OCD in public. What do you do?

[Autumn77]

Hi all,

As we know, with a lot of mental disorders, people haveOCD tendencies. I just want to know, that I'm not the only one.

So I'll go first....at a supermarket, if a product is in the wrong spot, I pick it up, pretent to look at it, and then return it to its right spot. Ha!

[Quercus]

Hi Autumn77,

What a great topic for a thread. Thank you for the smile... I found myself thinking thank goodness I'm not the only one who cleans up while shopping.

I haven't been diagnosed with OCD... I'm just like that I suppose. Having previously worked in retail for years it just irritates me and I tidy up.

Once I was waiting at a hairdresser to buy a gift certificate and he was swamped and the floor was a mess. So I grabbed the broom and started sweeping up while I waited.

Maybe it sounds odd to others but being like this can be a blessing sometimes too. That day the owner was grateful and he threaded my eyebrows for free as a thank you.

So nope... you're not alone. And just think... The person stacking the shelves after hours would appreciate your help if they knew you had helped.

Nat

[Guest5643]

Hi Autumn77.

Please visit my thread "there is no such thing as a little bit of ocd".

Cheers lynne

[geoff]

Hello Autumn, you're right, if you have OCD then this can well and truly happen, and I say this because I too have this illness.

Have a look at Lynne's thread and hope to hear back from you.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Alexlisa]

Hi all.

While I appreciate the intention of this thread we need to be careful not to minimalise the deep struggle that OCD causes. OCD is a serious mental illness, it’s not having personality ‘quirks’.

You’re right that everyone has some ‘tendencies’ as like all mental illness OCD exists on a spectrum covering all humans. But, using the example above - there is a big difference between wanting to tidy up to help out or because you prefer things neat/organised. I have diagnosed OCD and this situation would be completely different for me. I may believe that if I don’t sweep up then someone will be hurt and it will somehow be my fault. Or I might believe that if I don’t tidy it up my family will magically die. Despite knowing logically that this makes no sense, I can’t help but believe what my brain tells me (that there’s a 0.0000001% chance that something bad could happen), and so I have to do the compulsion of sweeping up to make sure things are ‘safe’.

There’s a campaign cycling through the mental health community and social media to raise awareness that “OCD is not an adjective”. As Helium pointed out there was recently a thread about this. We don’t want to be feeding here the misrepresentation that happens when people say “I’m so OCD”. I know for me and many others with OCD it makes us feel like our distressing struggles are being invalidated as just having preferences.

I hope everyone understands where I’m coming from with this. I’m happy for the thread to continue, as long as it’s in the right vein. It can be empowering to have a laugh at our struggles in the right circumstances. So I will add my own OCD behaviour that comes out in public - I won’t go near any electrical appliances if I’m at someone’s house in case I magically turn them on and it starts a fire that will be my fault. I have to hold my hands together (to be more sure they don’t do it) and get frozen stuck in the middle of a room because I’m too scared to move. It must look fairly bizarre to just be propped there like a statue 😂 In the right mood I can laugh about it, but at the time it’s just plain terrifying and makes me incredibly sad.

Alexlisa

[Guest5643]

Hi alexlisa.

Thankyou very well said👍

Cheers lynne

[Mary_Ploppins]

Yes, i have to take the third item in the line, if there are two or more rows of the same thing i have to take the third on the right. It's really annoying as sometimes there are no third in line, so i can't get the item. Also i have became very aware of people watching me, once i was followed by a staff member and she was asking if i needed help.

I am handing over shopping to a family member so they can go pick up groceries for me.I can't do home delivery, it's just too much for me to deal with. Then, of course, i have to wipe down everything with antiseptic wipes before it can get put away. I am also on high dose medication for OCD but this past year i have had so many issues it's making life very difficult. I don't do outings or visit people except for my psych doc every 3 weeks.

I hope i haven't said anything to trigger anyone if i had to explain OCD to anyone i think i would say it is much like having a two-year-old running your brain. OOh he could have turned the lights on,maybe he unlocked the door, Uggh he has a cold and everything is contaminated in germs so now we have to disinfectant the house from top to bottom,4 cans glen 20 later, 2 bottles of disinfectant spray,disinfectant for the washing,washing powder etc. It's exhausting.

[Mary_Ploppins]

Hi lynne,

Could you direct me to you post please?

Thanks

[Guest5643]

Hi Mary Ploppins.

Type in search "There is no such thing as a little bit of ocd"

Cheers lynne

[geoff]

I often refer to people to see their doctor about medication for OCD which I am taking, but it's not like taking a headache tablet which stops the pain, I still have obsessions and compulsions and whether they have been reduced I don't know, but I'd like to hear other people's opinion with OCD and get their thoughts.

Best wishes.

Geoff.