[Lik3]

I don't have as many bothersome thoughts as I once did, yet I have these strong urges to do things I don't wanna do. It doesn't control my life, but I often think about being made fun of and I have the urge to stick my tongue out and making faces. It makes no sense and I can't take it anymore. The things I obsess about tend to be of a spiritual and sexual nature yet those urges have nothing to do with those. What is wrong with me? Is it common for people with Pure O?

[vertebrae]

Lik3,

Yes ... quite common for both manifestations of obsessions (i.e. sexual and religious themed). At the bottom of this post, I've listed a brief summary of Obsessions and Compulsions as per the OCFoundation website.

Additionally, I went ahead and highlighted in underlined RED text those which *may* apply to you and your situation.

Take care,

vertebrae


01. Official site for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (U.K. based):

http://www.ocfoundation.org/

02. List of common OCD related "Obsessions" and "Compulsions":

http://www.ocfoundation.org/O_C.aspx#Common_Obsessions

_____________________

Common Obsessions in OCD

Contamination

• Body fluids (examples: urine, feces)
• Germs/disease (examples: herpes, HIV)
• Environmental contaminants (examples: asbestos, radiation)
• Household chemicals (examples: cleaners, solvents)
• Dirt

Losing Control

• Fear of acting on an impulse to harm oneself
• Fear of acting on an impulse to harm others
• Fear of violent or horrific images in one's mind
• Fear of blurting out obscenities or insults
• Fear of stealing things

Harm

• Fear of being responsible for something terrible happening (examples: fire, burglary)
• Fear of harming others because of not being careful enough (example: dropping something on the ground that might cause someone to slip and hurt him/herself)

Obsessions Related to Perfectionism

• Concern about evenness or exactness
• Concern with a need to know or remember
• Fear of losing or forgetting important information when throwing something out
• Inability to decide whether to keep or to discard things
• Fear of losing things

Unwanted Sexual Thoughts

• Forbidden or perverse sexual thoughts or images
• Forbidden or perverse sexual impulses about others
• Obsessions about homosexuality
• Sexual obsessions that involve children or incest
• Obsessions about aggressive sexual behavior towards others

Religious Obsessions (Scrupulosity)

• Concern with offending God, or concern about blasphemy.
• Excessive concern with right/wrong or morality.

Other Obsessions

• Concern with getting a physical illness or disease (not by contamination e.g., cancer)
• Superstitious ideas about lucky/unlucky numbers, certain colors

_____________________


Common Compulsions in OCD


Washing and Cleaning

• Washing hands excessively or in a certain way
• Excessive showering, bathing, tooth brushing, grooming or toilet routines
• Cleaning household items or other objects excessively
• Doing other things to prevent or remove contact with contaminants

Checking

• Checking that you did not/will not harm others
• Checking that you did not/will not harm yourself
• Checking that nothing terrible happened
• Checking that you did not make a mistake
• Checking some parts of your physical condition or body

Repeating

• Rereading or rewriting
• Repeating routine activities (examples: going in or out doors, getting up or down from chairs)
• Repeating body movements (example: tapping, touching, blinking)
• Repeating activities in "multiples" (examples: doing a task three times because three is a "good", "right", "safe" number)

Mental Compulsions

• Mental review of events to prevent harm (to oneself, others, to prevent terrible consequences)
• Praying to prevent harm (to oneself, others, to prevent terrible consequences)
• Counting while performing a task to end on a "good", "right", or "safe" number
• "Cancelling" or "Undoing" (example: replacing a "bad" word with a "good" word to cancel it out)

Other Compulsions

• Collecting items which results in significant clutter in the home (also called hoarding)
• Putting things in order or arranging things until it "feels right"
• Telling, asking, or confessing to get reassurance
• Avoiding situations that might trigger your obsessions

_____________________

[Lik3]

Thank you. You have been so helpful.

[vertebrae]

Lik3 ...

You are most welcome.

Hopefully it will serve as a source of info for others who may either think that they have OCD -or- are currently struggling with it and need confirmation as to how it may manifest itself.

Take care and be well.

Peace,

vertebrae

[mgran]

This has been really helpful. Someone I care about struggles with some of these issues... perhaps showing them this list will help them to realise that they're not alone.