What are your obsessions and compulsions?

[dree]

What are your obsessions and compulsions?  What kinds of things do you guys worry about?

I've been being treated for OCD and anxiety this summer, and one of the things I'm learning is that OCD is more than what people typically think it is (cleaning, checking locks, etc).  I've always had problems with checking things, but there are other things I think I can attribute to my OCD as well.  And I think it's helpful to discuss with other people and see that you aren't alone!

So here are some things that I worry about and do fairly often:
-I worry about accidentally telling someone something that's not true.  Earlier this summer I had dinner with a group of 5 or 6 people.  I "advised" them on an issue I had learned about in school, but the more I thought about it later, the more I realized I had given them the wrong answer.  It was a small issue, but I thought about it and worried about it until I contacted each person that was there to give them the facts.

-If I do something that I think may have upset someone I know, I will subtly "admit" my faults to them in conversation.  My best friend turned 21 this summer.  I went to her party, and afterwards, my family and friends asked me what she had to drink, how much, etc.  I answered them, but for some reason, I worried that my friend didn't want me to disclose that information.  So I texted her about how many people had asked me about her party, letting her know that I had been talking about it.

-I do lots of ridiculous checking.  Every night, I check the locks in my house, tug the blinds in my room as tight as possible, and check to make sure my credit card is in my wallet.  I even have the number memorized so I can be sure that it is MY card...even though my name is on it!  If I'm in my dorm room alone at night, I check everything.  I look in drawers, under furniture, in my roommate's bed, and in closets to make sure everything is "safe," and there isn't something hiding.  I'm not sure what I'm afraid of...I'm almost 21 years old, so I'm not exactly afraid of monsters anymore!

[spitfireatme]

I'm just obsessively concerned with my spiritual well-being as a Traditional Roman Catholic; besides that, not much bothers me. I have rational fear and am not too bothered by it, but I do certainly have a lot of related concerns about staying spiritually pure and good and on the right road to God.

Pray for help! Good luck! PM me if I can be of any help!

[jlhcorley]

I've had OCD for so long, it feels like I've obsessed about everything!

As a tween, I was scared I had a brain tumor, skin cancer, or AIDS. I would constantly check for symptoms. If someone said, "See you in the morning!" to me, I would have to pray to get rid of the chance I would die in the night. I still cringe when people say it to me. As a teenager, I hoarded personal trash items. In my 20s, I was afraid of committing sins and getting my confessions wrong. When I was pregnant, I was afraid of contracting toxoplasmosis from my cats and would scald my feet in hot water anytime I felt contaminated. I also have had fears of contamination from my daughter's pet frog, fears of getting rabies from flying bats, fears of accidentally stealing from stores without knowing it, fears of hitting pedestrians with cars, fears of hurting my daughter without knowing it...wow, this list is huge!

My compulsions have been checking by asking for reassurance and creating mental images to counter any bad images in my head. My OCD was not treated until I was in my late 20s because of this. I am so very greatful for finding a therapist who specializes in OCD and CBT.

Jen

[laika]

Oh, the biggest thing for me has been touching and being touched. I've had nightmares just about people touching me, about doing the dishes even! It's the weirdest thing, I can hug my two best friends, and sit close to them, but anyone outside of them I get jittery and horribly nervous about them touching me. I don't know what it is. I don't think it's fear of contamination, with people at least. Contamination is a problem with things, i.e. the dishes.

[ferdricko1]

Dree your list and some of the thought patterns you put down made me smile because they are so familiar to me too!  I've never thought about listing all my compulsions but I think it's a great idea just to get them out.

So here's a lot of what i have:
-I have the check locks multiple times before leaving, in case someone breaks in.  I check the stove multiple times so it doesn't start a fire.  Also electrical outlets so nothing unnecessary is plugged in.  Despite seeing a stove off or a door locked, as soon as I look away I have to check again.
-Health, I obsess over symptoms, checking them many times a day.
-I've had some far out fears. For awhile I was afraid every bump in the road I had run over something.  So I would glance in the mirror and then look back at the road, but then think maybe I ran over something in the fraction of a second that I looked in the rearview mirror, so I look back at the mirror again.... yeah, it was a bad cycle.
-A little bit about germs.  I used to be much worse.  Now I'm just a very clean person.
-What I tell people.  I'm terrified of telling someone something and then having them end up in big trouble because of my advice.  So a lot of the time I even get anxious about replying or giving advice here on AZ because I fear it will be the wrong thing!  I check my post over and over again!
-Lots of other little things

Even though this might sound like a long list it's much better than it was a few years ago.  I can usually get away with checking just 2-3 times, as opposed to endless times.  However I have noticed something very interesting.  My OCD is kind of a gauge of my general anxiety.  When I notice that I feel like I need to check more than usual, my general anxiety is ramped up too.  And vice versa.

