OCD: General Discussion Thread

Donna Phillips95 said:🙂

😢
Look, hear me out.
Me:
I don't even watch movies with subtitles anymore,
once I get focused, I start rushing through chores (cleaning up, but with serious intensity),
and when I'm walking down the street, I try to hurry along and avoid looking at the ground,
...
I know it sounds ridiculous, but...🤷

I know I’m basically repeating myself here, but I just have to vent because this stuff is suffocating my entire life... Every time I even hint at what I’m going through, everyone around me acts like I’m making it all up... and honestly, I can't deal with being alone in my own head anymore... It’s not like I grew up in some super strict religious town, but I really don't want to be on meds or anything—I just want someone to tell me I'm not losing my mind, that there’s actually hope and a way to break free from these routines, thoughts, and actions... It feels like the list just keeps getting longer and I'm totally overwhelmed... Everything has to happen in groups of 5, or 10, or variations of those numbers, but never 6. If I take anything, I have to pick it up 2 or 5 times before I can set it down... and don't even get me started on having to close things, screwing caps back onto bottles, tubes, whatever... plus these constant intrusive thoughts every time I say or think something "wrong"... And when I'm studying, I have to read certain sentences a specific number of times; if I finish a sentence, I can't go back halfway... everything has to be positioned at a certain angle too... This started with little insecurities back when I was a kid, but now it's just too much... It's getting impossible to function, and even though I have amazing friends and I'm killing it at a great university, I feel like I'm about to lose everything because of these rituals... Who do I even talk to? Are the therapists covered by my insurance any good? What am I supposed to tell my primary care doctor? Please, I just need help...

If you're dealing with OCD, you aren't crazy! (Though, let's be honest, maybe you are, but it's not because of the OCD 😁)
I have the same thing; everything has to happen in sets of five. Even Virginia Clemm over on this forum counts to five
Prozac can actually clear this right out—it isn't some life sentence
Though, I've seen people in that "hypnosis" thread claiming you can just hypnotize those intrusive thoughts away entirely

Eve pulled this topic out of thin air, I have no idea where from. Anyway, analogpuma8, you know how I used to deal with things like this. Every single time I drank water, I had to consume a specific number of gulps. I had to place certain objects at an exact angle in a precise spot. Then there was the hoarding—keeping useless scraps of paper and random little trinkets because I was terrified of throwing them away. When I drove, I’d find myself counting the dashed white lines on the highway, forced to reach a specific number I’d set in my head. Even when journaling, I always started with the exact same sentence (I still do 🙄). If I prayed, I had to repeat the prayer a set number of times. It all stemmed from this deep-seated fear that if I didn't do these things, something terrible would happen in my life. analogpuma8, you just have to stop. Here is the trick: regarding my obsession with keeping junk, I once took an item and tossed it in the trash—feeling absolutely miserable about separating myself from it, of course—but I quickly forced my mind onto something else and performed a different task to distract myself. There is no other cure. You simply have to break the cycle and accept whatever comes your way...

wiredhound32 said:Eve pulled this topic out of thin air, I have no idea where from. Anyway, analogpuma8, you know how I used to deal with things like this. Every single time I drank water, I had to consume a specific number of gulps. I had to place certain objects at an exact angle in a precise spot. Then there was the hoarding—keeping useless scraps of paper and random little trinkets because I was terrified of throwing them away. When I drove, I’d find myself counting the dashed white lines on the highway, forced to reach a specific number I’d set in my head. Even when journaling, I always started with the exact same sentence (I still do 🙄). If I prayed, I had to repeat the prayer a set number of times. It all stemmed from this deep-seated fear that if I didn't do these things, something terrible would happen in my life. analogpuma8, you just have to stop. Here is the trick: regarding my obsession with keeping junk, I once took an item and tossed it in the trash—feeling absolutely miserable about separating myself from it, of course—but I quickly forced my mind onto something else and performed a different task to distract myself. There is no other cure. You simply have to break the cycle and accept whatever comes your way...

Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think your symptoms are quite as severe. I can't just force myself to stop... Once, I spent forty minutes trying to fasten a bra clasp! I had a complete breakdown because I couldn't make it stop, no matter how hard I tried. And don't even get me started on doors. Sometimes I find myself standing there, opening and closing a door for five minutes straight. No matter how much I want to quit, I simply can't.

I see no reason to get worked up. Thank God I still have the capacity to maintain control over all of this. Still, have you considered talking to someone close to you about what you're going through? Someone who could just pull you away from those doors, give you a hug, and try to ground you? I was watching this documentary about this specific disorder recently—this woman was dealing with something remarkably similar to your situation. She mentioned feeling like she was on the verge of a total nervous breakdown if she ever stopped her compulsions. Her psychiatrist told her there was no other way: she had to gradually phase out the behaviors, no matter how difficult it felt. The woman also struggled with hoarding tendencies; she found it physically impossible to throw anything away. Her doctor suggested the first step toward recovery was to simply toss a box of items into the trash. The poor woman was hit with such intense panic that she just gave up on treatment entirely.

My family just doesn't get it. When it comes to mental health, they’re incredibly narrow-minded... My mom tries to brush it all under the rug, telling me I just need to "stop acting this way." It makes me feel like there's no point in being honest with them at all. They'd probably just view it as some kind of divine punishment because their daughter is "crazy"... I'm thinking about seeing a private psychiatrist on my own and keeping it entirely to myself. I've honestly had enough. Thanks for the advice, and I really hope I didn't offend you with my last post.

So, I have this constant habit of double-checking everything—did I lock the door? Is the stove off? Did I close that window? It’s incredibly frustrating because deep down, I know everything is perfectly fine, yet I can't shake this restless feeling unless I go back and verify it one more time... Honestly, though, it doesn't even make me late for anything! When I'm actually running behind, I just rely on a quick glance and a gut feeling, then I simply move on without looking back. So, what do you think is really going on? Is it just stress, depression, or maybe a lack of self-confidence?

Beyond all the syndromes mentioned, I struggle with needing to stare at a specific spot in my room,
or feeling forced to look out the window at one exact point,
making certain throat sounds,
repeating specific "prayers,"
checking behind me every single time I leave a room just to make sure I didn't forget anything,
counting to 3 or 5 (always odd numbers, though I skip 13 and go straight to 12)
touching walls—I've basically felt every wall in my house,
and having to step through doorways or get up using my right foot...
I honestly don't know if I'll ever get past this. I've tried so many times; I might feel calm for a little while, but then it always comes back. Is there any hope for us?

Zachary Clark64 said:Beyond all the syndromes mentioned, I struggle with needing to stare at a specific spot in my room,
or feeling forced to look out the window at one exact point,
making certain throat sounds,
repeating specific "prayers,"
checking behind me every single time I leave a room just to make sure I didn't forget anything,
counting to 3 or 5 (always odd numbers, though I skip 13 and go straight to 12)
touching walls—I've basically felt every wall in my house,
and having to step through doorways or get up using my right foot...
I honestly don't know if I'll ever get past this. I've tried so many times; I might feel calm for a little while, but then it always comes back. Is there any hope for us?

You’ve got standard OCD, just like a few million other people on this planet. Just go see a doctor, describe the rituals, and they’ll put you on Prozac or something similar. In a few months, those compulsions will pretty much vanish. Most people think taking pills is some kind of Unknown, but it really isn't that big of a deal. 🙂

Sometimes I have to laugh when I read stuff like this; it really makes me realize how much we suffer over things that are honestly just complete nonsense.
I’d love to get some professional advice, but based on what some people have gone through, I’m a bit worried that doctors aren't always as competent as they should be.

Look, you’re going to run into idiots who aren't even worthy of being called psychiatrists or therapists. It’s the same story in every profession, really. Most of them are fine. I’ve cycled through four different doctors myself, and three were actually decent, while one was an absolute disgrace.
But honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry about; what you're dealing with is just standard OCD, which isn't some impossible mountain to climb.

Since Sigmund Freud suggests that OCD stems from repressed sexual desires, I wanted to ask anyone living with this disorder if you feel that actually applies to you. Personally, I wouldn't say I have any repressed sexual urges, though I haven't really experienced them yet, despite being an adolescent myself.

