[JohnDisqus]

I am a major sufferer of OCD. I've had it ever since I was a young child and I finally admitted that I had a problem this year. Up until then, I told myself that what I did (routines, compulsions, etc.) were normal and other people were crazy for not doing them or not feeling anxiety about the same things.

No aspect of my life is OCD-free. It's everywhere. I incorporate OCD into countless things: locking doors, washing hands, checking my phone for scratches and cracks, turning things off, turning things on, and the list goes on.

It's affecting my happiness, it causes me to isolate from people, etc. When I'm around a group of people, I can't wait to find a few minutes to slip away to double-check something or go through my rituals in privacy. As I'm typing this thread, I'm having anxiety about my phone because I'm afraid I scratched the camera lens.

I can't take it anymore. It's driving my crazy, literally. It's affecting my life.

How do you all cope with it?

[gayleggg]

to Psych Central. I can tell your OCD is getting to be too much to bare. Have you sought out counseling or a psychiatrist? If not, that would be a good start. Medication can help alleviate symtpoms.

I hope you find the support you need here at PC. I'm sure you will get to know people pretty quickly and make some friends that suffer the same as you.

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

Welcome to PC. If you haven't already, peek around at some other OCD threads, and you'll get a lot of insight.

Here's a paste from a thread I posted on, that might be of help, and although it's mainly directed at intrusive thoughts, it still might help:

Stop trying to actively stop all these thoughts. We think things; it sadly happens. What you should be doing is learning to ignore those dodgy thoughts, and that's helped by distraction and relaxation techniques. I have a considerable problem with intrusive thoughts, and have done for most of my life, but having recently started researching and getting help via therapy, I've learned a lot more about myself and OCD. Are you getting any help for your intrusions? I'm currently in CBT, and it seems to be helping, even though it's only early days. I keep myself busy, remind myself it's just an intrusive thought, and do my best not to block it out, but to simply ignore it, and not react. Think of your thoughts like an annoying child, constantly trying to get your attention; the more attention you give the child, the more they'll harass you senseless.

For distraction, take advantage of your senses: light a scented candle or josstick, listen to some distracting music that totally opposes your thought(s), feel for things with a texture you like or find calming/intriguing, and/or watching something relaxing/interesting. The biggest two mistakes I think people with OCD do, is to give our thoughts so much meaning, and to focus on it so much, that it all blows up in our heads, to be something extremely mental.