"Just Right" OCD

[ADHD64]

Hi to all of you out there trying to get better. I think I've always had OCD, but there were no diagnosis back in the old days. My OCD has gotten worse, wasting so much time in my day. I am fortunate that I am retired. I couldn't manage anything now days, let alone a law office.

A few months ago I googled my OCD compulsions and was surprised that it was actually a type of OCD called "Just Right" OCD. I don't get recurring thoughts and then compulsions to do something over and over again. Just Right OCD is a feeling that whatever the compulsion is I have to do it until I feel it is just right. Weird, right?

Can anybody out there relate?

[TomFed]

Hi there,

Perfectionistic tendencies are very common among OCDers, so "just right" OCD is just another piece of the same OCD cake. I had OCD from very early childhood (I'm 35 now) and some of the themes I had throughout this long healing journey were also "just right" compulsions. Like rechecking my homework twenty times to make sure I made no mistakes when I was a kid, or even nowadays I sometimes catch myself rewriting the same unimportant email five times before sending it. Just when I was a kid, it caused lots of anxiety. Nowadays when I notice the compulsion, I usually am able to stop it immediately. Remember that compulsions can be both physical and mental.

It is relatively easy to find a specialised OCD therapist in the States, many of them take insurance and online therapy through apps like NOCD is a very convenient tool to find a therapist, get the assessment and go through the treatment when it's needed, most common one is ERP, then ACT and similar psychotherapies. From your message, it doesn't sound that your OCD is very severe and debilitating at the moment, so a course of ERP might be tremendously helpful and give you tools to deal with OCD by yourself later on if the obsessions and compulsions come up again (they usually do). It is always good to get an assessment by professional therapist when it's possible and not to self-diagnose.

[ADHD64 in reply to TomFed]

Thanks for replying to m y post. And I appreciate the info. I have a therapist currently however, I do not think she is specialized in OCD. But I found this on line community when I was searching for a support group. I'm glad I finally posted.

[Natureloverpeace]

It’s a common OCD theme, you’re definitely not alone.

[ADHD64 in reply to Natureloverpeace]

Good to know

[Dolphin_08]

Felt so good to read that, I know I can definitely relate! I have had OCD for around 6 years now. Whilst I'm very thankful and proud of myself of how far I have come in dealing with stress and intrusive thoughts, I have noticed that I still carry out compulsions just to feel perfectly calm. Normally I don't feel like I used to - which was that something horrible would happen to my loved ones if I didn't do something to stop it. However, I still feel like I could make things better and more settled through compulsions. I'm not sure if that's in any way similar to what you're going through?