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Ocd???
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
I think I'm developing some sort of problem.
People often laugh at me when I do these sorts of things but since my flat mates have moved out for the summer, my habits have got worse.
Before I leave a room/the flat/go to bed everything has to be turned off. I mean, all the plug sockets have to be switched off. Every single night I spend gawd knows how long repeatedly checking the the shower/taps are off, the fridge and freezer doors are shut, the windows are shut, the doors are locked, the cooker is turned off, the hobs are turned off, etc. Its driving me insane. My flat mates often went "Stacey everything is fine, bla bla bla" and laughed. This gave me the courage to just ignore my urge to check everything again and I went to bed/left the flat whatever. Well, since they have gone, its got about 10 times worse. Before it took me 30 minutes to leave the kitchen as I was just repeatedly checking everything. I get so stupidly paranoid about things being left on.
I was in work today and saw plug sockets switched on with no plugs in them and I just had to turn them all off. When I left the flat today I locked my flat room door then checked it about ten times then locked the main door but got paranoid I hadn't locked my flat door, unlocked the main door and checked it again, etc. Its doing my head in, its getting worse and gahhhh, I know this isn't a serious problem or anything but its just doing my head in and I can't seem to control it at all.
How can I help myself?
People often laugh at me when I do these sorts of things but since my flat mates have moved out for the summer, my habits have got worse.
Before I leave a room/the flat/go to bed everything has to be turned off. I mean, all the plug sockets have to be switched off. Every single night I spend gawd knows how long repeatedly checking the the shower/taps are off, the fridge and freezer doors are shut, the windows are shut, the doors are locked, the cooker is turned off, the hobs are turned off, etc. Its driving me insane. My flat mates often went "Stacey everything is fine, bla bla bla" and laughed. This gave me the courage to just ignore my urge to check everything again and I went to bed/left the flat whatever. Well, since they have gone, its got about 10 times worse. Before it took me 30 minutes to leave the kitchen as I was just repeatedly checking everything. I get so stupidly paranoid about things being left on.
I was in work today and saw plug sockets switched on with no plugs in them and I just had to turn them all off. When I left the flat today I locked my flat room door then checked it about ten times then locked the main door but got paranoid I hadn't locked my flat door, unlocked the main door and checked it again, etc. Its doing my head in, its getting worse and gahhhh, I know this isn't a serious problem or anything but its just doing my head in and I can't seem to control it at all.
How can I help myself?
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
0
Comments
People realize things they do alot an automatically assume its some type of comuplive disorder. OCD and things you do on a daily basis are 2 completly diffent things. It seems more and more poeple want to think they have ocd when its really only an odd habbit. Ocd is a disease, one that affects you life, in more than just a time consuming mannor. OCD is not a habbit, its a problem.
Folks are prob getting sick of me mentioning it, but I suffer from severe OCD as does my partner of two years.
What you're describing does sound like classic symptoms of OCD. However, I'm not a Dr and can't diagnose you properly, so reckon if you're really proper worried about it - go make an appointment with your GP. If it's upsetting and affecting your life to a great extent then it's worth getting it checked out. If you feel you can live with it then see how you get on. I was only officially diagnosed last year - I suffer from contamination/health OCD and pure 'o'.
I'd also recommend you checked out http://www.ocduk.org and http://www.ocdforums.org for more help and information.
There does seem to have been a lot of press about OCD just recently what with Beckham and Gazza saying they have it and stuff, so I do worry about it being portrayed as some kind of fashion accessory rather than what it is - an actual disease. It's blighted my life for 22 years now - I'm almost 27.
