tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post1707338738678714101..comments2023-10-08T08:29:47.056-04:00Comments on Bringing along OCD . . . : OCD and touchingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-48118920867848279892012-06-26T15:21:18.207-04:002012-06-26T15:21:18.207-04:00You're right--it's hard, but it can be don...You're right--it's hard, but it can be done.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-5227667152231499982012-06-26T15:20:47.825-04:002012-06-26T15:20:47.825-04:00I can see not going through the process of getting...I can see not going through the process of getting rid of a compulsion if it doesn't cause undue stress or suffering. It's all up to the person with the compulsion. Sometimes it is best to roll with it, as you say.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-70445604081163037802012-06-26T07:15:36.294-04:002012-06-26T07:15:36.294-04:00I check light switches in this manner. I can avoi...I check light switches in this manner. I can avoid it, if I really make the effort.I Am Not My OCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12306313002118478002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-67095490263395774192012-06-25T22:32:05.608-04:002012-06-25T22:32:05.608-04:00I have lots of touching compulsions. I have to to...I have lots of touching compulsions. I have to touch certain textiles until it feels right to proceed. My favorite blanket is the worst. I can spend 20 minutes before I can proceed in the morning. However, I don't fight these compulsions anymore. I don't worry about them. If ones goes away, I just get another one. So I just roll with it, and wake up a bit earlier so that I am I not late for work. I used to try counselling, and this one said, you've made it 29 years this way, lets look at different things you can change. Like, waking up earlier to fit them in, so they don't affect your day. It may be easier than anxiety and depression.The Commitmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00589285353274514964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-16516189219533196452012-06-25T21:22:54.054-04:002012-06-25T21:22:54.054-04:00Sunny, I will never stop being surprised that diff...Sunny, I will never stop being surprised that different people with OCD, while having such different symptoms, can still have some of the same ones. What is it about OCD and light switches?Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-91201652431585834562012-06-25T21:22:02.978-04:002012-06-25T21:22:02.978-04:00That's wonderful, Janet, that your son has tho...That's wonderful, Janet, that your son has those tools. No matter what, he has those tools to deal with what comes along.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-28462567493124954642012-06-25T19:54:06.139-04:002012-06-25T19:54:06.139-04:00Oh I worry about light switches too! I'm SO af...Oh I worry about light switches too! I'm SO afraid I will start an electrical fire and I'm petrified that I may leave a switch only half way turned off. Very scary!71º & Sunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09981113989131619635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-35515278350872521572012-06-25T17:43:57.702-04:002012-06-25T17:43:57.702-04:00My favorite line of your post is the last one: &qu...My favorite line of your post is the last one: "It's hard, but not impossible." Sure sums up ERP Therapy!<br />As far as touching compulsions go, I do notice my son Dan still occasionally will need to touch a surface (counter, table top, etc) with one finger. It doesn't happen often, and I don't bring it up to him as I know he has the tools to deal with it when/if he decides to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-80643737509862484132012-06-25T17:04:52.630-04:002012-06-25T17:04:52.630-04:00Thank you! I'm glad this post resonated with y...Thank you! I'm glad this post resonated with you. OCD does twist itself into our lives, doesn't it?Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-47709026527608884302012-06-25T17:03:31.401-04:002012-06-25T17:03:31.401-04:00Klaaske, you are so right about it taking a while ...Klaaske, you are so right about it taking a while to realize a new one has appeared (erupted? reared its ugly head?).Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-43248308364688192202012-06-25T16:04:46.901-04:002012-06-25T16:04:46.901-04:00I love this post because you so clearly demonstrat...I love this post because you so clearly demonstrate how OCD twists its way through real life - you really did love basketball, but the OCD worked its way even into that. You are also so right about it being easy to slip back into compulsions - I think about this a lot. <br /><br />At first when I was thinking about touching, I could think only of childhood rituals. But as I continued to read the comments, I realize I still have touching compulsions, mainly with personal belongings of the people I love. Like if I put away my husband's shirts, I have to touch and smooth them. I totally get what you say about it having to feel "just right."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-45466641717516830092012-06-25T14:20:44.043-04:002012-06-25T14:20:44.043-04:00So pleased you say that about the compulsions chan...So pleased you say that about the compulsions changing Tina! And often it takes me a while before I realize there's a "new" one that has popped up again. Like a never ending fight.Klaaskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324051207416727146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-12208795861159079232012-06-25T14:07:42.986-04:002012-06-25T14:07:42.986-04:00Lisa, Maybe your husband could reassure him that e...Lisa, Maybe your husband could reassure him that even if he doesn't get to say the nice things he likes to say, he knows that Pierce loves him and wants him to have a nice day. Then maybe there would be that "understanding" between them, that even if the "I love yous" aren't said aloud, they know they love each other no matter what. I think that would have helped me when I was a child.<br /><br />Probably giving reassurance when needed but not making a big deal over it now would help take care of it. But other readers might have other suggestions.