[reasonableland]

 I have health anxiety so I most check physical symptoms and body parts. For awhile I was checking lymph nodes, neck, chest, behind the ears.. I'd check my pupils, my temperature, sometimes I'd check my gums and inside cheeks, check my fingers and toes for signs of not getting enough blood, and absentmindedly roll about the couple lumps or bumps I have.

I do some other things which are not health related, checking keys, checking train tickets, wallet, etc etc... but these have never caused me distress in the way health issues have.

I also have a tendency to check recheck recheck coursework for university, which means a lot of things take longer than they otherwise would!

[cbeckons]

I also check locks.  But what concerns me most is my obsession with my ex and compulsion to "stalk" him virtually.  Does anyone else have this problem?  No matter how much I tell myself how unhealthy it is, I still find myself looking him up.  Any suggestions on how to alleviate this?

[AlyceInReality]

1. everything being perfect
1.a image
1. b succeeding
2. Germs/Smells: germ related, I can't handle bad/strong smells and get panicky when they are around.
3.time: ALARM CLOCK CHECKING this is a major one. Also time as in scheduling I.e. being somewhere from 4-7.
4. Always following rules and being proper....even if it is something really small or doesn't make sense.
5. Touching.

I'm sure there are more but these are the biggest ones. Thanks for this post!

Alyce

[middlenamehypochondria]

Hello Everyone,

I noticed ferdrico1 said they worry about their posts, I do too.  I worry about giving bad advice.  I also try to be very proper and always do the right thing.  I recently bought a house and was so anxious over reporting everything with 100% accuracy.  The lender even commented that he wasn't used to seeing something with such good morals.  I find that I am very sensitive and I wonder if OCD and being sensitive go together.  I never, ever want anyone to feel sadness and I worry forever if I see someone suffering.  Do you guys experience this as well?

[AlyceInReality]

Hello,

To MiddleNameHypochondria, yes I do this all the time. I "feel" what other people do...so if I see something really sad I immediately feel a jolt of sadness / pain etc. I think ...for me at least...OCD comes from the fact that I notice everything and in turn that trait of mine also makes me so much more sensitive to people's feelings etc.

I forgot to mention an obsession: Resolution.

i.e. If I am on the phone with someone (person A) and we had a small dispute / argument but we left without resolution, and just said goodbye. My mind would be on that forever. If, after the conversation, I intended to do something else social (like go to dinner with a friend) I would have to call person A. back to resolve the issue. Most times I'm the only person seeing the "issue" lol. (this happened last Sunday.)

[WeeWifey]

I require constant change. To receive this I rearrange furniture, change my hair, change my clothes (bad day up to 30 times), start a new craft, study, research, job.

I have problems with textures.  I can't touch metal sinks, drains, and porcaline bath tubs, sinks.  I don't like when material is wet.  I have difficulty brushing my daughters teeth and hearing the sound of others brushing.  My toothbrush must always be clean and never any toth paste left.  I can't see someone bite on clothing. I can't submerge my hands into water (sink) with dishes.  I cannot take baths as I will touch sides of tub.  When I shower I lift my toes as to only touch tub with minimal area. 

I constantly scratch, pinch, scratch myself. I receive pleasure from painful stimulation and injury.

I require routine to my behaviors. Daily schedule, rituals. Even to how I play solitaire, there are rules.  These rules are only for myself, I do not show or enforce on others. I am actually very easy going with my daughter and husband, I only seek control in my own mind.

[Sleepless87]

I've never been actually diagnosed with OCD, but I tend to obsess over things being "right" or "perfect." For example, if I write a letter or jot down notes, I'll rewrite them until I consider my handwriting to be neat. I go through lots and lots of paper this way.

Everything has a place. If someone comes over and ends up moving something around, I HAVE to put it back in its place. When my boyfriend stays over and "helps" me clean my room, I get upset if he doesn't tuck the sheets in on both sides of the bed.

I am absolutely terrified of failing. If I don't do so well on something (especially work), I stress out and beat myself up for being a "failure." I have a set of very high expectations for myself and if I end up completely flopping at one of them, I have a hard time forgiving myself.

