FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

I think I might have OCD

chociloni
Community Member

It has always been said that I have anxiety (earlier in life I was diagnosed with having an anxiety disorder). However as I am getting older I find I am having these funny control patterns. I need to plan order of events, times / dates...and need to do things straight away as soon as I think of them. Eg, if I am at work and find I need to make a call about something I want to organise I become anxious if I can't do it straight away, and have this feeling I am going to miss out on the only opportunity to make this call. I do silly things like having to check that my front door is locked properly 3 times before I leave the house, even when I can see I locked it properly. I worry that randomly the oven has been left on when it clearly hasn't. I also need to check my car door a few times to see if it's locked properly when I can see the first time it's locked. I fear if I don't do these checking things there will be some kind of 'explosion' or catastrophe. I also often randomly worry that I will lose my job or my lease will be ended abruptly for no reason. For example I fear strange things like if my lease runs out, before it's renewed in that short interim period I will lose my job and become destitute. Like if I lose one thing, all of the rest of my life will come crushing down - like something is punishing me.

I also now struggle with driving on the freeway, the merging of changing lanes overwhelms me and at times I've felt I'm bordering on having a panic attack. 5 years ago this never happened to me.

Having said all of this this stuff doesn't take over my whole life, I still get by and can work through this stuff, I just find it really odd. This funny control stuff is probably about 10% of my life. I currently see a psychologist, however I don't feel she is the right fit for this kindof stuff.

Is this more the kindof thing you'd see a psychiatrist for? Looking for help and answers.

I find it very difficult to just move with the flow of life.

16 Replies 16

thanks. The reason i find it hard to calm the worrying patterns is due to fear of something coming in and over taking me...it's very hard for me to trust that it won't, so I go through these anxiety practices in the hope it will stop it.

It’s part of your ocd cycle..... I understand...... when you get the thoughts try not to answer them back just let them be there ..... sit with the anxiety without doing anything else and just wait for it to fade away..... it WILL fade away don’t give your thoughts any attention......

im here if you want to chat, please try to get in contact with your gp and see a clinical phycologist or psychiatrist and ask if they can give you a referral to a OCD therapy.......

im here if you want to chat

what is the help though for facing the scary thoughts?

Just let them be there and don’t question them..... when you have the thoughts bring your attention to some thing you are doing in the present moment.....

the more attention we give to a thought the more the mind will bring it up because it thinks it’s important...

it takes practice... I highly recommend you try meditation...

Hello Chociloni, I've been following this thread with great interest, thanks to your support from Petal22, and if I can come into the conversation, only by adding on to what's been said.

These scary thoughts you may be having could be 'intrusive thoughts', which can quite easily happen when you have OCD and the extra anxiety they cause, whereas someone who doesn't have this illness may be able to rationalise the situation.

The more you try and repress these thoughts the stronger they become and perhaps more frequently, plus being in that particular situation only makes it worse, whereas if you're able to leave then hopefully they will slowly diminish.

OCD can take anything that is reassuring and turning it into a compulsion.

Take care.

Geoff.

Hi Rainbow Swan, I was referred to the OCD clinic by my clinical phycologist and phyciatrist... my group therapy was for 8 weeks it was an intervention into the OCD.... it took time to master the skills I was taught and once I did I mastered my OCD...

we were taught how to notice our obsessions and compulsions

what our vicious cycle of OCD was and how we reacted to it.

we were taught how to challenge our thoughts eg evidence for and eve dance against

We were taught to recognise our early warning signs before going into our OCD cycle

We would also repeat the thought over and over again so we could see the outcome of having this thought...

finally we were taught how to drive the new system

we did meditation every day ( I would highly recommend this)

we also practiced mindfulness

😊

Hi Rainbow Swan, did you feel triggered though by other members in the group?