Friday, February 22, 2013

Checking OCD and harm obsessions—again

Here’s another example of checking OCD and the harm obsessions that drive it:

It couldn’t have gone far. I had heard it lightly thump the carpet when it hit the floor. Yet, I couldn’t find it.
I was looking for my ring. On my way to the bedroom to put it in the jewelry box before I washed dishes, I was pulling it off my finger as I walked through the living room. That’s when I dropped it and it hit the floor.
That’s why I was crawling around on all fours, running my hands over the carpet, searching for my ring by sight and touch.
I finally found my ring.
I also found two small pieces of dried grass or a part of a weed. And a few pieces of lint.
I couldn’t help but laugh at myself as I sat there on the floor. Just that day I had vowed to “stop looking down so much.”

It seems like whenever I look down at the carpet or floor, I see such things: pieces of grass or a pine needle from outside, dragged in on a shoe, or pieces of lint from blankets or clothes.
Sometimes I’m able to overlook such finds. But lately it’s harder for me not to pick up every piece of foreign matter I see—or think I see. Sometimes I pull up only carpet fibers when I reach for what I think is a piece of lint.

Is the white spot in the middle a piece of lint or a part of the carpet? Turned out it was part of the carpet.

Last year I wrote a post called OCD: Picking up sticks, where I described my old rituals of checking for harmful objects outdoors.
What I’m doing now is only at home and only inside.
But the obsession is the same: I’m afraid that harm is going to come to another. I’m afraid, in this case, that I’m going to leave something on the floor that one of the cats will eat and be harmed by it.
Vacuuming cuts down on the amount of lint and other debris on the floor, of course, but something is always left behind. And it might be harmful. Or so goes my thinking.

I never seem to be “all done” with checking OCD. I get rid of one ritual, only to have another take its place.
It’s frustrating, but it’s part of having OCD. I have to continue taking on the rituals as they come. I can’t give up because one ritual is particularly difficult to deal with.

I could pick up stuff all day long. But I have other things to do with my time and energy, as we all do.
And I no longer want to be captive to this checking ritual.
So I am trying to stop looking down so much. I’m trying to keep my feet moving and my eyes facing forward as much as possible (I don’t want to fall on my face!).
And if I do see something that I want to pick up, I’m trying to avoid reaching down and checking it.
I’m not always successful. But with practice, I hope to get rid of this checking ritual.

Do you ever want to be “all done” with self-improvement? How do you keep up your motivation to become a better person?

23 comments:

  1. You wrote that "I no longer want to be captive to this checking ritual". I think that's half the battle - that recognition and willingness to adress it. When you avoid reaching down and checking on something, does it still bother you and make you wonder about it even hours later or is it more fleeting than that? Just curious.

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    1. Keith, with exposures, the anxiety about NOT checking what's on the floor usually goes away pretty quickly. With some exposures with some rituals, the anxiety hangs on for a longer time. It just depends on how much the ritual affects me. But rarely does the anxiety follow me around for hours, thank goodness. I've been able to move beyond that.

      The thing is, if I give in and perform the compulsions, the anxiety almost always returns later as I worry more and more about other things on the floor. Performing the compulsions just feeds the anxiety.

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  2. I had a moment on all fours just the other day! Seriously! Except my moment involved a stray cashew that went under the stove. I couldn't stop cleaning under the stove once I got the cashew because I was thinking of germs and such (even though it hasn't been that long since I've done a full vacuuming of the back of the stove, under the stove and the same with the frigde etc. you know, deep deep cleaning).

    I have had to limit my vacuuming to once every two weeks on Saturday morning because otherwise it's an obsession that the compulsion wears me out. I spend too much time vacuuming and sweeping up stuff on the floors. It's usually nothing for me to be "watching Netflix" but really just be staring at the floor or the piece of furniture I'm sitting on and then grab the vacuum and all its attachments and go at it until I feel like the area I was focused on is "clean" again so I can "relax" and focus on my movie or TV show.

    It's funny because like my therapist says, I focus so much on little things. Seriously, if you walked into my house, you would not see any dust and everything would be cleaned and straightened but in my mind, I'm focusing on the new dust bunny hopping down the hallway or the miniscule crumb on the kitchen floor.

    Yes, I want to be all done with self improvement but at the same time, I realize no one is ever done. I don't know how I keep up the motivation, really. I mean like you said, you calm down one compulsion and another takes its place. I think I stay motivated because of weekly therapy and also because despite the fact that I still wear myself out doing too many things that don't need to be done (compulsions), I'm MUCH better than I was before therapy. I am able to relax more overall (if you can believe that LOL).

