Im not really sure where to start because I'm new to forums and i had really never thought of them but maybe i can find some help or at least talk to someone who can relate to my problems...my main problem is my relationship right now, it seems like it is hanging over my head and thats now how a loving relationship should be...its not how i want it to be...i feel like i could jus sit in my bedroom all day and never come out because i am ashamed of the way i am and i am scared that i will never be able to change and that it will always affect my relationships forever...
ever since i was little i can remember obsessions and compulsions
the first problem i can remember is that when i had to do my daily chore of feeding my cat that i was always scared of the cat food getting on my hands and that i had to wash my hands and i know it is normal to wash your hands after touching something like catfood but i was scared about it and i felt anxiety over it if i didnt do it and i didnt want to do my chore because i didnt want to feel the anxiety of making sure i was clean after i did it and that no one would get sick from me touching the cat food and then touching them or something of that nature
i also remember when i read a book i would read sentences over and over because i was afraid that if someone asked me if i read the book that if i hadnt read every word of the book then i would be lying
i also had a huge fear of AIDS in middle school and i would worry every day about if i touched blood and using public restrooms and i would come home from school every day and have a set of questions that i would ask my mom and she would have to console me about them, she even threatened to take me to the doctor and get an AIDS test, this is before we knew that i had OCD
those are JUST A FEW of my problems that i had in the past...
Now the main things i deal with are making sure that things are plugged in tightly because im scared that they could catch on fire
turning light switches on and off repetitively until i feel ok about it, until i feel it is done right, especially before i go to bed or before i leave somewhere because i am afraid that i will be worried while i am gone or cant get to sleep because of it
also i worry about if curling irons or hair straighteners are turned off, i unplug them even if i know they are off just to be sure
i check the stove over and over if i use it so usually i just avoid cooking anything in the stove because i dont want to worry
washing my hands until i feel clean after i have touched something i think might infect me or make me sick or make someone else sick after i have touched them
there are other things but those are just a few examples that affect my daily life
my main concern right now though is my boyfriend, he doesnt know that i have OCD and we have been having other issues anyway but my OCD makes our problems worse i think, i dont know if i should tell him or not because i dont want him to think im trying to get him to feel sorry for me and im already insecure, im worried that if he knows that i have OCD then i will just feel more insecure about our relationship because i will feel inferior. we have had a pretty good relationship up until about the past month. he has a really fun and silly personality and i have always loved that about him but he says that for about the past month that i have been trying to change him and that i get mad everytime he is just trying to have fun and be himself. we have had other problems in our relationship besides this but i think my obsession with the fact that him not being serious=him not caring about me has alot to do with our problem and i get carried away in thinking that if he is not serious all the time and completely focused on me then he doesnt care about me anymore and is getting tired of me, i mean...i guess that can be a normal thing, but i feel like it relates to my OCD because i havent been taking my medicine like i should and just the normal effects of OCD, now i feel like if i dont want to have fun all the time then he will not want to be with me and if i am not in the mood to joke around he will think that i am trying to change his personality and we have argued and argued over this fact WITHOUT him knowing that i have OCD (Should i tell him?) i told him that i have some problems that are not his fault and that may be why i have been acting differently for the past month but that i dont want to tell him and i just dont know what to do because i dont want to feel like i am on edge at all time when i am around him and everything that happens i always talk myself into believing that it is my fault...even if it isnt...i am SOOOOOO confused, if anyone has any advice for me, please help me! i need the advice of someone who knows what it feels like to have OCD or someone you love has OCD...i would greatly appreciate it if you have any words of wisdom...
Sincerely,
Confused Teen (18)