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[Jeff]

I have to seperate coins when i count up change. i have been emptying the change out of my pockets into a bucket every knight since 1998. I have started to count it up about a month ago and have developt a need to seperate the older coins from the modern multiple state coins. I have also discoverd 3 different types of nickels and am dividing those ass well + puting together a stack of the 50 state qwarters.  Curent count is 232 dollers eith the modern coins, that does not include the old coins (they have not been counted yet) I still have more then half the bucket to go through. This is going to take me months to count up at this rate.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry geting overwlemed here

[Dobritte]

I know.. this should go into the Psychosis of the Week Thread, but.. eh..  

Is it me, or is it a common disorder too?  With varying levels of severity?

For example- I personally have a "thing' with cookies...  Oreos are the worst for me.
Since the packages come in equal rows of cookies, if the rows do not stay equal all the time.. It bugs me, and I will take the tray out of the package, move the cookies around, make sure they are all equal again.(even if it means I have to eat a couple).  Just so I can put them away.

If I put them away without making sure they are even and equal..  It makes me nuts and I get fairly anxious until I get up to go make it 'right'



So..  Does anyone else have something that will bother them like this, or something that they have to do.. daily/constantly.. otherwise they get anxious and agitated?


Or am I short an Oreo in the package?

Yes and No - I have worked with a few clients that have suffered from OCD. I feel and I will tell my clients is - is the compulsive behavior interfering with your life, are you going home after you have left to check the iron, for ex. and how high is your anxiety and aggiatation?

Does it interfere with your life - how manageable is it?

Usually - when I see these bxs from clients - my question is what is behind that need to control what every they are OCDing about

I am that if every one read the DSM-IV book (it is the bible for diagnosis') - we would all that we have a lot more mental illness then we originally thought!

There is something to be said for the statement - ignorance is bliss.

[GrimAngel]

hmm... for those young enough, if you have OCD the military would be great for you.  

When I was in the Marines we'd have inspections of our gear, clothing, and weapon.  it all had to be marked and layed out in a certain order and measured.  Most of us went out, as recommended, and bought an entirely 2nd set of gear just for inspection (so we wouldn't mess it up).  an example that I think is funny to this day is that our underware had to be marked (with a stamp), folded to a measured 6" X 6" square.  so silly...  so if you really are a neat freak ... you'll love the military.

fortunately i don't have that compulsion  but One thing I did take away from the military is timeliness.  there was a saying in the military "if you're on time, you're late.  If you're 15 minutes early, you're on time".  I'm always early and even when I know i'm running early I'll still speed

[Kadee]

hmm... for those young enough, if you have OCD the military would be great for you.  

quote]

I have also heard that children with learning disabilities or ADD  will do very well in the military after graduation  because of the structure and discipline that is continued to be provided.

[GrimAngel]

hmm... for those young enough, if you have OCD the military would be great for you.  

quote]

I have also heard that children with learning disabilities or ADD  will do very well in the military after graduation  because of the structure and discipline that is continued to be provided.

Forrest Gump     but seriously... i can completely understand that.  To be honest I was a rather a-typical Marine.  I had a brain and knew how to use it.  Not saying all Marines are dumb... but out of a group of 40 at my one duty station there were about 4 really challenged individuals

[Ectoplasmic Terrier]

There are OCD tendencies and then there is the OCD pathology.  I have the OCD tendencies.  Such as somebody else pointed out, with CDs.  If I put the booklet in the CD case upside down, I won't put it back on the shelf.  I'll turn it back the right way first.  Now, if I looked over and saw flames shooting from the electrical outlets, I'd forget about the CD booklet!  A person suffering from the OCD pathology would be compelled to right the CD wrong, even if it meant getting blown to kingdom come!

My uncle had OCD.  It was even hard for him to take the medication prescribed to treat the OCD.  He had to read the inscription on each tablet 50 times before swallowing it.  Not 47 times, not 52 times, mind you, but 50 times exactly.  Sometimes Paul would lose count.  Uh-oh! Now he's gotta start all over again!

I don't mean to poke fun.  It's nothing the person can help.  If the OCD sufferer could make the compulsions go away, he would!  I remember seeing a documentary about a guy with OCD.  His therapist would give him assignments.  The therapist didn't expect the guy to refrain from ALL compulsions, just to take baby steps.  For instance one assignment was to leave the rug fringes be.  The guy didn't think he could leave the house until he made each strand of rug fringe precisely parallel to the next.  He succeeded, but it was difficult!
 :shock:

[GrimAngel]

I don't know how people live with the actual disorder like that.  I wonder where it comes from or how they get it.  Are they born with it or does it develope?

[Dobritte]

We in the field don't know if it is biological or a learned behavior. When I am working with a client who has OCD - I will look at trauma that might have happened - It is thought that maybe it is from having control issues. That is the best answer I can give w/o getting into too much. I do feel that when someone's OCD is really bad - that a psych eval is a good idea. Meds can be very helpful.

[Ectoplasmic Terrier]

We in the field don't know if it is biological or a learned behavior. When I am working with a client who has OCD - I will look at trauma that might have happened - It is thought that maybe it is from having control issues. That is the best answer I can give w/o getting into too much. I do feel that when someone's OCD is really bad - that a psych eval is a good idea. Meds can be very helpful.

