to wash my arms when I got back home. From there, it progressed. What about you?

 

[karbo]

I could not stand the greasy feeling, I'd have to wash them

Caging, i relate hard to this. the feeling of sweat or grease on other body parts dont bother me, but when it comes to hands its insane. I even use a mini USB fan that's constantly blowing air on my hand so it doesn't get sweaty on the mouse, and even with that i still wash it rather often, although not to an abnormal level
Cant stand the thought and feeling of touching food with my hand

 

[Gengar]

i have not been to any psychologist or psychiatrist so not officially diagnosed with anything but i suspect i've gone through periods of heavy OCD-like symptoms. can be debiliating as fuck, for me personally the symptoms exponentially worsen with the state of my gut health and overall physical and mental wellbeing

I didn't go to any psychologist or psychiatrist either, but I was officially diagnosed by my general practitioner. In fact, my case at the time was so severe that they urged me to get help. I never did listen even though I did go for an intake, but ultimately I decided against it so I never had any formal therapy.

 

[uksucks]

I know exactly what you mean. I don't fear getting ill or whatever, I just need to feel clean and if something happens that doesn't make me feel that way, I have to take the necessary steps to do what it takes to feel clean again. I have had it since around 2011, perhaps 2010, so that's over a decade I've been dealing with this. It started with overthinking. I remember hanging out with a friend and getting spare change from the cashier and I thought "Isn't this money technically dirty? Everyone touches it." And then I asked my friend if he could take the change instead. Then at school, at my desk while wearing a t-shirt and having my arms on the table, I suddenly thought "Isn't this desk technically dirty? Everyone touches it." And then I started to wash my arms when I got back home. From there, it progressed. What about you?

Very similar really.
Also overthinking hand washing. Like I missed a bit so I kept extending it further and further, adding new parts to the ritual.

 

[uksucks]

I didn't go to any psychologist or psychiatrist either, but I was officially diagnosed by my general practitioner. In fact, my case at the time was so severe that they urged me to get help. I never did listen even though I did go for an intake, but ultimately I decided against it so I never had any formal therapy.

My mum is quite a proactive parent, helicopter even you could say, though she does care a lot about me.

She made appointments to see psychiatrists etc. I will be offered some kind of CBT therapy but it's a long waiting list maybe 2yrs or so.

But I'm scared to do it. Every solution basically involves facing the fears and not giving in.

Well I tried that once and it made everything worse. For 2 weeks I had constant anxiety, couldn't focus on anything. Felt terrible.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

i have it diagnosed, but it's not related to the usual stuff like washing hands or hygiene in general (no paki jokes, please)

it's more that i don't know when to stop and overkill everything; writing an academic paper of 60 pages, a lawsuit of 45 pages, compiling a reading list of 200 items, creating notes of notes of notes and stuff like that.

overly organized and always re-classifying stuff as well (muh geniuses work in chaos, lmao; a jewish scam for stupid normies to believe their untidiness makes them geniuses)