I, depression. I, anxiety. [Help Services]

OCD

Also known as: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

This IS a form of anxiety and a very extreme one. Not many know that it's a form of anxiety and will loosely say "I have OCD" when in actual fact, they don't. Many people associate OCD with cleaning. This is NOT the case. 

OCD is a horrible condition that has a lot of factors. One of the main ones that I suffer with is closure.

If I'm listening to a song, I have to listen to it all the way through. If someone begins telling a story and then stops, I will feel agitated until they finish their story. Even during a dream, and I wake up, I HAVE to try and force myself to finish that dream. If I'm working on something, I won't stop until I've completed it. It HAS to be completed. 

I also suffer from routine disorder. I don't like change, I won't cope well with change. Things go into a certain place in my house, and they will always be in that place. If something happens that disrupts my daily routine, then I'll feel exhausted and uncomfortable. Because of this, I'll try not to sleep over at anyone's house. I'll feel agitated in someone else's home, I won't be able to settle in a different bed, I won't be able to settle at all until I'm back in my own house where I know where everything is. 

I won't visit any new places, because I like going to somewhere where I'm used to going, somewhere I feel safe. Even something as simple as a shop. I only go to one shop to do my shopping. Change is something that scares me.

OCD is the anxiety that will control your life. And general anxiety/ social anxiety doesn't even compare to it. So when I hear people joking about it because they think it's just about keeping things "clean" then it does get me very angry. 

However, cleanliness is a symptom. But a very extreme one. I don't suffer from this, so I can't offer opinion on a personal level, but from what I know of it, the sufferer will not touch ANYTHING in their house without wearing gloves. They will obsess over germs and will bleach their house hourly. They won't touch other people, they won't go near other people, and in some extreme cases, they will even wear masks when venturing outside.

Does that sound fun to you? Nope. Not "just" keeping things clean, is it?

Some mild forms of OCD include:

Having the volume channel on an even number.

Having to keep things straight, even a slight tilt of an object will set you off.

Feeling uncomfortable with sitting or standing at the end of a line.

Obsessing over something that you have no control over.

Repetition. Like saying the same words constantly in a sentence. Or always doing an action repeatedly every day, such as waking up and tapping your headboard five times. Or having to look out of your window before you go to sleep. It's a compulsion to do it. You HAVE to do it.

If you think you may have some of these symptoms then please let me know. Don't suffer in silence! 

Stay tuned for more, I hope I'm helping so far! :)