OCD - how to know?

How to diagnose if one is having Obsessive compulsive disorder. Just because one is having habits like compulsive cleaning and washing hands, categorizing things, something with the number 3, even and odd numbers, etc, does that necessarily make one obsessive compulsive? Or are there some tests conducted to determine if one is having it or not?

Ah the number 3, I used to not be able to leave a room without turning the lights on and off 3 times.

Ha, i'm a 3 guy, I'm a mechanic and i triple check every nut, bolt, screw 3 times, checking to make sure doors are locked etc. It is very inconvenient at times.

Originally posted by Yeah-Alright
How to diagnose if one is having Obsessive compulsive disorder. Just because one is having habits like compulsive cleaning and washing hands, categorizing things, something with the number 3, even and odd numbers, etc, does that necessarily make one obsessive compulsive? Or are there some tests conducted to determine if one is having it or not?

If it's not interfering with life, I wouldn't worry about it. Especially since if someone was to diagnose the person with it, then they would want to prescribe stuff too. Try not to be medicated, it's expensive and no behaviour type prescriptions have any health benefits. They're usually more harmful than helpful.

I think everyone has some level of these things. I sometimes have to go back and make sure everything is locked, turned off, etc before leaving the house, and then I get back into the truck and think "did I lock, turn off..." and then have to check again. If I think I have to check a third time, then I have to be more conscious of what I do before leaving, to get it into my brain that I've done it already.
All my canned goods have to be sorted and facing out with labels too

If you're washing your hands over and over again, or obsessing that germs are going to get you, then yes, that would be OCD, but managing it might be better than medicating.

reply to post by Yeah-Alright


I suffer with obsessive compulsive so I've been told. I have a ritual that I perform every night which is mainly checking all plugs and switches are turned off in the house, as well as checking the taps and tucking eveyone into bed. Apart from the tucking everyone into bed, I've done the other stuff for my whole adult life. It was bad at one stage, I noticed it, an example, if a light was on, I would have to turn it off and on and off again. I have no idea why, but it felt good I think ha ha.

Maybe its normal and eveyone goes through a type of stage of some form of obsessive compulsive behavior. Im not really sure though if there is a test for it, and if there is, one test may diagnose correctly one persons problem but that test may not be an accurate way of successfully assessing others.

That's one fault lots of doctors have, they find something that works for one person and then use that one success story on everyone else. : )



Yes im a loon.

We all pretty much write the same thing at the same time.

Spooky.

reply to post by Yeah-Alright


Obsessive compulsive disorder is more than just washing your hands 3 times or organising your cutlery a certain way. Obsessive and intrusive thoughts are often a tag along. Some people suffering from OCD believe that that someone or something other than themselves (or even themselves) harm either the person with OCD or the people or things that the person cares about.

As for diagnosing, go see a psychiatrist, psychologist or a doctor

Diagnosis

reply to post by snowspirit

The thing is I have this habit of frequently wash hands with soap and do not like the touch of door knobs or grocery carts....using computer mouse in the public library etc. (along with many other quirks). Having said that, I don't really think it is a big thing but sometimes it alienates you from people... some people don't tend to understand it and I don't know how to make them explain why I get reclusive sometimes. I have seen that people who are not like this they have a problem understanding such behavior...

youll know if you have OCD if you are truly suffering from it. it has nothing to do with being neat -- i have OCD and i am the messiest person alive. though the contamination thing is a common manifestation of OCD fear which is where that rumor comes from.

When I read about anxiety disorders and the likes I think 'who doesn't have anxieties?' 'there are many normal people obsessed with neatness and arranging things'... then maybe having a disorder in psychological context is actually being more normal than not having it...

I have been told I have "Monk" tendencies but it doesn't affect my life. In some ways it actually benefits it. I am very OC with cleaning and organizing so I have cleaned houses on the side and organized closets.


I have to organize everything in some sort of order. I don't know why and sometimes I wonder if it's from years of working in retail and customer service and having to keep everything perfect all day...maybe it spilled over into my life, or I always had it.

I don't see my OCD as a bad thing. I know I am and so do those close to me. I joke about it but it's who I am.

I have a thing with numbers and how I remember them and I use to count things over and over to make sure. I have other tendencies but they aren't that bad. I am very big with the organizing and I freak if anyone touches it...

My roommates friend came over and rearranged the kitchen pantry! I freaked lol I had it organized a certain way and she completely rearranged it her way. My roommate told her not to rearrange things anymore lol

The older I get it seems like it just becomes a part of my life in some way. I learn to deal with it but it has never really affected my daily activities.

reply to post by Yeah-Alright


Only a licensed therapist (depending on the state), psychologist or psychiatrist can diagnose OCD.

