Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

by Aztec 33 Replies latest jw friends

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  cornish

  My eldest brother has OCD,most of his day is concerned with going through the repetative rituals,his wife has to look after him and sometimes gets a bit frustrated,it seemed to start with things like obsesive hand washing and then obsesive checking of doors and gates shut properly and gradualy moved on to just about everything.He spends many hours just getting changed in the morning.

  Myself I remember when I was younger having the beginings of obsesive compulsive behavior,like the hand washing and over checking the taps tuned off properly but lukily I got out of it and it did not progress.
• 

  razorMind

  I used to do OCD things, I had a lot of those compulsions and obsessive habits, too.

  For example, I used to do this motion with my hands. I'd hold them as if clasping them, then obsessively rub the area so that one thumb would rub against the other. I had a HUGE callus in the area between thumb and forefinger that was a hard as a rock.

  I also was obsessive about lint and hair on anything. I'd clean EVERY SINGLE speck of lint and hair from my bedding and stuffed animals, convinced that something bad would happen if I didn't. I had an obsession with certain numbers and letters. Certain numbers or combinations of numbers, and certain letters were "good" or "bad". If I saw a sign or license plate with "good" numbers coupled with what I considered "good" letters, I'd blink either 5 or 7 times, or 15 times in increments of 3. Stuff like that I used to do.

  The strange thing, or maybe not-so-strange, thing is that most of these tendencies ceased once I moved out of my (staunch Dub) parent's house. I looked down at my hand, a few months ago, years after moving away, and realized for the first time that that callus is now gone.
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  suzi_creamcheez

  When I grew up in the borg, I had a lot of quirks and obsessions. I used to pull out clumps of my hair (yes, I had a bald spot!), wash my hands constantly, brush/floss teeth several times a day, bit my nails till they bled. I had to re-read (the bible and WT literature) and re-write stuff over and over again.

  One of the sisters, an elder's wife, in the KH practicied "iridology" where she looked into your eye with a type of microscopic lens, and told you that all your health problems resulted from too much buildup in your colon. She advocated eye exercises to improve your vision. I had just started wearing glasses, which i hated. I tried to cure myself by rolling my eyes around during the meetings when I was bored. I thought no one was looking, but my mother caught me and thot I was possessed.

  I look back at it now and see it as a way of managing tension.

  I thank Pfizer every day for my medication. -suz
• 

  lurk

  yes

  ive been thinking about posting on this thread but quite frankly its embarressing to admit it

  but yes I've had OCD for a number of years .

  OCD sufferers might recognise this when i say OCD thoughts so repetitive and alarming at times they can reduce you to a jibbering mess.your struggle to fight them by the hour and at times it sends you to the brink of sanity .

  The repetitive actions are the suffer attempting to control his her situation.to feel safe amid the obbsessional thoughts with which you are bombarded hour after hour, day and day ,month after month year after year.

  OCD is a very tired mind struggling to keep it together .

  The society did some articles on it once . They advised acknowledging them as wrong thoughts and pushiing/forcing them out , but failed to relise that that is exactly what OCD suffers are doing all the time.its why they have OCD the repetitious actions in an effort to feel safe and push out the distressing thoughts. .Infact the society was treating the problem like you would someone who was having sinfull thoughts .They just didnt seem to understand the reality of it at all.

  By telling readers to force them out they were creating ahuge mental war and reinforcing the illness.

  I tried to follow the advice which was from the society ...so it must be right .right?.....I felt sure that my prayers and efforts would be rewarded soon......but it made me worse .and of course i felt guilty because it wasnt working and even more guilty when i started ignoring their advice and thinking they were wrong.

  It took me a while to relise that i was actually making making my self worse .the mental exhaustion was all comsuming so i went back to doing what books and mental health ppl advised..i felt so guilty allowing the thoughts to pass through with out condeming them and resisting them. and sure enough they began to get less and and i began to be able to see reality and and recognise that this was illness not me with evil wrong sinfull thoughts.

  so now im loads better i hardly ever have obsessional thoughts or actions and if i do ive learnt how to let them pass and not to worry about it. .i recgonise them for what they are and im no longer afraid of them. It's now reduced to fairly normal worry levels .

  I know other brothers and sisters with this illness and other similar problems.I think you prob have to be predisposed to it in the first place , that can't be blamied on the WTS .But I do beleive that the attitude of the WTS creates a perfect breeding ground for this type of thing partly through ignorance partly throught fear and partly through sheer self righteuosness. .

  If any one thinks they have got OCD i would advise them to get advice from local mental health org's .gets some leaflets and books and begin to try to approach your problem slowly and in a way that works for you . you can get help and you can help your self even if your as big a coward as me .im the biggest coward under the sun

  huge post .appologies
• 

  drwtsn32

  logansrun: After reading about your dad, I have to agree... the silly quirks that I and others seem to have are nothing compared to true OCD.
• 

  little witch

  I have been diagnosed with mild OCD.

  Intrusive thoughts, and nail biting mainly.

  Hey arrow, did you ever see the movie, 'Sleeping With The Enemy"?

  The husband was a compulsive towel straightener. lol.

  That was one suspensful movie, and the creepy music he listened to! Gives me chills.
• 

  Yerusalyim

  Frank,

  OCD is only "harmful" when it interferes with life. Many people have it and live relatively normal lives. Mine doesn't get in the way at all, nor does my mother's. My brother...on the other hand...almost lost his wife over the deal. I'm not trying to negate the seriousness of what you and the soon to be ex are going through...but in some cases it's doesn't really affect the quality of life.
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  crownboy

  I have a tendancy to wash my hands a lot.

  But unlike rocketman I'm not married, so I don't have to worry about loosing my ring.
• 

  Aztec

  Compulsively winks at Crownboy.

  ~Aztec
• 

  notperfectyet

  Anyone watch ' MONK" ?

  Great show, finally identifies ones with this behavior.

  Which I am one.