Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Hi everyone,
Of late i have let the intrusive thoughts and anxiety get the better of me and sometimes don't even know what it is exactly I am worrying about.
Now if i start feeling overwhelmed with thoughts and anxiety, I take a step back, sit down and work it through and decide if its worth worrying about or not, it usually isn't.
I know it doesn't always work but catching it in time before it spirals out of control is a breakthrough for me.
Bridget
Unregistered
That's great, Bridget. 
It may not always work atm, but in time I'm sure you'll get better at it.
Good topic Mama. Not sure if i have any pearls but the other day i cleaned the loo in my normal way, flowery disenfectant on loo roll and wipe around the seat and then back of seat and around top of basin and throw loo roll in, went to wash my hands before doing my ablutions and said to bloody hell with it, my hands are sore, so i just took a wipe out of the packet and wiped it over my face and then cleaned my teeth, all without washing my hands in between!! aargh all day i kept thinking i had loo germs all over my face but i kept fighting the thought and would not go and wipe them off my face until i had my bath before going to bed that night. I did it folks. I left them germs right there and they did me no harm whatsoever - I'm still alive and kicking......
Unregistered
Big well done there poppy, don't think I could have done that. 
It's the kind of thing I really want to be able to do though. Must have felt really good.
Hooray! I did something similar today because of your inspiration. My hands are ALWAYS sore and cracking...terrible...I HATE washing my hands yet still I do. So I changed the baby's diaper and my hands stayed clean...didnt touch a bit of yuck...and before I washed them I put the pizza in the oven. lol. If my family knew they might vomit so dont tell them. lol. I thought 'welp! if there's germs on, it'll cook off anyway...and if it doesnt...well then we'll all die together I guess.' I dont think 'normal people' would do that, but then again...how many people touch the outside of a diaper to check it without a thought twice?
Andrea
Hi,
Well despite an awful week as my hands are so sore I didn't want to aggravate the situation by washing the kitchen and bathroom floors when my support worker came today. So instead I started to sort through the boxes in the living room. To cut a long story short I had bought some large plastic boxes with lids from the supermarket to pack the odds and ends in, so it's easier to find things in the cupboard. When I unpacked one of the boxes the lid had a crack in it. Instead of panicking and blowing a fuse I just thought 'Well it's one of those things and I can patch the lid with tape', and I just put it to one side. I did feel anxious but strangely it was in a controlled way, but more importantly I didn't wash my hands once
I'm basically still unpacking from moving back from my Mother's, today I opened all the boxes admittedly with my support worker present and found all my reference books and put them away, I also found all my stationery. So a good morning's work.
I've also made a sandwich and eaten it without washing my hands and I'm still here to tell the tale 
This is along the same lines as what a few of you already said but I am using an OCD Workbook and the longer you resist the urge to carry out your compulsion the more your brain habituates to the situation and if you keep doing this then after a while your brain wont raise alarm bells when you are in the situation again. Its all to do with re-programming your false appraisals of what you think are scary situations it is a really good book my sister got me from an e-bay shop I will find out the author and post it later.
Thanks.
That's nought as I've just by myself done some of my CBT homework and I've just taken everything out of the many carrier bags apart from paper that needs shredding and thrown the bags. Well they're in a bag ready for throwing 
You'd be surprised at the number of things I'd forgotten I'd got 
I tend to stash things in carriers so that I feel safe, actually all it does is get you in one hell of a muddle. I've put the things I found away or in a box to sort out. Discovered for some reason, think cos they were hidden in carrier bags, that I'd bought enough socks to start my own shop The place looks so much better already
Think it was because I was in such a mood because of my last two appointments plus I needed things that meant I didn't have to wash my hands. Mind you I'm shaking like a leaf at the moment, but I just took a deep breath and did it:?
Unregistered
Well done to everyone who's achieved something today!
