OCD questions

[Ravenhaven100]

I have had OCD for as long as I can remember. As a child I did a lot of repetitive rituals. That is better but my main issue is with counting.

I count how many lines in a shape, number or letter. I count the lines in a number, ex: number 8. (I count them like the numbers on a digital clock, all lines. No curves) 8 has 5 lines. Then I count the lines in the number 5. 5 has 5 lines so I draw the number 5 in my mind 5 times. Then I envision touching all my fingernails and that ends this particular OCD “session.

This is just 1 of the dozens of ways that I count. It never ends. It distracts me from living an anxiety free life.

[Lauragbr]

I am sorry you are struggling. Have you had any therapy with an OCD therapist?

[FirstResponder23]

hello,

I’m sorry to hear how hard ocd is for you. It is extremely draining on all of us. Just know you are not alone. There are many people who have the exact same rituals and thoughts as you do. I too noticed when I was first diagnosed at 18 that I have had many things as a kid growing up that were ocd. I look at this as a way of me changing the wiring of my brain. Grew up not knowing how or why k was doing certain tasks over and over. And now I’m working on letting my brain know that those things are not needed in order to move on to my next task. There is peace and comfort ahead. We have to do the hard work in order to get there. Stay strong and work at it each day.