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    1. Elizabeth, I can understand the stray cashew incident. It sounds like something I would do! And I relate so much to not being able to fully relax until certain cleaning rituals, checking, etc. are taken care of. Like you, though, I'm a lot better than I used to be. I think that helps to motivate me--knowing that I have improved quite a bit, and believing that I can improve even more.

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  3. So sad for you to suffer this way!! I am all done with self improvement. I am content with who I am and I am so lucky to be enjoying every second of my life!

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. I really am much better than I used to be, and I have some good tools to help me get over this, too. I am so glad that you are enjoying every second of your life--that is so healthy and such a wonderful way to live!

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  4. Oh Tina, I want to be all done every single day and moment of my life!!!! You know, here's the thing - everyone in life is never "all done" with what they need to work on about themselves. The difference for us is that anxiety throws it up in your face all the time and you can't ignore it, like other people can ignore other problems. I don't know - maybe that is a blessing? It forces us to deal with it all the time. There's no way around it. So who knows, maybe we make more progress than most people because we're working on it all the time and we don't even know it. I'm not sure how I keep motivated. Because believe me, there are a LOT of times when I'm not. But each day is new, and some days I have more strength than others. It helps to read blogs and keep reading about OCD - that certainly reminds me that I've got work to do.

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    1. Sunny, that's a good way to think about the anxiety--it reminds us often that there's work to be done, and that's not a bad thing. And I agree with your statement that "we're working on it all the time and we don't even know it." I think we deal with the anxiety, including OCD, minute by minute, day by day, and don't even realize that we're using the tools we've learned to handle it. And we do improve.

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  5. Tina, hi!!

    Sorry I've been absent... but, I thank you so much for your prayers.
    ... I couldn't see the spot in the picture- but I believe you that it was there:)

    Your last post was great. Hoping the panic is gone away... and, me too, I've got to let go of anger. Anger is like pure gasoline that fires our kind of illness. HERE's to: Beginning to let go!

    Blessings & Peace, Deanna

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    1. Deanna, good to hear from you, and I hope you are doing better. That is a good description of anger: "pure gasoline." It certainly can be! And, yes, here's to letting go!

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  6. Yes I do want to be "all done" with OCD. I am extremely envious of the recovered OCD folks because that is what I want and I feel like I will never be completely recovered. I also don't want to be Debbie Downer and give up on that. I just keep remembering how much better my life is now than 10 - 15 years ago so working on OCD has given me a much better quality of life. I am thankful for that.
    I pick up stuff from the carpets too. One time I screamed bloody murder because I saw a bug (I swore it was moving) and it was a raisin one of the kids dropped.

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    1. Krystal Lynn, I have done things like scream about something on the floor that ended up being harmless. It's funny when you look back on it, but not so funny when it happens!

      The way you confront your fears and do exposures--I just know that you are going to get even better, Krystal Lynn. I have hope for all of us with OCD, that as we work on it and as we learn more, we'll get better and better.

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  7. Tina, it's always something isn't it! Thank you for always giving such a good description and feel for what OCD is like...I wish things could be easier for you, but like you said, you have improved. I guess we are all continuous works in progress in one way or the other!

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    1. Thanks, Janet. It really is better than it used to be. I just have to think back to the worst days of OCD, before any treatment, and I feel grateful to not be there anymore. One of the reasons I write about these OCD rituals is to give others without OCD a feel for what it's like, and to let people with OCD know they're not the only ones having such weird thoughts and compulsions.

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  8. I vacuum everyday, but with our cats and the boys the floors are always a mess. It would really be hard to notice every tiny little thing like that!

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    1. Lisa, maybe if I vacuumed every day, I would see less stuff! :-) My eyes seem to zero in on the tiniest things.

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  9. I honestly think I will never been done with my self inflicted self improvement. I do know that I can leave things now and not obsess over it. I think age has helped me prioritize better, and turn a blind eye to things as they say. Hope you can work it out too. B

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    1. Thanks, Buttons. I like that term "self inflicted self improvement"--maybe sometimes our expectations for ourselves are too high!

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  10. It may never be over, those pesky intrusive thoughts. But we're making progress. Every day gets us a little closer.

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    1. I agree, Grace. Every day we can make progress, even if it's just a little.

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  11. Just a thought -- but have you thought about pursuing photography as a hobby? It might bring you outside of these OCD thoughts. I have found it helpful with my depression.

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    1. That's a good idea, Nancy. Things like photography, where I'm focusing on what's outside of my thoughts, do help. I have gotten to the place where most of the photography I do is work-related. But it's a good idea to give more time to the hobby!

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