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The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

theguardian.com

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Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#31

Post by icebraining »

djhworld wrote: post #19

I have OCD, although it's not crippling. My triggers tend to flare up most at night before I go to bed, or in the morning when I leave for work. Did I checked the hob is off, is the fridge closed, did I lock the door? Did I close the windows? What if I left the iron on and it falls over and starts a fire the house burns down with me inside it? It's amazing how the mind can "catastrophize" mundane situations. I live a…

Is that necessarily OCD? I do that sometimes, but I think it's just regular worries coupled with a poor memory (and inattentiveness), that leaves me often unsure if I really did something like lock the car door.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#33

Post by augustk »

anonytrary wrote: post #18
songzme wrote: post #8

I seriously wonder if OCD could be is created because of our lifestyle in society. Yesterday I went to a coffeeshop (creamery in SF) and there was this crazy bathroom where I had to scan a QR code to get in. The door automatically opened, I walked in, and it automatically closed behind me. When I washed my hands, the water faucet detects motion and it has a built in air dryer as well. When I'm done, I pushed a button…

I'm one of those people who uses a paper towel to open public bathroom doors. I get upset when: 1. There's no trash can by the door for my auxiliary paper towel 2. The door isn't push on the inside (can't kick with my foot). For the reason you mention. I'm sure it's mostly just conditioning. It's a harmless preference and it probably saved me a few colds (although, perhaps getting a virus would have helped me in the…

Sometimes there is a trash can by the door but it has a lid (with a handle). Even if the door needs to be pulled from the inside you simply grab the door handle with a piece of paper and open the door, and then throw the paper in the trash can.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#34

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

56chan4 wrote: post #22
bpizzi wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. The complexities of the human brain will never cease to amaze me. There should be a way, in all this neuronal maze, to escape those compulsions, but I bet it's really well hidden.

I would want to measure dietary Taurine levels in the body for a start. Experiments consuming 3g/day have shown no side effects, but your main source is limited to energy drinks so you have to contend with caffeine, and Taurine does not last long in the body (can start to be expelled in urine within 10mins), much like many of the water soluble chemicals classed as vitamins or minerals. Cooking actually destroys it fr…

> From my own experience, 3 or 4 Redbulls a day

This seems like an incredibly bad idea. You would be far better off using taurine powder.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#35

Post by djhworld »

icebraining wrote: post #31
djhworld wrote: post #19

I have OCD, although it's not crippling. My triggers tend to flare up most at night before I go to bed, or in the morning when I leave for work. Did I checked the hob is off, is the fridge closed, did I lock the door? Did I close the windows? What if I left the iron on and it falls over and starts a fire the house burns down with me inside it? It's amazing how the mind can "catastrophize" mundane situations. I live a…

Is that necessarily OCD? I do that sometimes, but I think it's just regular worries coupled with a poor memory (and inattentiveness), that leaves me often unsure if I really did something like lock the car door.

When you combine it with having to count how many times I do it, e.g. I need to check the hob four times just to make sure.

I think it's a bit of both really, a bit of OCD, a bit of anxiety.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#36

Post by rectang »

icebraining wrote: post #31
djhworld wrote: post #19

I have OCD, although it's not crippling. My triggers tend to flare up most at night before I go to bed, or in the morning when I leave for work. Did I checked the hob is off, is the fridge closed, did I lock the door? Did I close the windows? What if I left the iron on and it falls over and starts a fire the house burns down with me inside it? It's amazing how the mind can "catastrophize" mundane situations. I live a…

Is that necessarily OCD? I do that sometimes, but I think it's just regular worries coupled with a poor memory (and inattentiveness), that leaves me often unsure if I really did something like lock the car door.

Wouldn't it make sense if all humans were along a continuum (possibly non-linear) with regards to OCD symptoms? Pick a point somewhere on that continuum; "normal" to the left, "OCD" to the right.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#38

Post by bitblit87 »

I had OCD (compulsive hand washing, obsessive food hygiene beyond normal, obsessive about which things touched my lips or hands)

It was tiring. Frustrating. Depressing. It felt like a disease that ruled my life.

A change in circumstances distanced me from unrelated stresses in my life and the OCD disappeared. It seemed that it was a manifestation of unrelated stresses.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#39

Post by Insanity »

I've been dealing with OCD for about 2 decades now (I was around the same age as the author when I got these compulsions).

A lot of it centers around health and death, it goes hand in hand with hypochondria and thanatophobia (fear of dying). It's related to my stress for sure, and I often get panic attacks because I can't let go of the thoughts of having become ill or dying.

It does affect my daily life, I have 'repetitive thoughts' almost the whole day. Not per se bad thoughts, sometimes just worrying about my eyes hurting from wearing lenses - I keep thinking that until it starts hurting.

I have some kind of 'pattern' when it comes to thinking and if I move outside of it, I start repeating myself. One of these is that, as a bilingual person, when I mix up languages in my thoughts that is 'wrong' somehow and I need to start the 'train of thought' again.

Sometimes - the moments I am most stressed - I end up in a cycle of causing more OCD moments by having stress, which causes OCD, ..

At times it just depresses me that my thoughts aren't "normal", I know it's not rational to keep repeating things to oneself, but if I don't do it I have a nagging feeling that just pushes me to do it.

I also think that OCD is not something only the person who has it suffers from, it surely does take a toll on the people around you at times - especially when it makes you seem stressed out all the time and like you're on "edge". At least from my experience.

Re: The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter of life or death

#40

Post by KozmoNau7 »

djhworld wrote: post #19

I have OCD, although it's not crippling. My triggers tend to flare up most at night before I go to bed, or in the morning when I leave for work. Did I checked the hob is off, is the fridge closed, did I lock the door? Did I close the windows? What if I left the iron on and it falls over and starts a fire the house burns down with me inside it? It's amazing how the mind can "catastrophize" mundane situations. I live a…

>"Did I checked the hob is off, is the fridge closed, did I lock the door? Did I close the windows?"

This is exactly me. I have to be consciously paying full attention when I lock my door, otherwise I'll get uncertain about it once I'm a few seconds out the door, and I'll have to go back and check.

I have never managed to actually leave my door unlocked by accident, but I have locked myself out of my apartment on three separate occasions, so I'm actually 3:0 on that, but I still have that uncertainty.

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