My uncle had it as a part of a whole syndrome of psychiatric problems.  His OCD was terrible in the '80s, but then abated.  Then his paranoia flared up.  I don't remember what his DSM diagnoses are, but there are a bunch.  Poor guy.  He's led a hard life, but he's a survivor.  

One stereotype about OCD that doesn't hold up is that they're all neat freaks.  A lot of OCD sufferers who wash their hands 100 times a day live in squalid habitats.  The obsession with hygiene is often contradictory and illogical.  Another one of my uncle's compulsions was flossing.  The guy flossed his teeth about 20 times a day.  He claimed if he didn't, he would get the flu.  However, Paul never brushed his teeth.  He claimed if he did, he would get the flu!  Of course, this notion accelerated the build-up of septic oral bacteria.  I believe he now has the kind of teeth you can just take out and soak awhile!

[REWilson]

I think we all definitely have tendencies...just perhaps not full-blown OCD.  My stepsister is deathly afraid of germs; she brings Lysol spray wherever she goes and sprays it on everything.  It really pisses off my mother, who keeps a spotless house, when Amy sprays down the countertops in mom's house.  She gets it from my stepfather, who is pretty full-blown but refuses to get help.  ("Those who go to therapy are weak," he thinks.)  Everything has to be in perfect order, he counts, etc. etc.

I think I might have gotten my ticks just growing up in that kind of environment--I can have piles of stuff on my desk (clutter), but dirty, germy stuff makes me freak out a bit.  I also have this obsession with my keys--I have to know where they are at all times.  My husband misplaces his regularly, so he'll use mine to open the car or whatever--if he doesn't put them back where they are supposed to go, I freak.  Keep in mind that, in my office, we have spares for all the cars and the house.  It's not like "my set" is anything special.  But if he takes them, or they aren't where they're supposed to be, I go bananas.  I also have this issue where I think I didn't lock the car.  So I have to walk back within range of the keyless entry to relock it pretty frequently.  (It's almost always locked.)  But I am perfectly content leaving the convertible wide open...what's up with that?

[Barbara]

I definitely suffer from some of this as well - they can come and go and completely change.  Right now what really bothers me is making sure all the doors are closed and/or locked.  This really flared up because of having the kittens around, I'm really worried about them getting out.  To an extent, that's not irrational.  But when it takes you 10 minutes to lock up, its not a good thing.  And if I didn't go through the "ritual" I'll be laying in bed wondering whether doors are closed and locked, and I'll hear and noise, and think someone's getting in, and your mind goes crazy.  So I'll have to get up >.<  Speaking of which, last night I had to and there was this HUGE freakin' spider in the bathroom.  I wasn't wearing shoes and I didn't think I could get out of the room because it's a thinner room and I'd have to walk right by it and I didn't want it to jump at me!  Especially because when I first moved, it turned towards me *shudders*

I also like things to be in even numbers - I especially prefer the number 6.  So it can be two sets of threes, three sets of two's, etc.

[la reina]

Hello everyone...

I just wanted to add to the discussion.

One of my diagnoses is OCD.  I have lived with it since childhood.  It is incredibly difficult and disruptive.

Over the years I have experienced most all symptoms.  

At this time I am dealing with obsessive praying (over 100 prayers a day- also known as scrupulocity), saying certain phrases at certain times, making sure objects and my hands do not point to me, the urge to close my eyes while driving (sometimes I cannot fight this one and have to pull over), invasive and never-ending "magical thinking", constantly tapping my fingers in a certain order (at the end of day, my hands ache), among other various symptoms.  Simply, the symptoms never end.  I wake up with them and go to bed with them.

I have not been responsive to medication and my doctor, husband, and I are discussing "Deep Brain Stimulation".  This is where a nuero-surgeon cauterizes (sp) a receptor in the brain.  Unfortunately, this often results in personality change and other side effects.  I am not to keen on the idea... but I am also very tired of it all.

Between the BiPolar Disorder, Psychosis, OCD, and PTSD... I am exausted.

Anyway... just wanted to add to the conversation.  Also, Lynne is so accurate when she described OCD as a spectrum.  There can be a touch of it or a life consuming case of it.  

Take care.....                


P.S. Keep in mind that there is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.  One afflicted with the personality disorder may not see the symptoms as a problem, but rather as an aspect of themself.

[Cyber]

My only major "thing" is to have organization in the workplace.  I used to border on obsessive about it but now, I have little time to straighten stuff on the shelves (I work in a pharmacy).  Thus, most of the time, our shelves look like we've suffered some minor earthquake.

Lately, I've just given in to the fact that I work with several illiterate slobs who (a) need to relearn the alphabet or stop putting stuff away and (b) are just total slobs who have no sense of self-pride.  The rest of us just do what we can to keep up and straighten the shelf where we retrieved whatever bottle of pills we needed to fill a prescription.

[Crea_Harmony]

As the mother of 4 little boys 3 of who have OCD I can honestly say it is a difficult thing to deal with.  One of my boys has a severe issue with straight lines. He will make his bed and if someone should bump it and it's got a wrinkle in it he will almost completly shut down. He knows his schedule and will carry it out obsessivly no matter where we are or what we are trying to finish. My other boys are counters and touchers. It is hard to see little ones deal with it.  But once you understand what is going on you are able to make more sense and deal with it better.

[Crea_Harmony]

That is a wonderful book. I had to read it in my AP Psychology class my senior year in High School.