OCD Action

mala
Member

my friend has two issues..I keep telling her that what she is doing and how she is reacting is not normal. First thing: every morning she would take all her dishes out of the cabinets and washed them thoroughly, even though they are clean.
Second, she doesn't feel safe around people, always talking that she will get sick, from cold, from flu etc....so she always has her gloves on her hands, plus she sterilize them every 10 minutes if we are in a public.
is she OCD or she suffers from anxiety? she doesn't want to hear about going to a doctor, because she is absolutely positive that she right

Tue Feb 15 2011 5:02:33 #
Tess
Member

Hi Mala
Welcome to the forum. It sounds as though your friend may be suffering form OCD but she would have to see a doctor to get a proper diagnosis, no-one on this forum would be able to tell you for sure. But OCD is an anxiety condition so if she does have OCD she will feel anxious if she does not do the things she feels she needs to do such as re-washing dishes and sterilising her hands. OCD will also make her believe that what she is doing is right. If she is managing to get on with her life without spending a great deal of time doing her cleaning routines and it is not causing her a great deal of distress and she is refusing to accept there is anything wrong then all you can do is to be a good supportive friend to her. Perhaps you could tell her about this forum which might help her to understand why she is behaving as she is and where she can get help.

Tue Feb 15 2011 12:03:28 #
Unregistered

Just to answer the title of this thread. Apparently, not always!

Mala, It certainly sounds as though your friend has OCD and the usual anxiety which accompanies it. Although anxiety is a mild word to use, because for many of us it is fear that drives us to carry out our compulsions. A fear that can feel like a life or death situation.

Most of us know our behaviour is ‘over the top’, but that is not always the case. Some believe they are behaving perfectly normally by carrying out quite extreme rituals. It’s much harder to convince a person that they need help, if they believe their behaviour is right and appropriate and in their view it's others who are not taking enough precaution. They are also less likely to respond to therapy, even if they can be persuaded to seek help.

Tue Feb 15 2011 13:22:02 #