What’s Your Quirkiest OCD Habit?

[tryingtoheal]

ocdengineer, could you explain a bit more about thought replacing?

[lost_in_translation]

Confessing. Or a need to confess.
Spazzing out over it.

Oy me too. I say things that I know I should not say all the time. I tell myself as I am saying them not to say them, but...I can't help it. If I let it stay stuck in my head it drives me totally nuts and I obsess severely. Confessing is really, for me, just having to say everything I am thinking all the time, and immediately. I drive everyone nuts.

I have the best therapist who lets me email him zillions of times a day to help with this. I am sure it drives him nuts, but it does help a lot. And he does respond, which sometimes causes a whole new spiral of emails, but also sometimes actually helps me quell a line of thought.

I have found writing it down, whether in email, a notebook, or whatever has helped with this a bit... knowing I won't lose the thought helps me put it aside. I think my big fear is forgetting something I want to say. Having it in writing helps me feel a little more reassured that I haven't lost it. Not that I won't repeatedly write or say the same thing in a million different ways....I do that too, which drives my husband absolutely bonkers. I can't stop myself from feeling like if I just word it another way he will understand better.

I have a re-wording thing. I always check multiple times when I write anything, re-reading over and over and changing tiny things that are insignificant.

But just to show ocd who is boss, I am hitting post right now without even re-reading this once. so there. if there are typos I am going to pretend I don't care!

[eduk8or]

Wow!  U have a therapist that lets you email?? And several times a day?!  That is a rare find!!  At least in my area!

[crazygirl1]

 :laugh3:oh my goodnesss...i just posted wondering if I have OCD on top of my other stuff adn guess I found my answer. Yes I DO have to go back home to check the oven, the coffee maker, the curling iron or straightener...HAVE to make sure those things are off & each morning as we ( my 3 yo ( doesnt know yet that mommy's crazy lol) and I-I say oh wait mommy has to just check something...go to the oven to make sure and say out loud " Everything is off & out" and so my lil one said to me the other day Mommy -you already said it now lets go! LOL There are bad thoughts that I need to find replacements for...such is my biggest thing at the moment

[2panic2much]

Hey!  I have a few also....the one that sticks out the most is the washing machine.  When doing a load of laundry I have to constantly check it...lift the lid up, look inside, close the lid back, takes awhile to get them done lol!  I have crazy thoughts, have to arrange things a certain way until satisfied, I have issues with stuff plugged up also...the coffee pot has to be checked a dozen times to make sure I turned it off and the locks on the doors!

[vikesfanmb]

I sometimes have trouble with counting. That means adding the aplhanumeric characters on a licensce plate, then adding that number to the sum of the numbers on the plate. If the result is a two digit number, I add the two numbers with the amount of numbers. If the result of that, too, is a two digit number, I add again.
Same goes for words and sentences. I add the amount of letters to the amount of words and add the digits of the sum if it has two or more digits to the amount of digits.

I really thought I was possibly the only person who did this . . . I am constantly adding numbers, from license plates to cash register receipts, flight numbers, the list goes on and on.  Certain combinations of numbers freak me out.  I'm even that way with the volume on my tv or radio in the car.  It can't be at a certain "volume" number or else I feel like I am going to freak out or something bad is going to happen.

WOW.

[haileennevansmommy]

i ahve a huge habit of always checking for my phone every few minutes in my purse , and for my wallet  and keys as well.. and sometimes i move them to a different spot and freak out if i cant find them.

[cant_sit_still]

I also have a nervous/obsessive habit of reading the same word over and over because I feel like the first times I didn't understand what the word meant. I also sometimes mix up my sentences in a weird way. I used to have to say a mantra in my head which included "sleep is so unnecessary." I'm sure you guys have felt like you're goin crazy. Sometimes I feel like that as you can imagine.

[butterflygirl]

some of mine are:

picking...I am constantly picking things...if my husband has one long hair on his arm, it will drive me nuts until I can pull it out...or if someone is sitting next to me and they have a blemish (gross I know), I cant stop looking at it and wanting to pick it to make it go away....I can refrain from doing this to people except my family...I cant help it...its compulsive...Im looking for things to pick even when I dont even notice Im doing it!!!! 

unloading/loading the dishwasher a certain way
lining up canned goods a certain way
curling iron checking
every time i see salt i have to throw a pinch over my shoulder, and its not just for good luck...i HAVE too!! 

[cant_sit_still]

Yea I have the picking thing too!! But not in the way you do. For the longest time I picked at the skin on the side of my finger next to my nail so that the skin would come off and whenever I have a scab I have to pick it off.  I think they call this dermatillomania. Although, most people have it alot worse than I do. I mainly just feel tense and have to go back into the same room again because I ALWAYS forget something. My mind is focused on the next thing all the time. This annoys me. For example, If I want to go to the library and look for a job, I always forget my notepad and have to walk back to the house to get it.

[pruittj001]

I can't stop touching my eyebrows...to the point the skin around them turn red and it hurts. I always need to check to see if there is a loose eyebrow for some reason...I do this without thinking about it. People refer to it as a nervous twitch. 
This is in concert with my overly-active leg shaking..both legs actually. In fact, my legs shake even in my sleep I'm told.

[sarahgk]

I was just browsing for relevant blog posts for my project research and I happened to discover yours. Thanks for the useful information!
Soap dispensers

[drjekyll]

I like things to be in sets of 4, or multiples of 4. Often when reading, I count the words in each sentence until I come to a sentence that has a multiple of 4 words in it. Then I go back and count the letters in the sentence. I do the same thing with text anywhere I see it, especially if it is just a couple of words on their own. I even eat food in multiples of 4 (4 peas at a time, 4 pieces of cereal on my spoon, etc).
 
Also, I go through phases where I dislike the letter "E". Mostly words that end in "E" I will avoid.

[crazygirl1]

doing well with my ocd lately. I only check the knobs on the oven ONE time ( one HEALTHY NORMAL lol) time on my way out. I have only once this year so far heard a fire truck screaming by and thought OMG!! My wood burning stove...my dogs are in my house!!!
only once so far.
my new obsession is bleaching my kitchen counters to kill germs that seem to thrive in cold weather like those stomach bugs going around now...
usually I read the same sentence over agian about 3 times when I'm feeling sick, so thats one that remains. Also to go along with the wood stove --I go back inside my house to MAKE sure the door to this stove is completely shut. This is on my out the door leaving for work. I have to go back inside at least once. And I said my ocd was ok these days...lol