10 Things Only People With OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Will Understand

10 Things Only People With OCD Will Understand

You might have heard people say they are "OCD" about something, because they like things a certain way. But, there’s a lot more to it than that… and understanding OCD can be tricky. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is a condition in which unreasonable thoughts and fears lead to repetitive behaviors. It’s possible to have only obsessions or just compulsions, but both aspects tend to follow a few basic routes. Touch, sound, and visceral reactions and feelings are the most common areas where OCD shows up. Let’s have a look at a few things only people with OCD will understand!

Number 1 – You Overcheck Everyone checks the doors or stove to make sure they are locked and off. But if you’re a person with OCD, you don’t trust that you checked, so you check over and over again. Maybe you missed something… Perhaps you forgot to shut off the stove after answering your texts. You tend to overcheck because you don’t want yourself or someone else to get hurt, due to your irresponsibility.

Number 2 - You Have No Concept Of Time When In A Ritual Every action must be performed in a certain order and with meticulous detailing. It takes forever to brush your teeth or wash your face. Taking a shower is quite time consuming as well – you scrub from head to toe making sure you don’t miss any spots, and then you rinse until there’s absolutely no soap residue left. And then, you rinse again.

Number 3 - Everything Has To Be Perfect Symmetry is important, and so is order. Papers on a desk, pictures on a wall, clothes in the closet - everything has to be just right. An uneven edge on a fingernail can cause an hour of nail-biting as you try to smooth the jagged edge. You can spend hours getting dressed, choosing outfits, or fixing your hair - never feeling that you look good enough. Because of this, you are often late for work, appointments, and even your own birthday party!

Number 4 - You Wash Your Hands A Lot This behavior has become the poster child for OCD. Yes, good hygiene is important. But, since you’re so worried that germs may get you sick, you wash your hands after you touch almost anything. On the same note, you may even avoid public washrooms completely… Germs are so scary that no matter how much you need to go, you will wait until you get to a washroom that you feel comfortable in.

Number 5 - You Tend To Overclean Your fear of germs, illness, and impurity, leads you to clean your house more than necessary. In a way, it can be a good thing to clean, if it helps calm your mind, but sometimes you can clean for hours and feel just as anxious. On the flipside, you may be a hoarder of things! You refuse to throw out old clothes, purses, shoes, and papers, because you feel that you’ll need them in the future.

Number 6 - You Examine Your Food Very Carefully You’re afraid that you may get sick if the food isn’t fresh or cooked perfectly. Any little bruise on a fruit may be a sign of an epidemic disease… You contemplate whether it’s safe to eat bread that’s about to expire. It can take you ten minutes to carefully examine your food before actually taking a bite.

Number 7 - You Are Scared Something Bad Will Happen Sometimes, you feel so anxious about worrying. But you can’t help it. Your mind just won’t stop. You tend to assume that the worst of any situation is going to happen. Everyone has a fear of violence and getting hurt, but you are so worried about something bad happening, that you end up spending a lot of time just trying NOT to think about these thoughts. You never really feel completely safe.

Number 8 - You May Be Superstitious A certain date can seem lucky, so you embrace its power, or it can seem unlucky, so you avoid it altogether. You may associate something from your past (be it an object or a person), as having the ability to have a positive or negative effect on your life. For example, you may choose not to wear a piece of clothing, because something bad happened the last time you wore it.

Number 9 - You Overanalyze Relationships You constantly dissect your relationship with your family, friends, and significant other. You may dwell on whether a comment you made at work alienated a coworker, or whether a small misunderstanding ruined a romantic relationship. You constantly doubt yourself because of your insecurity and uncertainty; and you worry that you upset someone by something you’ve said or done.

Number 10 - You Need Reassurance If you have OCD, you need a lot more reassuring than most people. You are very critical of yourself, and sometimes the only way to calm your anxiety is to have your family and friends tell you that everything is OKAY. Living with OCD can be challenging. And the one thing you should never tell someone with OCD is that “It’s not a big deal….we all have it.” Because it is a big deal, and not everyone has it. What do you think? Do you have OCD? Or do you know someone who does? In your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges when it comes to coping with this condition? Let us know in the comments below!