I have awful health anxiety. I obsess about my health on a daily basis. The only time I feel half normal is when I'm too busy to fret. I have tried not to let this take over my life as it's starting to push people away, but sometimes I have a really hard managing it.

There are others, but they're rather silly: I don't like when people click their tongues against the roof of their mouths, I hate when people stand in front of me when I'm sitting down, etc.

[MelCal]

I worry constantly about my new daughter!  She is 4.5 months old and I am completely pre-occupied with making sure that she is healthy.  I compulsively wash my hands not just before I touch her, but all before I touch anything that she might come in contact with.  Which at 4.5 months old is just about anything at this point.  I have even found myself washing her hands in the sink, too    I hope I don't instill my fears and bad habits on her. 

[Hendon]

Hi

I always check the door again and again when i leave my place, prior to that i check that every light is turned off and all sockets are switched off too (crazy but i don't worry about the fridge being on!!!)

When i'm traveling to and from work i check that i have my ticket on a regular basis

I'm always checking i have my phone

I check that i have looked the car and even check to see that the lights are turned off, if i've been out at night

Things seem to be worse when times hard, such as pressure from work.

My latest worry is about HIV and if i have it or not, it's consumed my every waking hour and messing up my sleeping.

As i write this, i can't believe i have got like this, i believe it has got to this through me living on my own, as a result, i'm staying with my parents for a while

Regards
Hendon

[PinkIcePrincess]

Hi,
  Great Post because so many think that OCD is about checking things over and over or washing your hands non stop and other things but it really isn't there are so many more as we can all see now..
   For me here is my list.
  1. Worrying about my health and families health.
  2. Thinking people are mad at me when I have done nothing wrong.
  3. Looking ugly and fat.
  4. Worrying about losing loved ones and being left alone.
  5. Everything in the house needs to be in place.
  6. People with colds and flus.
  7. I repeat over and over I am sorry to people when it is not needed.
  8. Trying to control others actions and words..
  9. Can not drink from a can of Pop always use a straw.
  10. Can not live without Germ X.
  11. All remotes must be lined up.
  12. No shoes on the carpet,,drives me crazy!!
  13. When I do something it must be Perfect.
  14. Meds freak me out I ocd about them..
  15. Going out of my House..the WHAT IF's thinking.
  16. I want People to treat me like I treat them..worse place is online and mostly Fakebook lol..I will look at peoples photos and comments and be nice and like them or leave nice comments but others can not do that..all about Control I believe everyone should be nice and helpful..
  17. Having Money to bury people..yes long story!! but I think about it everyday!!
  18. Stains on things...Yikes!
  19. Bullies I ocd about them because I was bullied I get so sick of it even as an adult seriously why??
  20. I write in tablets and Calendars and have to figure everything out to the T!..
 Ok now I am ocding about my list I am now stopping..lol
 I am a shopaholic also and have a massive collection of things ,very ocd about Barbies!! Christmas! Betty Boop..I wear myself out.. I own over 40 pr of Betty Boop Pjs..never wear any other just can't!
  Now do you all feel better about yourselves?? lol I am kidding.. Oh and never drink or eat after anyone!! Yuckie!
Peace !!
PinkIcePrincess
When I worked I was so Ocd I wore myself out!! I was crowned Miss Perfection in 1996!! yes a crown and all!! 

[EclecticJoe]

Fear of going crazy or self harm. Two bad bouts of health anxiety.

Avoidance behaviors and  mental rituals centered around "doing things a certain way" or I will die.

[Lynnmain]

 I have health anxiety ( so thats my biggest obsession) with other OCD traits as well. I will check the stove or oven a few times if I used it that day. I can not go to sleep wondering if the DVD player in left on. I like things to be in there place as well but got used to it not always happening) I can't stand the site of cabinets or draws left open. And as someone else wrote , I will re write something until it looks neat as well. And I stress if I'm giving someone a card and it didn't come out good. I also will replay conversations with people in my head at times wondering if I sounded stupid or if someone is mad at me. ( this hasn't happened in a long time) and  MelCal - I went through the same thing with always making sure my daughter was ok. I would wash my hands constantly and if I couldn't remember if I did before I touched something I would wash my hands and the object again! And when she was an infant I wouldn't let anyone who smoked hold her until their hands were washed. That all has faded now- she is up to date on her vaccines so I try not to worry about germs so much and let her be a toddler.

[rmg]

my ocd is mainly caused by intrusive thoughts about people that i didn't like/didn't like me during high school. it's super annoying because they are not one bit relevant to my life right now and i dont even see them at all but it doesn't stop the thoughts from popping up in my brain to the point where i can barely open a door/walk into a room/turn on the tv/wash hands etc etc with out doing it more than once (until the thought goes away).

