OCD - Anyone Else Struggle With This ?

Graelwyn75
Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
in Motivation and Support
It can be so draining and time consuming. With me, it comes and goes. Some evenings, I can relax my mind and control it to a degree, but other times, it has me obsessing to a point I get a headache, rearranging things, lining things up, can't even get dinner without a hoo haa where I have to wipe the tops and put everything away properly before sitting down, so usually end up with cold food.

It is very much a stress/mental thing with me, I think, and also to a degree chemical as it seems to get worse when I am losing weight/working out intensely.

Does anyone else have OCD and how do you deal with it ?

Replies

  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    Exercise, exercise, exercise. It releases endorphins which seems to reduce the controlling effects of the OCD because you are mentally in a better place.
  • bebreli
    bebreli Posts: 227 Member
    I think the proper alphabetical order is CDO.
  • Ashleyyyb93
    Ashleyyyb93 Posts: 71
    Yes I have OCDs with organisation and counting steps and how many times I chew a piece of food. I also halve words and that one takes up alot of energy.

    I focus on something relaxing. It's hard for me because it's very controlling but if you take your mind to another place it van really help. x x A relaxing exercise regime may help?? trying something like yoga or swimming. It really depends on how much this is controlling you. x x
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    Exercise, exercise, exercise. It releases endorphins which seems to reduce the controlling effects of the OCD because you are mentally in a better place.

    I do exercise, I walked 50 minutes and did a 5k run in 24 minutes.
    it seems to make things worse, more often than not, though I am not sure why.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    Yes I have OCDs with organisation and counting steps and how many times I chew a piece of food. I also halve words and that one takes up alot of energy.

    I focus on something relaxing. It's hard for me because it's very controlling but if you take your mind to another place it van really help. x x A relaxing exercise regime may help?? trying something like yoga or swimming. It really depends on how much this is controlling you. x x

    The insane thing is, that it takes control to control the ocd, I have to battle to keep it under control, and to stop and do something else. Sometimes I will walk away from doing an ocd thing, but the pressure to complete it becomes too strong. I might try yoga, however, as that is something my brother once suggested. I must admit, I don't tend to take much quiet time, I always have some distraction going on, whether it is a dvd, a game or browsing the net, or all 3 at once.
  • Franki92
    Franki92 Posts: 3 Member
    My OCD all started with feeling unsafe so it can take me up to an hour, sometimes longer to settle into bed at night. I have to check the door and windows are locked and the pets are safe, but I don't trust myself or I touch something wrong then have to start from scratch again. By the time I get to bed I am really stressed and reach for chocolate or a treat to comfort myself. Some nights I can resist, others I just can't then end up feeling guilty.
  • sofielein
    sofielein Posts: 539 Member
    I used to have this kitchen problem as well, but I made a compromise with myself. I cook in a way that by the time the food becomes ready, the counter top and the sink is clean, everything else is put away (trash or dishwasher). I server the food on the plates and as long as we eat the pot(s) can stay on the stove, you can't see anything under them anyways :D

    It took me about 4-5 months of cooking to learn the proper timing though. Before I used to cook like on TV: everything is prepared in small things chopped and diced and whatnot. THAT results in a huge mess....Now I exactly know when to start which process (peeling garlics e.g. while the potato already boiling and the peels in the trash already) so there is never a HUGE mess at any given moment, just the 1-2 things I am using.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    I used to have this kitchen problem as well, but I made a compromise with myself. I cook in a way that by the time the food becomes ready, the counter top and the sink is clean, everything else is put away (trash or dishwasher). I server the food on the plates and as long as we eat the pot(s) can stay on the stove, you can't see anything under them anyways :D

    It took me about 4-5 months of cooking to learn the proper timing though. Before I used to cook like on TV: everything is prepared in small things chopped and diced and whatnot. THAT results in a huge mess....Now I exactly know when to start which process (peeling garlics e.g. while the potato already boiling and the peels in the trash already) so there is never a HUGE mess at any given moment, just the 1-2 things I am using.

    Yes, I find it hard to even leave an extra knife to wash up after eating, lol.
    I fuss over any spills. I dont tend to yet venture too much into preparing anything more than grilled fish and meat, or baked things, mainly because I am worried about the mess, and the dishes etc. I always end up having to vaccuum afterwards if I get anything on the floor at all. It does hold me back, admittedly, from creating more interesting meals from myself. And the obsessive worktop wipedown afterwards, which I feel the need to dry off as well as wipe over with a wet cloth, takes away relaxation time, so yes, lol.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    My OCD all started with feeling unsafe so it can take me up to an hour, sometimes longer to settle into bed at night. I have to check the door and windows are locked and the pets are safe, but I don't trust myself or I touch something wrong then have to start from scratch again. By the time I get to bed I am really stressed and reach for chocolate or a treat to comfort myself. Some nights I can resist, others I just can't then end up feeling guilty.

    Yes, I think at least some of my binge eating comes down to being stressed out by the OCD, and the time it consumes that I could be using for more productive and enjoyable things. It does reduce life quality, for sure, and should be so easy to control, yet it isn't.

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