This is the room for people who suffer with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.   We share problems and offer support to each other who either have compulsions, obsess about things or suffer with a mixture of both.  Please read the threads below and join in!  If you can't see a topic of interest then start one - it won't be long before another member responds.
Because of the wide range of people who visit DF please keep the topics clean.

Welcome!

lizzy






Hi - I'm Lizzy aged 50.  I live in the UK.  I have a supportive GP and a good husband.  We own our home, which has a good sized garden which is my current passion.  It's full of vegies, fruit trees, shrubs and climbers; and still we go to garden centres, plant fairs etc. just in case there is a plant I really need to have :-)))))


When stressed I suffer with OCD and it manifests itself by repeated hand washing, checking doors and windows are locked and picking up the land line to see if there are messages on the BT answer service.  I try to control it by making lists so that I can 'tick' off the times I need to wash my hands i.e. before preparing food and can then try to distract myself from the compulsion by walking round the garden.

I joined DF 12 months ago when looking for info on withdrawing from Efexor. I know take Cipralex which I have talked about elsehwhere.  I have found sympathy, support, advice and friendship here

:wave:

Looks like Lizzy could use some company in this thread, so here's a little something about me.

I will turn 26 years this autumn. I come from a smaller european country. I like applied arts (drawing, photography, restoring, literature, interior design, you name it...) and I'm interested in different cultures, languages, art therapy and puppetry, to name a few.

I someday wish to have a wooden house with a pond and a nice job, possibly connected with areas above.

I' ve been suffering from depression (I suspect it is an organic one) for 2 years, combined with xl anxiety and OCD. I have supportive family and boyfriend.

I joined DF some months ago and I wish I'd find it sooner. They are all very nice here! I take paxil (seroxat) and at the time trying to go completely off xanax xr.

:wave:

My name is guppy. I'm 31 and from Australia. I have OCD and Borderline personailty disorder. I joined DF in MArch and have made some great friends and found a brilliant support network here.
I am a bit of a computer nerd and will be found here most if nbot all days of the week. I love my music and also reading. I have a bit of a naughty sense of humour  :censored:

I look forward to catching uop with everyone old and new at our new home.
Guppy  :love:

checking to see if my account works!!

ohh it does sorry about that!

Newho, my name is michael and im from ireland, specifically northern Ireland, so technically im from ireland and the UK, so oddly enough i can be considered Irish and British!! lol, but i think of myself as an Irish European! HOOO RAY!!!

newho, i live in the country side (kind of) and i love it, im moving to Belfast (im sure you've heard of it, lol) next year to go to Queen University!! scarey, but there you go. Ive only started to get help for my OCD, but im very glad i have!! ive hinted to my family that i have it, but never REALLY told them, so they dpont know how serious it is!

newho, since ive finally got my account to work, im off to post on some other boards!!

welcome Michael from ireland - hope you settle in Belfast and that your Course is interesting.  Glad you are getting help for your OCD.  HOw does it manifest itself?

Hi I'm yoganut,I'm originally from the UK, but I have lived in Massachusetts and now live in the mid-west.
I've known  - or strongly suspect that I have OCD, but I'm not the ritual kind of OCD'er, my obsessions are largely thought based. I also suffer from depression, for which I take wellbutrin.
I'm ashamed to admit this cos no-one understands  but I'm a jealously obsessive person, I'm always thinking that my  husband will cheat on me, or that he doesn't want me, - he wants anyone but me, after all i feel I am no oil painting as my mother once told me.
I also am extremely afraid of dying  a horrible death, i imagine myself lying in a ditch somewhere after a horrible death, then I'm compelled to think 'I'm sorry Dear Lord, please look after me, I'm sorry etc for a number of times. My husband is getting fed up with me, he says i'm constantly badgering him, and I have to admit its true. Its like something I can't stop, the thoughts of him wanting to/cheating/wanting anyone but me are totally and utterly uncontrollable, and the compulsion to say something to him about it is overwhelming.
The only way I can keep from going on at him is to sit in a different room now.
I've been on paxil  - which seemed  to help the depression and OCD (if that is what it is) but i gained a heck of a lot of weight and it also made me very agressive, I would not hesitate to pick a fight with anyone (and thats not normally me).
My doc has told me to start taking 5mg of lexapro, he knows my weight gain concerns with SSRI's and has told me that with wellbutrin I'm already taking I should not gain that much if at all.
My husband told me tonight I need 'something more than drugs'. It hurt.
He's right, I wouldn't want to be married to me either.
i hope someone understands, I'm so ashamed to have this type of OCD.
i've tried counselling but after a year, i stopped because I felt that that wasn't helping at all. My behaviour is too ingrained.

Hi there - welcome to the OCD room.  You are amongst friends.   :wave: Stress can cause our habits to become worse.  You have a lot of insecurities which are repetative.  I used to badger my hubby long before he became my hubby; because of my phobia I was always checking that he felt alright - he got into the habit of answering automatically.  I mean lots and lots of times a day!  

What does you husband feel that you need?  Therapy can help us to download our problems so that they are out of our heads but the sessions don't always solve things.  

