Seriously need help... please take a moment to read this?!
Question: I don't know if this is OCD or something else, but I have a serious... "symmetry" problem. If things are not symmetrical, down to the millimeter, I can't look at them. In school, I find myself crossing things out on the left side of my page and having to make an identical mark on the right side. My refrigerator contains identical items in certain numbers, all facing the same direction. If something ends up shifting, it almost hurts physically until I can adjust it. Last night, my roommate left 3 cups on her desk... one large and two medium, and the large one wasn't in the middle. Things weren't symmetrical and I started to freak out. I don't know what to do. Is there anything at all that can help me? Is this OCD? What the hell do I tell my doctor? I have a symmetry issue? I don't know where to begin... I'm freaking out.
Answers: I don't know if this is OCD or something else, but I have a serious... "symmetry" problem. If things are not symmetrical, down to the millimeter, I can't look at them. In school, I find myself crossing things out on the left side of my page and having to make an identical mark on the right side. My refrigerator contains identical items in certain numbers, all facing the same direction. If something ends up shifting, it almost hurts physically until I can adjust it. Last night, my roommate left 3 cups on her desk... one large and two medium, and the large one wasn't in the middle. Things weren't symmetrical and I started to freak out. I don't know what to do. Is there anything at all that can help me? Is this OCD? What the hell do I tell my doctor? I have a symmetry issue? I don't know where to begin... I'm freaking out.
Talk to your doctor, and he/she will refer you to a mental health professional who can help. I used to count steps, and I had to end on an even number--if I didn't, I had to keep walking. The funny thing is, I made straight A's in college and I'm now getting a doctorate. I think a lot of times your hyperawareness is yoked to your intellectual capabilities. Just be careful--I would not suggest medicating yourself and assuming it will take care of your compulsions. I started on an anxiety drug that was prescribed to me, but I ultimately found that talking to my psychiatrist was more useful in curbing my panic when the compulsion took over. I also found that the more stressed I was at school, the less my compulsion reared its ugly head. When my hands were idle, the panic would set in. Try to keep track of the other factors in your life that fill in the "in between" moments.
My other advice--keep a log or diary in which you detail when symmetrical compulsion strikes you. This will provide your mental health professional with the background necessary to help modify your behavior. Sometimes OCD and panic disorders can be alleviated by paying careful attention to the environmental or behavioral triggers.
yea i would say you have ocd, tell your doc and he/she will Rx you something to help
i have OCD, these are compulsions...if its OCD tho it will trigger anxiety, its an anxiety disorder...what do u fear will happen if things arent symmetrical? there is always an obsession underlying the compulsion...some people have harm obsessions, some religious, some homosexual, some germs, etc...but there has to be an obsession underlying the compulsion and marked anxiety and distress about this symmetry and the obsessions leading to this compulsion
sounds like OCD talk to a psychiatrist,they know more about this disorder and can prescribe medicine to help ease it
I'm 15, I used to have that arm touching thing when I was younger, or like when I steped funny on one foot I'd have to do it to the other, but I just ended up breaking myself of it somehow...
I would just explain to your doctor exactly same thing you've said here, it makes perfect sense. Hopefully he'll be able to give you something to calm you down or refer you to a therapist. It does sound like what I've heard about OCD.
Good luck, I hope everything goes well for you!!
I have OCD and know exactly how you feel. Prozac has really helped me .Just be aware, most people in the mental health field are not as even keeled as we would like them to be and sitting in their offices and waiting rooms can be quite perplexing!