Having said that, here is the diagnostic criteria: www.behavenet.com...

reply to post by Yeah-Alright


Whats normal anyways?

one of the first questions you get asked when studying psy for A-level and or a degree.

Back on topic, im in my 2nd year of my degree and havent read anything yet on OCD but I do know that there is indeed a few clinical psychologists that lurk these forums and would be able to give you a difinitative answer.

Originally posted by BlackDove
We all pretty much write the same thing at the same time.

Spooky.

That is spooky, we're similar with our looniness

Originally posted by Yeah-Alright
reply to post by snowspirit

 

The thing is I have this habit of frequently wash hands with soap and do not like the touch of door knobs or grocery carts....using computer mouse in the public library etc. (along with many other quirks). Having said that, I don't really think it is a big thing but sometimes it alienates you from people... some people don't tend to understand it and I don't know how to make them explain why I get reclusive sometimes. I have seen that people who are not like this they have a problem understanding such behavior..

Thinking about it is a good thing, because it makes you realize where and when it's getting in the way. And it's true - many people won't understand.

I'm quite sure that there are tests for it, I just don't like the tests, I've been told I'm also ADD, but I think I'm quite normal, I just have a really short attention span.

I don't like the idea of prescriptions if I can stay away from them. Some people might do better on medication though, it depends on the person.

In a society of labels, the easiest way to bypass the stigma of how they want to label you
is to buy a Label Maker.
Label yourself what you want to be.
I just labeled myself a
Proud Member of the Black Tooth Party.

Originally posted by Yeah-Alright
How to diagnose if one is having Obsessive compulsive disorder. Just because one is having habits like compulsive cleaning and washing hands, categorizing things, something with the number 3, even and odd numbers, etc, does that necessarily make one obsessive compulsive? Or are there some tests conducted to determine if one is having it or not?

Are you talking about yourself or "someone else"?

Classic OCD is, well, obsessive actions/thoughts where the one suffering from OCD is very well aware that the actions/thoughts are not rational - but he nevertheless performs them, often with the thought that not doing the rituals/having the thoughts would "be bad luck/karma" etc...

For example, needing to wash out a glass before use many times until "it feels right"....or touching a door handle many, many times until you get the feeling "now its ok to open the door".

Counting numbers mentally because you think if you don't it would be bad luck...etc..etc...

Irrational thoughts, eg. killing/stabbing someone without a rational reasoning behind - but you cannot stop the thoughts etc...would be OCD too

You KNOW that you have OCD once you realize that the actions/thoughts/rituals are not rational/logical (why would you need to touch a door-handle 30 times...why would you need to wash out a glass 20 times?)...because the OCD sufferer KNOWS that the actions "do not make sense", he is annoyed by them just cant stop doing it.

Edit:

Of course, "compulsive" cleaning is certainly also OCD in one way or the other...because you would usually clean because something is dirty....so if you clean out of compulsion (and not because of something needing cleaning) you are performing a "non logical" action. HOWEVER - many forms/stages of OCD...and compulsive cleaning etc. is indeed very frequent, as far as i know.

It becomes a problem if the OCD really effects your life, if you cannot do normal things anymore since the OCD keeps you from doing so.....eg. if you would not be able to leave the house since you would have to go through hours of rituals to leave the house etc...

(I AM NOT A DOC....but yes, mild cases of all kinds of "compulsive" actions are very common, many people do them)

O.C.D is a function of ..... the anxiety of understanding the task is checked and completed by the frustration of not going through the checks of the tasks and gaining the anxiety..
An O.C.D person will go through numerous checks to alleviate the anxiety of NOT doing the checks.
To them which is worse? not doing the checks or moving on in time during the day and having the anxiety build to a high or extreme level of stress or aggression? How complex is life to an O.C.D. person? It's all to do with either anxiety or frustration... A lot of energy is used up with this complexity.

reply to post by snowspirit


A star for our looniness then.

I gotta go, it takes me a half an hour of checking stuff before bed.

Cya.

Just as an added note, i personally THINK that OCD is a compensation for feeling "not being in control" in life.

Eg. all kinds of problems, financial, relationships, etc..etc.... and by forming OCD behavior the person creates "problems" and constantly "solves" and "controls them"....as a means of compensating for a loss of control in real life. But that's just my own theory.

I think I have it, to some degree.

Before I go to bed at night, i do 2 laps in my ranch home. I check the front door to be locked, tv off, cellar door locked, light off in cellar, all pilots and oven off on the stove, at least twice.

Then I set my alarm...then I set my back up alarm (battery powered). Then I check those clocks at least 3x to make sure, I didnt assume wrong, or mistakenly press a button etc..