Take care Stacey - and let us know how you get on
Love C
xx
But just like everyone else I'm not a doctor and you should go and put your mind at rest one way or the other
Good luck
with things like the oven..you just need to have confidence in yourself that you wouldn't be silly enough to leave it on in the first place and the same with locking the doors. you wouldn't walk away from the door unless you were sure it was locked. so try and ignore the bit saying 'go back to the door and check it's locked' and reassure yourself you already did it. you just need to get out of the habit.
don't be too quick to shove lables on yourself like OCD either.
you can help yourself by purposfully not doing it - even if it feels wrong not to check, even if it scares you not to check - don't do it. or breakdown the no. of times you allow yourself to check, for example you are allowed to check the same thing 3 times - no more than... then narrow it down to 2... then 1.
:yes:
However, if you are really concerned about these habits, there's no shame in seeking help or advice. You could speak to your doctor in the first instance, or contact a helpline, such as Sane or Mind. The good thing is that you're aware of these habits forming now and can hopefully keep them in check.
You might also want to take a look at our OCD factsheet or our OCD diarist's entries.
On another note, if you are feeling unsafe in your home while your flatmates are away, perhaps you could get someone else to move in temporarily?
Here are details of those helplines in case you want to call them:
Saneline
Offers practical information, crisis care and emotional support to anybody affected by mental health problems.
Web: www.sane.org.uk
Tel: 0845 767 8000
Mind
A wealth of information about mental health issues and contact details for the nearest Mind group in your area.
Web: www.mind.org.uk
Tel: 0207 8020 300
I've also created certain habits to prevent me from needing to check, like with the housekeys at home. I always reach for the place where they should hang even if I am carrying them with me. I know it sounds silly, but if I don't reach for them, I check again and again and again and again if I've got them or not. Quite tedious! So that simple habit keeps my mind at ease.
You could also try to do something 'unique' when you're turning something off. Like sometimes I go "I KNOW I locked my car because I dropped the car keys while doing so and while reaching for them nearly dropped my bags" or something that's really silly, like thinking something special while I did what I want to check if I did. That way I have no excuse to go check even if my mind tells me to.
Like the way I check my kitchen door is locked EVERY SINGLE TIME I'm in the kitchen (even it's the 100th time I've been in that day) because one time, ages ago, it was left unlocked for a few hours at night and I secretly have this irrational fear that someone will come in and 'get' me. I don't even know what they would do if they 'got' me. I'm just scared of it. Bit stupid really.
If it's affecting your life in a negative way and you are worrying about it then get some help, but personally I think the publicity of OCD means people think every little thing about them has to be treated or 'fixed'.
yeh i think this is quite a common thing for people to do, mainly for safety reasons it doesn't mean you're obsessive compulsive. i had 2 housemates last year who insisted on doing it!
That's just like me, I have an issue with making sure things are locked, and that alarms are set. The idea of my alarm not being set for the right time scares the shit out of me.....which logically I can see is ridiculous, the worst that's gonna happen is that I'll be late....but still it bothers me :rolleyes:
Stacey, I've been doing stuff like you for quite a few years now. It didn't bother me for ages, I didn't even particularly notice it. Then I noticed it, but I didn't think much of it. It's only recently that it's begun to bug me, and upset me, and that's when I went to my g.p's. I think you yourself know when it's reached that point where you have to do something about it. I was ending up in tears every night because I couldn't stop checking my alarm over and over again, and that's when I decided enough was enough. So yeah, I guess you just have to think about it, and decide whether you're at a point where it's really affecting you? If it is, then don't be scared about getting help. I was terrified, and built it up into this massive thing, and then I finally went to see my g.p, and she was just like 'it's nothing to be worried about, we can help you, here's what we can do......' etc etc, it really wasn't any different to seeing her about any other health problem.
Another thing that's helped me is to tell my parents and a few friends what has been going on.....that way I'm conscious to try and control my checking so that they don't notice it, if that makes sense, cos I know they're on the look out for it. So that helps me to tone things down a bit, even though it doesn't get rid of the problem.
I think the most important thing is not to get bogged down by it being OCD or anything.....as Kaffrin said it could be anxiety, or loads of other stuff. And some people do just have bizarre habits!
Hope that helps a bit, I know I've rambled on but I hope it makes some sense