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-60983777534726609112012-06-25T13:57:17.126-04:002012-06-25T13:57:17.126-04:00No touching rituals that I can think of. But my f...No touching rituals that I can think of. But my fav number is 7, so I'll often do things around that. Like if I use the microwave, I'll set it for 37 seconds or something like that.<br /><br />I think I'm starting to see some mild obsessions in my 5 year old. Do you have any advice for how to help him move past them now, before they become problematic? Like he has certain things he has to say to DH before he goes to work, and if he doesn't get to say those things or only says one of them (Like have a nice day, I love you, etc.) he has started freaking out.Lisa @ Two Bears Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03464839163693785901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-374402953891438782012-06-25T13:34:46.793-04:002012-06-25T13:34:46.793-04:00Krystal, I have wondered, too, why people have dif...Krystal, I have wondered, too, why people have different compulsions, and why my own obsessions and compulsions change. I've noticed, too, that some start and then snowball into full-fledged compulsions. And then they go away. It's like I get used to one and am able to fight it, so OCD comes back with a new one to deal with. That's the way it seems to me.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-68263651961599831052012-06-25T13:32:24.303-04:002012-06-25T13:32:24.303-04:00Klaaske, I feel sorry for that little girl you wer...Klaaske, I feel sorry for that little girl you were who was so worried about her family. I'm glad that you don't have the touching ritual anymore.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-49073524086096704702012-06-25T13:23:34.275-04:002012-06-25T13:23:34.275-04:00I have wondered occasionally why I have a certain ...I have wondered occasionally why I have a certain compulsion but not another. Like my worse case OCD scenario would be put in a load of laundry and not wash my hands. To some people with OCD that is no big deal, but they have stuff they avoid or do that wouldn't bother me at all. I guess I am curious about it but I don't dwell on it because I really don't think the why matters. Jodi saying it starts simply and snowballs resonates with me because I have done something once and all of a sudden it seems imperative that I do it again and it doesn't take long for me to become fixated enough that it is this ritual now that I have to do. UGH!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16288842067954888301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-20938150107005286392012-06-25T12:15:57.459-04:002012-06-25T12:15:57.459-04:00I only used to have touching rituals as a child, I...I only used to have touching rituals as a child, I think from the age of 6 or so. I had to touch my own face in a certain way once I was in bed or else something terrible would happen to my family that night. I remember having to start the whole ritual over and over because I had made a mistake and it just had to be perfect otherwise it would not count. Mostly I would be terrified a fire would break out in the middle of the night if I didn't do it, when everyone was sleeping and I would not be able to warn them. This lasted for quite a few years, until we moved to a new house and somehow I relaxed there and the touching ritual disappeared.Klaaskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324051207416727146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-90334590017404189052012-06-25T11:29:53.427-04:002012-06-25T11:29:53.427-04:00Krystal, I've loosened the shower lever by pus...Krystal, I've loosened the shower lever by pushing on it to make sure it's off. Probably if thinking about the laundry pat made your heart rate go up, an ERP on it would be helpful. I think sometimes the "little" compulsions bother us more than we realize.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-24628808458475397632012-06-25T11:27:55.768-04:002012-06-25T11:27:55.768-04:00Elizabeth, that's an interesting way to put it...Elizabeth, that's an interesting way to put it--the touching compulsions sneak into the checking compulsions. That's exactly the way it is for me, too--most of my touching compulsions are connected with checking.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-34956414298342094362012-06-25T11:27:02.466-04:002012-06-25T11:27:02.466-04:00Thank you. It drives me crazy, too, when the compu...Thank you. It drives me crazy, too, when the compulsion returns for a spell.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-12216443400055552012012-06-25T11:22:06.090-04:002012-06-25T11:22:06.090-04:00Jodi, With OCD, I don't try to figure out the ...Jodi, With OCD, I don't try to figure out the whys too much, because like you say, it gets in the way of recovery. The real focus for me is to stop doing the compulsions! With the depression, I do tend to want to now the whys more, but knowing doesn't help push me forward. Like Nadine, I'd love to see you do a post perhaps on the why.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-85537907036816768122012-06-25T11:19:42.263-04:002012-06-25T11:19:42.263-04:00Thanks, Nadine. At least the door frame issue is n...Thanks, Nadine. At least the door frame issue is not much of a problem anymore.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-49766953191025491132012-06-25T10:33:42.167-04:002012-06-25T10:33:42.167-04:00I do not have this issue, but it was fascinating t...I do not have this issue, but it was fascinating to read about. I felt as though I was there, and almost felt the muscle movement in the arm that I would use if I were tapping the door frame. I don't envy your struggle.Nadine Feldmanhttp://nadinefeldman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6831964660986535542.post-78097345014969394902012-06-25T10:26:20.781-04:002012-06-25T10:26:20.781-04:00Jodi, I've noticed the same thing about "...Jodi, I've noticed the same thing about "why," (Tina's post aside) and that really interests me. I would be interested in knowing more of your thoughts on the subject, perhaps in one of your posts?Nadine Feldmanhttp://nadinefeldman.comnoreply@blogger.com