OCD?

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Not sure if this is covered here or not really, does anyone here suffer from OCD? I've been told by my doctor previously that i'm a high likely hood of / suspected of having OCPD however on researching this myself I find more similarities of myself in OCD than I do in OCPD.

One of the things I read on was that the main difference is that people with OCPD find their obsessions and compulsions to be normal and possibly get some enjoyment out of it, whereas people with OCD know the behaviour is irrational and dont want to be doing it but do because they feel compelled to, this is far more accurate of me and extends to stupid things like for instance if i eat a biscuit, i HAVE to eat it on both sides, i.e. i'll eat half the biscuit then flip it round and eat the second half upside down, or if i have and even number of biscuits ill eat half one way up and the other half the other way, i cant stop washing my damn hands after everything i do, but the main one that drives me mad is that i cant stop working all the time, i work in web development so i do alot of programming but when i start working i just have to finish it i cant leave a job incomplete and it has to be perfect, ive stayed in a normal 9-5 office for over 38 hours straight without food sleep or drink on several occasions because i just couldnt stop myself from working till it was done perfectly.

I'm trying to get a bit more insight from anyone who might have OCD, im trying to go through the route of my GP at the moment because i'm worried i might have aspergers for one and i also meet alot of the criteria for OCD and social anxiety disorder as well (makes quite a cocktail), but as im sure others are fully aware the NHS aren't exactly... what's the word i'm looking for? Ah yes competent that's the one.

I have wondered if AS has something to do with OCD. When i am working, i hate to leave anything until i am totally finished with it. I have to be moving at all times with something. I mean constantly moving all the time and doing something all the time. get hung up on things and i cannot stop thinking about them over and over again..... Does stimming fall into the same category as compulsive behavior?

Yeah it does, thats in fact one of the symptoms of OCD, the wiki article on it is pretty good:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive_ ... e_disorder

I have a tendency to do things like that as well and I've always had this weird thing were myh arm or leg will randomly shoot out really fast for no reason and then just stop, just seems to happen every now and then

i have exhibited OCD behaiviour, but not all the time. It happens more when I am under some sorta mental anguish/stress....also, marijuana, which I will no longer touch with a hundred foot pole, contributed to really weird OCD habits I had, as well as invasive delusions...(they somehow seemed ot go hand in hand..)

Yeah i'll admit i've had some marijuana experiences myself althought they didnt worsen my compulsions and obsessions, infact they helped me to control them to an extent, ive switched to using legal herbal highs now and use one called spice gold which works well for keeping me pretty mellow, kinda helps me relax and focus without as many instrusive thoughts or when i do get intrusives thoughts i dont stress over it as much because im chilled out.

It can get pretty ridiculous at times though, theres been cases where ive not been able to stop alot of the time either working when ive done multiple 38 hour straight shifts jusy because i couldnt stop, or ill spend hours washing my hands to the point where they get dried up and crack and become really sore, even stupid things where if i turn around around say 180 degrees to face the opposite direction, i'll have to turn back in the exact reverse of the way i originally turned (if i turned right i must go back left and vice versa), or if i turn 360 degrees on the spot out of boredom i immediately have to do another 360 degree turn again in the opposite direction.

Aren't there medications that can lessen your symptoms? If your OCD is bothering you, you might want to talk to a doctor about it.

Well thats the thing, I dont know what I do and dont have, unfortunately since I cant afford professional help the only option to me is the NHS who are about as useful as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. Ive been "suspected" of OCPD but i think thats a mis-suspicion i guess would be the right term since i dont know if he actually diagnosed me or not (to be honest i wasn't really paying attention at the time, i spent most the time looking at the cupboard behind him thinking "wouldnt it be really funny if i got in that cupboard?") but from looking up on it myself i think its alot closer to OCD, just trying to get a GP appointment is a bit difficult when they either dont answer the phone or take it off the hook, lucky for me my GP surgey does both.

Is it a seperate thing from AS? Or autism? Cause i'm borderline OCD, and i'm seeing someone tommorrow about it actually. I really can't see me changing, and i'm not sure I want to, even though I hate it! Its germs for me, I always wash my hands, boiling hot water usually. I won't go into detail! Its crippling at times

Well that doesn't sound like borderline to me, that just sounds like you are suffering from OCD pretty badly. A mate of mind from work knows a guy who scrubs his hands alot with boiling water and bleach due to his severe OCD so you might wanna bring that up with your doctor, assuming you get better luck with your doctor than i do with mine.

I've noted that Autistics have a generally higher likelihood of OCD. One of my brothers has OCD, and the other probably has some form of it. I've got one or two compulsions but extremely rarely experience something I simply can't get over.

I wonder how many obsessive things you need to do to be diagnosed with OCD.

I hate locking doors and have to check them about ten times, the same with making sure the oven is off and I stand and check the tap isn't dripping for a minute before I walk away.

Would this be classified as OCD or would it need to be a whole lot more serious?

I have OCD, I'm always double or even triple checking things and I have to have things in a certain order. I'm also obsessed with numbers and patterns.

Seth36,

It sure sounds like you have OCD. Constantly washing your hands (for no real reason) is a very strong sign. I have my battles with this myself. I also recognize the thing about working like crazy on something until it's absolutely perfect. Anyway, a lot of people with OCD have a thing for patterns and symmetry. Everything must be done a certain way or else it feels wrong. Being particular and thorough is great to a certain extent, but when you check to see if the door is locked for the 15th time, something clearly is wrong. Or in your case working for 38 hours straight to get it just right...

Anyway. Are you familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy? I am going though this right now. It's basically an attempt to reprogram the brain. Here's a simple example:

1. You get the urge to wash your hands even though they're clean.
2. You resist this urge.
3. As a result of resisting, you feel absolutely horrible. You panic.
4. (This is the tricky part!) If you can resist the urge to wash your hands long enough it will slowly die. That horrible feeling goes away as the brain realizes it was a false alarm.
5. You can resume your day...

So by doing this over and over again and making it to step 5, you are actually slowly reprogramming your brain to accept things it couldn't before.

I've been doing this for about 6 months and have made some improvements. But it is very hard. I fail many times and give in to whatever I have to do to feel safe again. My doctor suggested I should have medication (SSRI) along with the therapy but I declined because I want to see how much I can better the situation all by myself first. I will turn to meds as a last resort only.

CBT might not work for everybody but I think you should check it out in depth in case you haven't already!