Is it OCD?

[Guest rpeders3]

Maybe this is a quest for reassurance but I have a question about OCD. I have suffered from OCD since I was a small boy, which originally manifested in compulsive washing of my hands. Over the years the obsessions changed (homosexual fears, contamination fears, hypochondriac type fears, blasphemous thoughts) and most recently, intrusive thoughts about 'why' I do things. At times it can be quite debilitating as the thought is usually accompanied with great distress. I can be working on something and then this thought (or idea) enters my mind, 'Why am I doing what I'm doing' and for that moment in time it seems as if the world has stopped and intense distress overwhelms me. Is this OCD too? Any recommendations on how to treat it?

Thanks for your time

[Northern Star]

Hi

Yes, I would say almost definitely that this is OCD too. The other symptoms you have described sound like OCD and it is very likely that this is too. I would guess (although I'm no expert) that OCD can be pretty much any intrusive and unwanted thought and if it's causing you distress then I'd put my money on it being OCD.

As to how to deal with it...may I ask how you dealt with the others? As if you have found something that works for them then maybe the same method will work for this hopefully .

Take care and feel free to post any time :mad:

Northern Star

[Guest lilyelspeth]

The "why's" often go along with the what if's or the if only's, etc. It is very hard to get these mantras (as they seem to become) from repeating compulsively as obsessions.

It's ok to ask for reassurance, that way you know that you are not alone and we an help one another through this. As NS said, how do you deal with your other obsessions? The treatment for those may help.

The most important thing is that you recognise that you don't like these thoughts and you want to get over them.

What I always try to do in order to stop the vicious cycle of asking questions, is to immediately try to switch my mind to something very ordinary, something you enjoy and that you have never had a thought about it that triggered a negative response. For me-it is a little secret or special moment that makes me laugh-it always breaks tension.

[Guest Marcus]

It does sound like OCD.

Like yourself, my obessive thoughts have changed over time.

My way of dealing with ocd is to let the thoughts come and wash over me. Intially they can be very distressing but even as little as a few minutes later they are not as scarey. For me, to fight the thoughts is far more tiring. Its easier to let them come and go and accept that they are ocd. Also, Its a good idea to do something that takes your mind off it, even if its as simple as feeding the cat, dusting a table, watching a tv programme etc