[JunoX]

1. Obsession about my health and diseases, basically I have HA.
2. I have MDD, maladaptive daydreaming disorder, so I obsess on my fantasy life.
3. I obsess about cleanliness and organization. This takes up 90% of my time and I become extremely agitated and angry when things aren't as perfect as I want them to be.
4. I am extremely paranoid and go through periods of obsessing about others, friends or family members, trying to harm me or doing things behind my back. I obsess about having my living will and wills perfect because of this.
5. I obsess on intrusive and disturbing, random thoughts.
6. I obsess about keeping a schedule and doing things in a specifically planned out way. There can be no changes, no unforeseen events, nothing unpredicted and I have to keep every thing within the time frame I allotted for it. I put myself under tremendous pressure to keep these schedules and if something actually goes wrong, I am extremely hard on myself and blame myself to no end. I also become extremely angry, to the point of rage.
7. I am obsessed with justice in all its aspects. Everything has to be fair and even Stevens with me. This is why I have no friends except for two, even number btw, and no family except for my husband. I am extremely hard on others because of this. I am obsessed with the thought that they think they can get away with something I caught. I nitpick a lot.
8. I am obsessed with my anxieties, which are many.
9. I am obsessed with myself. I have to be in total control, actually absolute power all of the time. I have to be judge, jury and executioner at every given moment.
10. I am very obsessed and disturbed with extreme feelings of empathy, guilt and the anthropomorphizing of objects, plants, animals and people I dont even know.

[xericamariee]

I obsess about even numbers, i will count things too many times(i have to shake the ketchup 16 times, i have to count to certain numbers before going to the bathroom). These seem so irrational, but i think the biggest one is my obsession with my fears. I fear needles and freak out that one day im going to get hurt and then wind up in the hospital with a needle in my arm and drugs in my system, ughhh just thinking about it now makes me so upset. I hate it.

[greenzebra]

My main ones are doing things in sets of 4 or 8, and constant thoughts of religion and praying compulsively (I know it's weird, and I don't know where it came from). I also touch every light switch I see when I walk through the house to make sure it's all the way off, and when I go upstairs to bed I run my fingers over the lock to make sure it's locked, even when I can clearly see it. The last two aren't much of an inconvenience, just habit, but the first two drive me crazy, and I notice that it's not that bad unless my anxiety's really bad that day, then it gets 10x worse.

[MiniShopaholic]

for me, I continuously have negative thoughts about people I don't really know... Like, I like picking on other people :p But that is actually bothering me I feel sad and anxious about it.. i feel afraid of making new friends due to my weakness, i am afraid people don't like me because of my negative thoughts.
I am too self conscious sometimes. is that obsession? Am I really a bad person?

[TrueBlue22]

I haven't officially been diagnosed with OCD, i've never talked with a doctor about it. My dad tells me i have mild OCD, im obsessive but not compulsive.
A few of My OCD:

 --I cant' handle people touching wrists. My wrist, their wrist, someone elses wrist. Just thinking about it makes me roll my wrists. I just get this heebee-jeebee feeling about. I think its because when i was younger i thought if i cut my wrist i would bleed to death because my vains are so vulnerable there. I get the same way with the aklees tendon.

 -- And my belly button. Thinking about it or touching it, makes me scratch it. thats all i can do is pinch and scratch. I don't understand this one.

  --I dont like people toughing middle of my chest, i cant event touch it. I guess im scared someone will stab my heart and i'll die.

  --I can't stand in a certin bath tubs without a mat, and i cant stay in the tub if the water is not running.

  -- I can't tough the bottom of the sink. At all.

  --I can't put my feet on the floor in a movie theater unless im walking (obviously). If someone is sitting in front of me and i cant put my feet on the seat, i'll hold my knees and curl up in my seat.

Most of my "compulsions" is just twitching, and heebee-jeebees. the thought of them happening makes me twitch.

[brokenbone]

I have obsessive thoughts about harming myself. This includes a *physical* compulsion to hurt myself when I am triggered by something. Also, I have strange fears and have to obsessively count certain things.

[Pippy187]

I get obsessive intrusive thoughts of harming loved ones or myself.... I obsess about not ending a convo badly in case i die, I obsess about why people do the things they do... And the existence of humans, earth etc.   I obsess about health symptoms too.... Blah.  These all come n go in waves... Each day is different :)