It’s possible, more than possible. I grew up in a strictly Catholic household. Church every Sunday was non-negotiable, religious education was part of the curriculum, and swearing was strictly off-limits—I don't think I ever once heard anyone drop an F-bomb at home. Sex before marriage was considered a sin, and you were taught that intimacy was something reserved for one person for your entire life, and only after you said "I do." I remember once my sister caught a glimpse of some Playboy photos on my computer and she was absolutely horrified. She looked at me and said, "My God, what is happening to you? I don't even recognize you anymore"—those were her exact words. I was sixteen at the time. On one hand, I felt a perfectly normal attraction to girls, but on the other, there was this nagging sense in my subconscious that what I was feeling was wrong, that it was just plain sinful.

So now, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking...

As usual, it’s family that sets us up for failure right from the jump. 😬

I don't think OCD is just about repressing sexual urges. It feels more like what happens when you suppress any desire or emotion too deeply. It builds this massive internal pressure—this constant fear that if you let go even a little, you'll lose all self-control and everything you've buried will come crashing out. To fight it, people just push those feelings down even harder, which only feeds the cycle and makes the OCD spiral even worse. 😢

Eve, I see this thread is gaining traction again, though honestly, it would be much more useful if we could just read about the experiences of people who have actually moved past this. In my opinion, there’s a definite link between suppressing sexual desires and the development of OCD. As I mentioned before, I tried using Prozac, but so far, I haven't seen any significant progress. For those of you who don't have the patience to scroll through hundreds of old posts, here is a quick summary of where I stand. It all started with counting and repeating specific actions just to prevent some imagined catastrophe from happening. Once I realized these were actual symptoms of OCD—which, mind you, I didn't know at the time—I managed to stop those rituals. They still pop up occasionally, but I just tell myself: "Stop it, it's just the OCD, nothing bad is going to happen." And thank God, nothing does. What remains is the hand-washing—frequent, exhaustive, and constant. It's this deep-seated fear of germs and general impurity. I'm worried I might never fully shake this (maybe I'll conquer one part, but a total cure feels incredibly unlikely). To get there, I would need a complete overhaul of how I think. I just don't feel like I have the strength to let go and embrace a normal life yet.

Zachary Clark64 said:Since Sigmund Freud suggests that OCD stems from repressed sexual desires, I wanted to ask anyone living with this disorder if you feel that actually applies to you. Personally, I wouldn't say I have any repressed sexual urges, though I haven't really experienced them yet, despite being an adolescent myself.

From what I understand, Freud argues that if a child gets "stuck" during any developmental stage—oral, anal, whatever—or spends way too much time there due to overstimulation, certain fixations surface in adulthood. It’s because the natural flow of sexual maturation was disrupted. There’s definitely a link... though that subconscious stuff is murky.🙂

Some people even suggested that things would improve if I just started being more sexually active, but honestly, I have absolutely no interest in that right now.
I'm wondering if this might actually be a side effect of the Democratic Party?

Zachary Clark64 said:Some people even suggested that things would improve if I just started being more sexually active, but honestly, I have absolutely no interest in that right now.
I'm wondering if this might actually be a side effect of the Democratic Party?

Medication might offer temporary relief through a sense of well-being, but it won't touch the root cause. Real psychotherapy is an absolute necessity.

Cases where the cause isn't organic are actually quite common—far more frequent than people realize. In those instances, drug therapy only eases the symptoms enough to allow for progress. It takes time, but don't lose heart; there is a way out. As your confidence builds, everything gets easier. Until then, stick to cognitive-behavioral therapy and maybe some supplements like flaxseed oil, B-complex vitamins, or foods that boost serotonin and dopamine, like bananas. If the symptoms are severe, a mild SSRI like Paxil can be incredibly helpful. Just stay brave.😉

I used to deal with this one symptom... where I felt like I absolutely had to say a specific word over and over again, no matter what. It was exhausting, just constant wasted energy along with these physical tics... but those finally cleared up.