Many people are ashamed of being seen as 'not normal'.  But you have a condition which is very common across the Western World.  Post here and you will soon see that you are not alone!

Yoganut, welcome to the forums. There are lots of us here with stuff we thought only we had until we got talking to people and its amazing much we all have in common. You aren't alone there is a great support network here. I hope you can find some answers

Hola.  =)

My name's Peter, I'm 28, and I'm in North Carolina, USA.   I was diagnosed with OCD within the past year after far, far, far too many years of living in the dark.  

It's great to know that I'm not alone in this.  Unfortunately, my wife just doesn't "get it."  She can't seem to understand what its like, so here I am.  heh  We've been married for almost 8 years now and have a wonderful 4 year old daughter.  Kids and OCD don't exactly mix, as I've learned.  Its been a tough road, but I'm pulling through, one day at a time.  

Its great to meet y'all.

/hugs

Welcome on Board Peter.   :wave: Love the avatar do you have Celtic connections?   :)

I'm a great list maker I find it helps to be able to cross off compulsions and that forces me to do something else. Unless my stress levels are really 'up' then I have to stick with the checking doors are locked and washing hands until things are calmer.

Keep posting!

Thanks. ;)  Its good to be here.  

Nope, no celtic connections.  Just something that I found on-line years ago and liked. Knotwork fascinates me.   Intricate, repeating patterns...hmmmm. lol.

Hiya, I'm Beccy,  I'm 21 and have just finished a degree in Film Studies and Media Communications.  I love going to the cinema, playing the violin (especially Irish folk) and going out with my friends.

I cant really remember not having OCD.  I started seeing a psychologist when I was about 14 after my parents got so sad/annoyed by me stratigically moving things around the house that it was a case of take me to see someone or we all go crazy! I saw the psychologist for around 4 years and was on Prozac.  Now I dont see anyone or take medication but I still have compulsions everyday.  Some days are better than others (as we all know)

My main compulsions are

Checking that lids and bottle tops are on, over and over again, just incase something falls out or spills.

Undoing and doing up zips on clothing, bags etc  (have ruined a few pairs of jeans this way!

Flicking on and off the light switch in my bedroom to check that it is off.  Flicking plug switches.

Checking that my alarm is set continuously, incase I get up late, checking that my phone is locked.

Checking that doors, windows are locked, several times

Constantly checking rooms before I leave them incase something needs to be shut or moved into the right place

Thank You for listening! It is so nice to talk openly about things wihout being judged x x x

Beccy - welcome  :wave:

I find that my compulsions are worse when stressed.  So I make a list of all the times I should be washing my hands or checking doors so that I can tick them off.  Then if I do 'extra' checking I try to divert my thoughts to a walk round the garden, feed the fish, sniff a rose ...... sometimes it even works  :D

Well done on completing your Course.  You must feel well chuffed!  

Keep joining in!

Hi :) I'm Eugene, 24, male. Was born with OCD and various related issues like anxiety, but wasn't diagnosed till much later in life (21!). As a matter of fact, I diagnosed myself, as weird as it sounds. I had been suffering immensely all the time from obsessions -- and, as a child, compulsions -- but nobody suspected anything, parents didn't have a clue.

By the time I hit 21 I was in such severe mental pain (several recurrent fears/obsessions) that I Google'd for the phrase "bad thoughts" and finally found out the name of my disorder. Every single thing was confirmed, down to the last detail, that I never could explain in my behavior earlier.

This sad period in my life coincided with another trauma in my life, an extremely painful breakup with a girl that unleashed my obsessions in full force.

I started therapy and treatment and was determined to do everything to help and cure myself. My family has been very supportive ever since but I think they still don't fully understand how serious this disorder is. My sister has it too, so it runs in the family.

Anyway, I'm glad to say the last couple of years have been very good, I've been successfully taking Luvox, opening myself up to new people and new things, and I sincerely hope this nightmare is now behind me, although an obsession might pop up now and then. The main problem now for me is anxiety, including social anxiety. I hope to make even more strides and become a much calmer, more relaxed person in general.

Glad you can join us Eugene  :welcomeani:

It's nice to know that there is help out there to help with compulsions and obsessions.  I think each of us finds coping skills which work on a daily basis: until we get extra stess in our lives.  I make lists which I find useful when I begin hand washing and checking doors.  

Have a browse round DF and i'm sure you will find threads you can join in with.   :wave:

Hi, everyone.  I'm Cindy.  I live in Fredericksburg, VA, USA.  I'm 51 (soon to be 52   ).  My diagnoses are BP type I with ultradian cycling, mixed episodes, psychotic features; agoraphobia; panic disorder; dissociative disorder; depersonalization; OCD; PTSD.  I've also suffered from various addictions.

I've been married since 1972, have a 31 year old son, and a granddaughter who starts to school in September.  My background is 30 years in Information Technology.  I officially retired in 1999 and then did some consulting work for awhile.

My OCD manifests itself in checking and re-checking, reading and re-reading, making lists, having obsessive thoughts, and a variety of other compulsions.  I've been through OCD therapy and have taken Prozac for it.  As much as I love my husband and his unfailing support, he's an enabler.