Do I have OCD?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m an 18 year old male, and would like a little help with a subject I’ve dealt with for quite some time now. I have a suspicion that I’m living with untreated Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I’ve never really talked a whole lot about it to anyone, and always thought I’d just wait until I was out on my own (College, or further into my life) to check it out, or have it treated. I guess I would just rather save some embarrassment of having to describe the problem to my family or friends. I would really appreciate it if I could hear a little bit about what the treatment is for OCD patients, if anyone is going through it right now, I’d like to know about some of your experiences in dealing with it. Here’s a little run down of some of my symptoms:

I am a little bit of a writer, I’ve written a couple of short stories for contests in a gifted program I am in. I’ve done reasonably well, but I always have a hard time writing or typing. I’m constantly back tracking and making corrections, as I type right now, I’m second guessing myself time after time.

I also play for my high school basketball team. I’m decent I guess, this is the first year I’ve started, we’re single A so it’s not really a top notch league, but I’m still proud of it. I enjoy playing, but I have trouble getting ready for games, I’m always really picky about how far my jersey’s tucked in, and how tight my shoes are. When I was younger, I used to tie and retie my shoes until they were as tight as I could get them. I’ve outgrown that a little bit.

I have a little bit of trouble dealing with people, although not as much as I used to have. I usually fret over what I’ve said to someone, even if it’s only bumping into someone in the hallways at school. To a simple, ‘Hey what’s up’, I’ll respond with something then nitpick over how I said it, or what I should have said, for 5-10 minutes.

I talk myself to sleep most nights, spending an hour or two thinking about what to say if I were in different situations. Usually these situations involve girls which I’ve developed a fondness for. I find myself rehearsing what I would say if I had the chance, could be something all teenagers do though.

Some of the more controlling symptoms I have, include biting my lips, upper, then lower. More like pushing them against my teeth than actually biting them. I push my eye teeth with my thumbs, one at a time, right first, then left. I don’t really know what the purpose is. I also have a major problem with keeping everything straight, I never let anything hang over the edges of tables. I have a habit of always having a certain number of ice cubes in a glass, depending on its size. Three cubes for some glasses, others only two, and a couple bigger glasses have four. Even when I put a cup under the ice dispenser and an extra cube happens to fall out, I always take it out and throw it in the sink.

I’d really appreciate some analysis on my situation; Whether I am OCD or have some other affliction? What kind of help should I seek? What will the affects of treatment be if indeed I have a problem? (I’m very nervous that if I take some form of medication, I’ll lose some of the behavior that makes me who I am) I’ve never felt like hurting myself or others, so I don’t think that I’m incredibly serious, I just have some minor ticks and mannerisms that give me problems with everyday life. I’d really appreciate any advice you could offer.

2

Darn, I was hoping to find a spelling mistake.

3

Well, obviously a doctor will need to evaluate your symptoms, but I’d say it is likely you could have either OCD with a tic disorder or possibly a mild case of tourette syndrome with obsessive and compulsive symptoms. I say this as someone who has both OCD and TS and has two children with both disorders.

Everyone has some degree of obsessive and compulsive behavior, and transient tics from time to time. What makes it a disorder is when it impacts your life to a degree that makes it hard for you to function, or to function optimally. You can take an online test using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive scale to help you assess the level to which your symptoms impact your life.

As far as treatment options, the best treatment in my opinion is cognitive behavior therapy. However, many times a person is unable to cooperate fully with the cognitive behavior therapy without the assistance of medication. Taking an SSRI such as prozac, luvox, paxil, celexa, etc. will NOT change your personality. It will, however, allow you be yourself without being crippled by anxiety.

In fact, many times you will think you feel no different at all, and it is only when you stop taking medication that you realize how much it had helped you. The goal is to try to learn how to use the cognitive techniques to change your behavior with as little medication, or no medication. But sometimes that will not be possible, and taking medication to assist you is not anything to be embarrassed about. We all have different brain chemistry.

I am able to be medication free after completing a behavior therapy program at Vanderbilt, while both my daughters absolutely need medication. This could be because they have a more severe degree of the TS and not just OCD, but in any case, we are all different.

4

Read some of the threads about little habits dopers have and I think you 'll feel less alone and peculiar.

Weird eating habits

Really dumb little habits that have followed you into adulthood…

Strange Habits

Tell me your weird habits!

Habits that drive everyone else nuts

5

If you have AIM message me using lumkinsc98 or email me at lumkinsc98@aol.com and I’ll talk to you one on one about it. If you have another chat program, let me know that and your name on it, I have almost all of them.

6

Settle for a grammatical one, Bryan?

7

You sound a lot like me when I was your age (nine years ago). I had similar symptoms, and I was diagnosed with OCD at 16. I’ve been on and off a whole bunch of different medications since then, but these days I take Luvox, and it seems to work pretty well.

When you’re very young (as you are) it’s harder to notice patterns in the way you feel, because you haven’t had as much experience with it. It took a long time for me to notice that my symptoms increased in frequency and intensity during more stressful periods. Maybe you’re not exhibiting symptoms every minute of every day, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t benefit from some help.

Expect to hear a lot of people tell you that you’re just a “perfectionist” or that you’re “attentive to detail”. But it sounds to me like you know the difference between being conscientous and being obsessive, and you’re suspecting that you’re tending toward the latter. Trust your instincts and talk to a doctor.

8

I have OCD and also take Luvox. When I was a teen I was worried because I knew something was wrong but I didn’t have a name for it and it used to scare me. When I was in college I was diagnosed and started treatment. Things are much better now.

I can also say that when I was under stress my symptoms got worse. They interfered with studying, and made me generally quiet and, while I wouldn’t say anti-social, I was definitely uncomfortable in social situations.

Whether you have OCD or not, you need to see a doctor. That’s the only way to get a proper diagnosis and get the help you need.

Remember there’s no shame or embarassment in getting help.

9

The one question you have to ask yourself is:

does this behavior interfere significantly with school, social life, and/or activities?
if yes, then it’s a disorder.
significantly= failing a class because you don’t turn in an assignment due to it not being perfect. Can’t keep or make friends because of certain rituals and rules.

If it’s causing you a good amount of stress, go and see a behavior specialist. Someone who specializes in behavior modification. You can learn to confront certain situations with less anxiety, maybe desensitize yourself to things that stress you out.

If it’s really bad, maybe get meds like photopat said.

10

Ooh, another Luvox-treated OCDer here! Yay for Luvox. I took it for 6yrs, have now been off meds for 10 months, and I’m doing fine. :slight_smile:
Every: I’m not a doctor or a shrink, but what you describe does sound pretty much like OCD (maybe with a little bit of social anxiety thrown in there, too). Most people experience some measure of obsessive thoughts/compulsive behaviors once in awhile (it serves as sort of a self-preservation instinct that helps us make sure to double-check things and avoid dangerous errors), but if it interferes with your day-to-day life, you should consider seeing your doctor or a therapist. It’s usually treated with a combination of medication and talk therapy, though treatment success varies widely.

Of course, if the condition doesn’t get in the way of your life, there’s no need to treat it, and (as greck points out), it’s not really a disorder.

11

Darn, I must missed that one.