[HALLIEBETH87]

So I saw my psyd for first time since last spring in person. I told him a secret. I Count things. Colors, objects and shapes. I’ve done it since I was a young child.

He said it’s obsessive and I have OCD. He said he’s not gonna write it down as an official dx but wants me to get in to see my pdoc ASAP to get it under control. It’s worst when I’m super stressed like lately. It is super annoying and anxiety provoking within itself.

Gah.

[Soupe du jour]

Hi Halliebeth. I hope your psychiatrist will provide a thorough psychiatric evaluation for OCD before quickly jumping into prescribing for it. How thorough of an evaluation did that therapist give? A brief conversation on a topic wouldn't qualify, in my book.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Well most likely I won’t be taking any new meds but my psychologist wants my psychiatrist to evaluate me. And then my psyd is gonna help me learn skills to get through the obsessing part. I’m going crazy.

[MickeyCheeky]

So Sorry for what you're going through! Please Do not give up! Hugs. i agree with the wise and wonderful Soupe du jour about Hoping they will be thorough before deciding on a diagnosis. Please do update us if possible if you want to obviously and try to not let this scare you. Sending many Safe, warm hugs to BOTH you, @HALLIEBETH87, your Family, your Friends and ALL of your Loved Ones! Keep fighting and keep rocking NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, OK?!

[~Christina]

Well I agree that there is no need to put it down as a formal diagnosis. Altho its a struggle at times for you.. You will learn coping skills to keep it mostly managable.

Soupe...... Hallie has been seeing her Psychologist for years now and he does Know her much better than her Pdoc which does mainly Medication management. My T Richard is who told me I have Bipolar I... Yes my next Pdoc appt he told me yes he agreed and it was now a diagnosis in my medical records..

Unless someone has a Pdoc that also does Therapy sessions then they really don't get the big picture of my daily life... if I tell Richard that last Thursday X happened and I was in tears for an entire day over it and we will deal with it. Would my Pdoc ask me about it 3 months later? no

I saw a Pdoc in my early 20's that did CBT. So he was seeing 8-10 patients at most a day. Well he started getting patients set up with T's and he was able to help so many more people medication wise.

Well the need for more and more mental health care has exploded as more people have reached out for help so many Pdocs have flipped to the medication side and a patient sees a T to actually work on managing there mental illness no matter what it is.

Of course mental health care is different for everyone

[HALLIEBETH87]

Yes as Christina said..I’ve been seeing my psychologist for many years and he knows me well but I’ve been hiding this annoying thing from everyone for years. I hadn’t told anyone til today when I told him and we talked about it in detail. It’s a very distressing thing this counting. I hate it!


Counting Numbers OCD: Symptoms and Treatment | NOCD

[Soupe du jour]

Well, sorry I didn't know how extremely long you have been seeing your tdoc. But I suppose I could also wonder how/why after so extremely long that they only discovered this issue now. In any case, if extra focus on any possible new diagnosis helps you find relief from this, that will be so good.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Because I’ve never told anyone. Not even my boyfriend or mom…..

I’ve been embarrassed and hid it

[*Beth*]

I have had OCD since I was a child. It also takes the form of counting. A few other compulsions, but mostly counting. It drives me nuts. Over the years I have worked at not giving into it and I've become pretty successful at controlling it, but it's like a bad habit I have to constantly monitor. Tiring.


btw, I have read a few articles that say people with BD often have OCD.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I have been counting g since I was young. It’s gotten really bad lately though

[Scooter9]

I count things too. Mostly my steps but I count dishes as I put them away, count the number of words in my emails, count the times I count... that's when I know things are getting out of hand.

I'm not diagnosed with OCD but like you I haven't told anyone about it.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I count steps as I’m Going up or down then, shapes I see (usually how many lines there’s are that make the shape), amount of objects that is a specific color around me, letters in words or numbers on a clock, I compare my name to how many letters are on license plates I see, how many cars I see that are a specific color. Etc

I just count count count. I didn’t tell anyone because I was embarrassed that something so odd consumes me

[FluffyDinosaur]

I do that, too, count things. I also check things a lot and I have certain "rituals" that I have to do a certain number of times until it feels "right". There are good and bad numbers and I try to avoid the bad numbers as much as I can (although obviously I can't always avoid them as I don't have full control of my surroundings).

In my case I don't think it's enough for a separate OCD diagnosis, because it doesn't take an excessive amount of time each day. I've read somewhere that OCD-like traits are common in bipolar, and that the most common ones are counting and checking (as opposed to things like hoarding).

There are so many things like that, for example anxiety is another one. I suppose I could be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but I wouldn't personally consider it helpful as I see these things as "secondary" symptoms related to my bipolar rather than separate diagnoses. Otherwise I would probably have a whole list of diagnoses, and I think that would only be distracting as far as treatment goes. I feel like as long as my bipolar is under control, the rest is manageable, too. When the bipolar gets ouf of hand, then the rest will typically follow.

I don't mean to say that you shouldn't get an OCD diagnosis, but I think it's worth considering whether it will be beneficial to your treatment or just distract from other issues.

