A question

[Guest tattyhead]

Hi

Hope everyone is well. Its been on my mind for a while.

For as long as I can remember I've always chewed the inside of my mouth and picked the skin off the side of my thumb, aswell as constantly picking at scars (sorry this sounds yuck). I've tried to stop myself but never can.

Is this part of OCD?

Any advice for stopping?

I also used to have bad thoughts about death and the passing of time. Made me really anxious and want to punch a wall or something (and I did and scratched mysef) Could this of been OCD to?

Have I had it for most of my life and not really realised??

Sorry for all the questions its been bugging me for a while. :huh:

Thanks

Jane xx

[Guest Smudger]

Hi Jane. :huh:

Hard to say really-I suppose one way of figuring it out would be to look at it from a basic ocd diagnosis perspective-ie, do the things you've described take up more than an hour of your day and cause you distress?

[Guest raindancing]

Hiya.

I'm not sure if this is OCD really (but I have no doctor training, so...)

My gf doesn't have OCD, but when she is stressed, she chews her chops AND picks her skin on her thumb, coincidentally enough!

I too tend to gnaw on my mouth etc, although I do have OCD, I think this is more likely to be general signs of stress or anxiety than an OCD symptom.

HOWEVER, as Smudger says, if it is something of a compulsion, you 'have' to do it to 'feel right' (like washing a certain way or number of times) OR it is taking up considerable lengths of time, you wish you didn't 'have' to do it but feel the need to do so anyway, then THAT'S where it starts looking OCD-ish...

Sorry, rambled, but hope that helped.

'Chelle x

[Guest Hel]

I also used to have bad thoughts about death and the passing of time. Made me really anxious and want to punch a wall or something  (and I did and scratched mysef)  Could this of been OCD to?

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Hi Jane!

Hope you're ok.

I agree that chewing or picking on skin could just be a sign of stress because as smudger and 'chelle say, a compulsion is usually something you feel obliged to do in order to feel better or get some kind of relief.

The thoughts about death and time passing are ones I've had too and I've always wondered whether it was my OCD. My feeling is that I was getting these thoughts because I'm naturally quite a melancholy kind of person and quite nostalgic but I've started to worry about time passing more now since I've began to feel a bit better than I used to! Probably because now I realise how much time I've wasted being ill with OCD over the past few years

I wonder if perhaps these kinds of thought are just a bi-product of the OCD as our minds already have a predisposition to thinking about life and danger so maybe we naturally ponder over time and death more often and more in depth than other people might?!?

Hope this helps a bit!

Hel x

[Guest tattyhead]

Hi Chelle - maybe the two just go together??

My gf doesn't have OCD, but when she is stressed, she chews her chops AND picks her skin on her thumb, coincidentally enough!

Hi all and thanks for the replies. Think you're right about the stress thing with the chewing and picking. I do it really without noticing not as a way to relieve stress - I don't think. Maybe its just a bad habit. Will try to stop.

The passing of time thing. Do you think this is a phobia? Are phobias connected to OCD? Never told anyone about that fear before. I think it has a medical name. So maybe it is a phobia. Sorry more questions.

Thanks again

Jane

[Guest meg5]

I have always had thoughts about death even when I was young. Lately I have started to be very aware of the passing of time . A few days ago I realised it was getting to be a persistant thought. I think it is the feeling that so much of my life has been wasted with ocd and although it would be good to think I could make up for it now , I still can't really because I am not much better. I know I am still wasting my life and I feel quite panicky about that. Meg

[Caramoole]

Hi There

The two conditions often go together, although someone with compulsive skin picking doesn't necessarily suffer from OCD always. Have you had a look at the CSP Forum, it might be useful to take a look at some of the threads on there.

http://www.ocdforums.org/index.php?showforum=3

Caramoole