[Dawr]

I notice that when I get nervous, anxious or bored, I'll repeatedly rub my arm for no apparent reason.

I do this usually unconsciously, and only notice when I draw my focus away from what I'm thinking about/doing.

I'm wondering if this is like a nervous tic, or a symptom of my OCD (Since I have been clinically diagnosed) I'm currently not in any sort of therapy (having a hard time finding therapists that accept my insurance) though the one time I did see a therapist, I was unconsciously stroking my arm, and the therapist noticed and asked me about it.

I also tend to pick at my skin. This is a different, more destructive behaviour, but I'm wondering if it's also connected.

thanks

-Dawr

[gimmeice]

It sounds like some of my symptoms of ocd, my thing has been sucking on my bottom lip which I never noticed until I had some dental work done and it caused pain to do so but I still couldn't stop sucking on my bottom lip no matter how hard I tried.
I am sorry that you are having a hard time finding a therapist.

[thelostone]

i scratch my arms, usually the left one, sometimes the right one. drives my therapist nuts. she gives me kleenex to shred. my family is gentler about it. they will lay their hand on which ever hand i am using to scratch myself with(i have quite long nails). it is just a part of the anxiety thing i think. when i have a panic attack i do it, but i have with my family's help gotten to where it has to be really bad for me to scratch. i do still wring my hands alot though. it could be ocd, but could just be general anxiety. hope i helped some.

if you are in the usa there are in almost all areas community mental health facilities. have you tried somewhere like that for therapy?

lost

[digdug]

I used to fidget like crazy and it was almost certainly due to my OCD. I've relaxed those symptoms quite a bit, but I have a pretty bad junk food habit when I have to write papers and that sort of thing. I think the two are somewhat connected...I just need something to do with my hands, so I eat instead of fidget, or something like that.

Good luck finding a therapist.