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by FluffyDinosaur

I do that, too, count things. I also check things a lot and I have certain "rituals" that I have to do a certain number of times until it feels "right". There are good and bad numbers and I try to avoid the bad numbers as much as I can (although obviously I can't always avoid them as I don't have full control of my surroundings).

In my case I don't think it's enough for a separate OCD diagnosis, because it doesn't take an excessive amount of time each day. I've read somewhere that OCD-like traits are common in bipolar, and that the most common ones are counting and checking (as opposed to things like hoarding).

There are so many things like that, for example anxiety is another one. I suppose I could be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but I wouldn't personally consider it helpful as I see these things as "secondary" symptoms related to my bipolar rather than separate diagnoses. Otherwise I would probably have a whole list of diagnoses, and I think that would only be distracting as far as treatment goes. I feel like as long as my bipolar is under control, the rest is manageable, too. When the bipolar gets ouf of hand, then the rest will typically follow.

I don't mean to say that you shouldn't get an OCD diagnosis, but I think it's worth considering whether it will be beneficial to your treatment or just distract from other issues.

This is precisely what went through my mind when I wrote my first post above. FluffyDinosaur, you just said it better, and will surely not get scolded like I sense I was, to a degree. To me, this cautious look at potentially new diagnoses is best. Not that one shouldn't get diagnosed with a condition, if it really applies. However, don't many of us have some of a number of them, but don't always meet full criteria, or at least have them warrant new/additional medications?

I've had a tendency to count many things throughout my life, too. And act a bit compulsively during certain circumstances. But in my case, these habits were not really distressing/imparing in any major way. They didn't affect my life negatively, but were maybe even more "comfort habits". I never mentioned them to my pdocs or tdocs for those reasons, though my husband eventually noticed them. Heck, he has his OCD-"like" stuff going on, too!

Hallie, if your counting is something you really think should be treated, then I hope you get that proper treatment. Certainly if it's affected you negatively all of these years, or worsened, it's good you finally decided to reveal this issue.

[~Christina]

Soupe.. I'm sorry I dont know how to the @ thing.

I'm guessing your comment about being scolded is from my response to you.. I certainly didn't mean to come across that way. Mental health care has changed so much in the last couple decades. Providers are stretched thin and its changed how we the public are getting help.

If I ever say something that upsets or bothers you please shoot me a PM and we can discuss it

[HALLIEBETH87]

The thing about texting and messaging on forums is that people can take things the wrong way when the messenger didn’t mean any harm.

[Soupe du jour]

I'm not sure what I would have written in a PM. What should I have written? My posts above were simply in support of HALLIEBETH. I take no offense and hold none.

[*Beth*]

Back to the thread subject ..... Halliebeth, counting is a very common OCD compulsion.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I really didn’t know other people do this. I know very little about it

[Ursula Shackleton]

I have OCD. It's the worst part of my mental health issues. It just seems to completely take over my brain. When COVID first struck, it was a *huge* trigger. For one thing, with anxiety, but also, ALL THOSE NUMBERS. I was *constantly* checking the numbers. It must have been a month or so in the beginning of checking all those numbers. Staying up LATE at night to see if any of the numbers reached a multiple of 3 or 3 itself. I'm also a "checker" and have a thing for the number three and its multiples (obviously). So you're sure not alone.

[Mountaindewed]

I used to do this thing starting when I was like 10 where if I didn’t make it back to the microwave before it beeped I’d think something bad would happen. Sometimes I’d have to make it back to the microwave, stand on one foot, and then hold my breath until it beeped or else I was “doomed.” I did the same thing with traffic lights “If the light turns red light something bad will happen.”

I was doing it for about 12-14 years and then a year or so ago I realized I had stopped doing it and I don’t know why or how or when I stopped.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

I used to do this thing starting when I was like 10 where if I didn’t make it back to the microwave before it beeped I’d think something bad would happen. Sometimes I’d have to make it back to the microwave, stand on one foot, and then hold my breath until it beeped or else I was “doomed.” I did the same thing with traffic lights “If the light turns red light something bad will happen.”

I was doing it for about 12-14 years and then a year or so ago I realized I had stopped doing it and I don’t know why or how or when I stopped.

You're so lucky that it stopped. I hate when I do those obsessive associations.

[FluffyDinosaur]

Originally Posted by BethRags

You're so lucky that it stopped. I hate when I do those obsessive associations.

I have a bunch of these sorts of non-sensical thoughts and associations as well. For some reason I noticed it was better in the first few weeks/months after I had ECT, no idea why. The counting and checking was better then, also.

[bizi]

I count too.
bizi

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

Hi Halliebeth. I hope your psychiatrist will provide a thorough psychiatric evaluation for OCD before quickly jumping into prescribing for it. How thorough of an evaluation did that therapist give? A brief conversation on a topic wouldn't qualify, in my book.

I agree. A GP wrote down ''OCD traits'' in my notes after a 10 minute conversation where she was also trying to ''cover'' physical issues I did not take the meds she prescribed (they were in the same class of meds which I was allergic to all of the others too). She wrote ''might have to see the CMHT''... no thanks. Not safe over here (Papa bear has a horror of them as well as I do and I will not watch him suffer because of them )