is this considered OCD?

[Guest guy]

Hi-

 

I am a college student and I suspect that I may have OCD, although I am unsure since my symptoms differ widely from what I have read from others.

 

school related-

1) I often worry about forgetting material from previous classes, therefore I work for a considerable amount of time on problem sets from classes that I have already passed.

2) I often worry about future classes, so I find myself repeatively going to the library and leafing+skimming through books assigned for future classes-needless to say, I don't understand the material in these books (since I haven't yet taken the class) creating more anxiety

3) I continuously make lists regarding what future classes I should take and when I should take them (as often as 10-20 times a day)

4) I constantly feel compelled to be at par with all international curriculums (ex math)...leading me to constantly check educational requirements for each country and attempt to fufil them... ( for example, if I read it is required for students in a country to study calculus at age 17, while in the US (where i live) it is not required at all, I will feel compelled to have learned calculus by age 17)

5) I feel that I can only study under certain conditions...There cannot be any other students studying in the cafe (often I leave my college town to a different city to study), I have to work a minimum of 1 hour per subject and it is optimal to work 4 hours to prepare me for real working conditions

 

miscellaneous-

1) Upon reading symptoms of OCD from encyclopedia, I find myself repeating constantly in my mind "OCD is an anxiety disorder"...this lasts several hours

2) Thoughts of former embarassing situations pop into my mind constantly...while these events were stessful at the time they were endured I simply laugh at them now...the problem is that these thoughts appear so frequently and repetively that I find myself chuckling to myself in public...which creates more embarassment

3) I fear going crazy frequently causing me to repeatedly ask people for reassurance that I am not....if the feeling is intense, I will shrug my shoulders and keep them in that postion

4) I am afraid while waiting at train station, that something or someone will push me onto the oncoming train right before it passes...causing me to take a few steps back.

5) I am constantly afraid while walking/bycling that a car will hit me from behind, causing me to pull as far away from the street as possible as soon as I hear a car coming from behind

6) I feel uncomfortable in a car without opening a window because of fears of carbon monoxide poisoning

7) Taking a shower is difficult since I fear that water from the faucet will suddenly turn to acid causing me to point the faucet away from my face

8) I am afraid of contracting diseases...I am very afraid of getting an X-ray of fears of developing cancer.

9) I avoid touching cracks on escalator panels.

 

Please tell me if this is OCD or just excessive anxiety...

[Sheila]

Hi, Guy. I think you have done a very good job of describing some of the challenges you're facing. I would suggest you think of your problems in terms of OCD along with anxiety. I'm not sure the distinction is as important as the level of the problems you are experiencing. Have you seen a professional about them? I think they are constant enough to warrant trying to figure out what you should do to get help in relieving yourself of them. It must take a lot of energy to cope.

 

What else can you tell us about yourself -- any health issues? Have you had these intrusive thoughts since you were much younger? I hope you will write back, Sheila

[Guest response to sheila from guy...]

Hi Sheila-

 

Thank you for your reply. I got a medical evaluation from my psychologist today and he confirmed the OCD diagnosis. As far as the instrusive thoughts that make me laugh are concerned, they are still considered obsessions since they are intrusive and irrational...although I perceive them as silly+absurd rather than tormenting as explained by the psychiatrist. This doesn't matter in making the OCD diagnosis, since the obsessions exist, and I perform compulsions to rid them (generally lightly tapping my hand against my bag). I am dealing with anxiety as well, most likely in the form of GAD-generalized anxiety disorder. As far as my studies are concerned, the extreme perfectionism I display is a hallmark of OCD-again explained by the psychiatrist. My habit of getting up, going to the same cafe, studying the same material everyday for a fixed number of hours was explained as "ritualistic behavior". Upon reading others comments, my OCD doesn't nearly seem that bad as others-my psychiatrist stated that my OCD is in the mild to moderate range, meaning that my symptoms are bothersome but not devastating. For the longest time, i thought i was the only one suffering from this problem, but upon reading others' reply, i genuinely pity those who suffer from more severe forms of the illness.

[Sheila]

I'm glad you saw a psychologist. That's good! Do you feel better with the diagnosis? Did he recommend any medications or behavioral therapies that he thought could help? Sheila