Unregistered
I have a pearl for everyobody and I'm proud of this one. If anybody on this forum is like me and dreads calling somebody to tell them bad news or anything that is likely to ilicit negativity and friction, do what I so
Script the conversation you think you're going to have, then script the conversation that seems more positive/logical, and treat it as a little game. Score youself, based on what actually happens.
Giles
Unregistered
Thanks Giles, I could use that to pluck up the courage to talk to my parents about what I'm going through. I haven't told them I'm going to have counselling yet...
Unregistered
Hey Helz.
I know what thats like. I had that conversation with my parents 7 years ago. It went pretty well. Apparantly my parents had a nickname for me - The Ghost, because I spent a lot of my time hidden away. Mum was very caring and Dad was impossibly logical, as he usually is. I owe dad a lot though, because he pushed me to go back to uni and has also bailed me out of a lot of car trouble.
Giles
Unregistered
hmmm, my scripting idea is kinda like Death Race 2000 on a piece of paper (or 2)
Unregistered
I wish my parents were as nice as that, they don't understand my condition at all. They don't believe it's real, like I'm doing it all on purpose. If I don't dry my hands after washing because I can't touch the towels then my mum thinks I'm being lazy or I'm doing it to deliberately make my hands sore. 
Unregistered
Did you read an earlier topic, I think Andrea (mama) wrote it. It was about life before OCD. It gave an interesting insight into the pre-OCD world. We're talking about the non-OCD generation of the 40's, 50's and 60's and people who suffered had to just 'pull themselvesd together'. I really feel for you. To be honest, I don't think my parents understand my condition, but to be honest, I think they'd be even more counter-productive if they did know, because, although they mean well, they may encourage avoidance and response prevention, doing more damage than good.
Let me know how you get on Helz
Giles
Thats a good one Giles...I'm going to have to try that today...I'm always worried about things I say with my fat mouth, then I go over and over how the other person might see things or judge me or think about me.. I need to script up the worst case scenario and just live with it though. If I try to think up a good ending, I think I'm just trying to reasure myself and that always just gets undone by OCD anyway. I dont know...I'm a little agitated today and stresssed..so dont listen to me I'm in a dizzy whirl and think I need a vacation.
Helz, you can do it...you are a brilliant girl...you will come up with just the right way to help them understand.
Andrea
Unregistered
Thank you both of you for your kind words of support. And thank you, Giles for the friend request, I have accepted.
My parents definitely consider it to be something I can just deal with by "pulling myself together". My mum always goes on about how she's probably suffered from bouts of depression throughout her life but she's managed to soldier on through so I should be able to as well. What a trooper, eh...
I think the only way they'll ever understand is if they saw me at my lowest points, when I'm so anxious that I can hardly move, but then again I don't want them to see me like that. And they'd probably only think I was being dramatic and putting it on anyway...
Unregistered
Hi Helz
Do you have anybody close to you, whom you can confide in? Like a boyfriend, close friend? Its weird my OCD causes me to implode in front of my parents, but do everything possible to hide it, despite the visible sweating that can occur. Now this hasn't happened in a long while, but when it does, its difficult to control. Now, the last conference we had, had a section lectured by david veale, which associated OCD and depression. Sadly, I fell asleep through the lecture and it didn't explain OCD and depression very well. Be glad you didn't get your parents to see that, because it would have reinforced their 'soldier on through it' statement.
If you ever wanna PM me, don't be a stranger. I would seriously advise you to read 'Overcoming obsessive Compulsive Disorder' (veale), as it's a very good book and can be beneficial to parents/carers of sufferers. Have you thought about inviting your mother to a therapy session? I would blankly dismiss this suggestion myself, but you're not me and so you may take a shine to the idea.
None of us think you're being dramatic and putting it on, so you don't have to feel alone in this forum
Take care
Giles
Unregistered
I always have a little notepad handy, just a small one and I have pens all over the house and when I feel compelled to do one of my rituals or give in in any way to my OCD I start writing a story or listing things I need to do that day like: put away the ironing and eventually you'll either have a whole story or some really organised days and you've avoided your OCD.
