Sunday, January 10, 2010

What are the symptoms of OCD? - Obsession

Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again and feel out of your control. People with OCD get uncomfortable feelings such as fear (I used to get the feeling that someone was behind me all the time), disgust, and doubt (I would also check something multiple times, like if someone told me to do something I would ask them over and over if that’s what they wanted me to do, because I always felt unsure, and let me tell you that was a pain for everyone). Common obsessions are: Fears of germs, imagining having hurt yourself or others (children who have that problem tend to frequently call home and make sure everyone is alright, that relieves their stress), imagining losing control, intrusive thoughts or urges (Thoughts that you don’t want which are usually gruesome and/or scary, and no matter what you do you can’t get them out of your head, and the more you try pushing them out the more they stick around), and a need to have things just so. For example, I had to have everything in its right place all the time. When I was a kid it was having my stuffed animals in a certain position around me, and if they weren’t right I would throw a fit. When I was older it became having the dishes in the dishwasher a certain way. Everything had a place and if they were somewhere else I would literally rearrange the dishwasher. That one was frustrating! (Of course my mom liked it because that meant I did the dishes more) I personally take medicine for it, but not everyone does. It’s a personal choice, and my OCD was affecting my daily functioning to the point I couldn’t do anything without an obsession accompanying. However, I still have a few compulsive tendencies, but it’s a lot less severe. There more like routines now. I set the table a certain way, and still arrange the dishwasher a certain way, but I don’t freak out if it’s not exactly the way I want it, which is a HUGE improvement.

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