General Chat

I have it - worse at sometimes when I am very anxious - but not so bad as it controls my life,. I feel terribly sorry for people who have it so badly it takes over living. For me and I guess others it is related to anxiety and is a comfort blanket. All the switches same way up - double check the doors locked - go back in to see gas is off. I appreciate this is VERY minor and quite common. My eldest boy had it when he was about 9-13. I was very worried about him. I would hear him always switching lights on and off three times. He would walk up stairs in twos only and it got to the point where he would have to touch the pavement every 13 steps. I did take him to doc who said he would grow out of it but I had my doubts. However, instead of letting him see my concern, I would joke with him about it. Id actually wait at a doorway and say, right, do the switches now so we can go on quickly and he would grin. Time passed, we always grinned to each other when he did his 'touching' three times of things and then one day I noticed he wasnt doing it any more. I didnt say anything to him and it just stopped. I was so pleased. Today he holds down a very stressful position in live television and he thrives on the pressure- certainly does not have uncontrollable OCD. Yes, he will adjust his car seats every time he gets in and have things a certain angle, but dont we all?. So anyone with same situation, try not to worry as that will only compound the childs anxieties. I feel we were very fortunate this passed for him.

Toothfairy I also count the stairs. Never had an eating disorder though. We have 3 glass jars coffee, tea, sugar they have to be in a certain position. I must have swept the kitchen floor about 6 times already this morning cos there was 1 crumb on it, but no I have to sweep the whole floor again. But I am worse with the rugs and curtains, cusions. It drives me so mad.I am worse when people come to visit and the soft back of the sofa is out of place, I sit there looking at it wanting to straighten it but I know I can't cos someone is sat there. As soon as they get up I straighten it. It makes me agitated. catherine xx

Thankfully Ive never had the clean and tidy house problem!!

Interesting to read the responses on here, as I have mentioned OCD before and no-one 'bit'. Obviously some of you have more of a problem than others, and if any of you want to contact me privately, feel free. If it is making a big difference to your lives, then it is a good idea to ask your doctor for a referral to a Mental Health centre to be assessed and helped where possible. The trouble is that there are few people who know about OCD. Prof. Paul Sarkovskis is one - he is based at the Maudsley Clinic in London and is very knowledgeable, and he has made documentaries about the subject which have been on tv. The most effective way of dealing with this problem is by cognitive behaviour therapy but it is often a long road. The things many of you mention are such that they could become major problems if you had something happen in your life to trigger them but at the moment they are just a little eccentricity. I don't think OCD stems from eating disorders, more that it is a sign of a problem within yourself as is/was the eating disorder, both are a means of taking control when inside your head you don't feel in control of your life. OCD sufferers usually(often) feel that if they don't do certain things, like counting paving slabs, etc, whatever the particulary thing is, then something bad will happen to people they care about. The same thing with the cleaning, you feel scared the contamination will harm your loved ones and you will be responsible if you do not clean. My own son told me years afterwards that he used to feel he had to count the stairs to bed each night and things like that, but luckily he has not developed full blown OCD. I do feel concern for him tho in case he has any major problems and the worries manifest themselves in OCD later, altho I don't tell him that. As I said before, if anyone does want to talk to me privately , please feel free to make contact.There are several sites which tell you more about this illness and might be able to help. Liz

Did you know it's more hygenic to kiss a toilet seat than it is to kiss someone on the lips? Bet ya didn't know that did ya???

I do not. It is a serious illness for which even cognitive behavioural therapy cannot help. Joy

Well luckily for me, my obcession isn't too serious.

You are very fortunate. My stepdaughter's illness is so serious that she had to leave her children and partner.

Joy, I am sorry to hear of the situation your step daughter found herself in but some people do respond to cognitive behavious therapy, it depends how much the OCD has taken hold and in what way it manifests itself. One member of our group has been helped to the extent that altho she still cleans a lot, she does it so much less than she did and has been able to give a home to a rescued Yorkshire terrier, something she would never have accepted a couple of years ago. There is always hope. Liz

are some of these symptom not the same as you would get with depression. Depression makes people behave in 'strange' ways.

Gloryer, yes depression can cause similar symptons and can be linked, but the illness is very different and long term usually, much harder to treat than depression. (I have had that too)

if anyone wishes to read about the subject, and receive support. www(.)nomorepanic(.)co(.)uk the site deals with all mental health issues, has a great forum, and is completely free to everyone. bryan.

Very interesting to read this thread. My daughter has OCD and from a parents perspective it is not an easy thing to deal with but much worse for the sufferer. My daughter has a form of OCD which is 'Thought Process OCD'. Like anyone sometimes thoughts pop into your head and you start to analyse the thought. Someone with OCD takes it to the extreme. You get a thought 'lets say of hurting someone' you analyse the thought, you picture the thought, then you may visualize how my could do it. At this point a normal person would say 'What am I thinking' and drop the thought. Someone with OCD will continue this process and then start to question 'If I could think this so clearly then could I possibly have done this and blocked it out' A very high percentage of OCD sufferers are also perfectionist and have to please people all the time, so when they think they may have done something bad they get very stressed, depressed and ashamed of themselves. Like some of you have said these episodes happen when stressed or axchious (spelt) about something elses. It is a release mechanisim to not have to deal with what the real problem is. With my daughter when things stress her out the thought process will start and she will stress about a situation that is so unrealistic rather than deal with what is really unsetting her. It usually has to be something very stressful that sets off these episodes, ie: death of someone she loves, exams in college. To all you other sufferers you have my understanding and support and hopes that you have the help and support to deal with this condition. Lots of Luv to you all Debs