I don't know if it will help you guys but it works for me. btw I love the idea of the forum! Fabby!
Unregistered
Thanks so much, Giles for you support. And everyone else too. Fortunately, things have taken a turn for the better tonight... I finally think my mum gets it, at least a bit more than she did. I realise now that she wasn't intentionally being hard-hearted, she really just didn't see how much the OCD affects me. She came and asked me why I went to the doc's on Friday and I told it was about my OCD, and she wondered why I'd gone about that. Then I plucked up the courage and explained to her how I was struggling and ended up breaking down in front of her (to my embarrassment). She seemed quite shocked and said that she was happy for me to have CBT (like, I needed her permission :roll:) and that she could see it was a problem for me. Once she realised that I couldn't just stop and get over it, and that I didn't take any joy in what I was doing, I think she came round and understood more that I'm under the control of the OCD, rather than it being under my control.
She still refuses to believe that she's unhygienice in anyway though, which she is, even by non-OCD terms, but she has agreed to be more aware of things like poo getting on the loo handle. To be fair to her though, it's mostly my dad who's responsible for horrible things like that, and we could never change his habits since he's an old dog and very stubborn. So my house will always be less hygienic than most, but I hope that I will still be able to get past that, even if my house is covered in poo. 
I feel so much lighter now. Someone's on my side!
Unregistered
Hello Philipop x, thanks for the idea! And welcome if you're new.
Hi Helz,
I'm so pleased that you've been able to talk to your mum and that she's starting to understand what you're going through. It must be a weight off your mind to finally feel that you finally have someone in the family that you can speak to.
Here's hoping that it takes some of the pressure off you.
Trudy
Hooray Helz! I knew it would go just right! You are great. I'm sure you will have to explain it again, because even though they want to, family members dont ever fully understand it...its very difficult to understand...but at least she is on your side in getting the help you need. I'm soooo glad for you! It helps so much to not be alone...and moms dont always know the right way to respond...we try very hard, but I fail miserably all the time....my poor babies...I should start a fund for the therapy they will need in the future because I do something or other that sends them in a whirl!
Philipop, I really like that distraction technique...sometime if I put off the ritual long enough it goes away altogether. I like the writing thing...get to be creative AND kick OCD in the bum.
Unregistered
Thanks, guys! The trouble is that now she gets it, I'm worried that while trying to be more hygienic, she might end up being too acomodating, and end up appeasing the OCD rather than actually fighting it, even though she means well. She said I can have my own towel to use and keep it in my room and she's going to put antibacterial wipes in the toilet so I can use them to clean it if I need to, which will help me now but I've got to try and wean myself off coping methods like that. One good thing she's done though, which really surprised me- she actually had a talk to my dad about hand washing, and they've both agreed to wash after having a pee! I'm not sure if they're doing it religiously yet, or even if they're using soap, but it's a start! I don't know if it will last long, but it's like some kind of miracle, lol. I don't know where this turn around has come from. Maybe it's because I finally let them see how I upset I was, and if I'd just opened up before it would have sorted long ago. So maybe them not understanding was my fault and not theirs? Maybe I made it seem like I wasn't affected so that's why they thought there wasn't really anything wrong with me?
Helz,
this is the hard part...they are showing they care by giving in to your rituals...they love you. But you are right...it is accomodating. Now you must remember that they do indeed love you...they are not doing this TO you, OCD is..and even if they dont wash up, its OCD trying to control you and them into doing it. Its very very difficult not to OCD on your family and get them to enable us...its difficult for them to say no because they do love us...so it has to be your idea not to have them bend to OCD...you are right to be worried about it being counterproductive...but you have good judgement, and I just know you will find a way to work with them and conquer it all! Go Helz!!!!!
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