Intrusive thoughts become serious the moment you are bothered by it. Most people have such intrusive thoughts, but the next moment, they shake it off as just a thought.
However, for OCD sufferers, it actually affects our daily lives because we start to think we are bad and cruel for thinking of such horrible thoughts. It actually kills us bit by bit.
Please seek help! Don’t brush it off.
EBOLA. OH MY GOODNESS.
While the entire world is really worried about the outbreak of Ebola, OCD sufferers are getting it worst. I’ve a friend who has OCD who thinks about it all the time, as well as the chances that she might get Ebola even though she is in Singapore, far away from the outbreak. If you were to think about it like she does, Ebola is in fact just an aeroplane away. She’s already thinking of what might happen the moment Ebola hits Singapore, and that the entire nation will just perish.
In Sydney, I’m constantly worried too. The thought of Ebola entering Australia and how the disease will spread just as quick as Bush fires scare me. When news reports came in earlier this month that a volunteer who just came back from Africa had symptoms of Ebola, my heart nearly stopped beating. I was thinking of the worst.
What’s going to happen to everyone? What do I have to do when it happens? I’m going to stay locked up in my home and make sure I won’t be in contact with people for weeks.. But what about school? I don’t care if I fail. My life is more important. I can’t take the risk at all.
So here are some ways to be prepared for Ebola that I have come up with, start now, and keep up the habit!
1. Bring out a hand sanitiser, make sure your hands are free from bacteria at all times. Better yet, wash your hands whenever you come into contact with anything. A door knob, any handles, etc.
2. Wear long sleeved clothing to protect yourself from all germs and bacteria. The moment you get home, wash them immediately and do not leave them lying around the house.
3. Clean your stuff at the end of everyday, with a wet Dettol tissue or a soapy wet cloth. You don’t know how germs can be carried along through your daily things.
4. Remember to brush your teeth, the usual 2 or even more, 3 times a day. Wear a mask. Prevent bacteria from flying into your mouth or any open wounds. Keep yourself covered.
5. Boost your immune system, eat nutritious food to prevent yourself from falling sick. Drink lots of water too. Eat vitamins.
6. Eat at home. You don’t know how bacterias can be passed on if people at restaurants do not wash your dishes and utensils properly, you might end up being the one using them and contracting any sort of virus.
7. When outside, stay away from crowded places, and in general, just stay away from people. Keep the distance.
8. Take note that the random usage of medicine, eating junk food can make you vulnerable to several infections.
MY OCD SONG –
OCD is a serious mental disorder that affects many. This video isn’t making fun of people with OCD(though it seems like it is due to it being all comical) but instead, I think it is really raising awareness for people who want to make things right.
Do watch it. A therapy session like this is actually called Exposure Response Prevention Therapy (ERP). You can read about ERP here on this blog post.https://superpowerocd.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/self-help-part-2/
Do you carry a bottle of Dettol’s hand sanitiser? Do you make sure that the cloth hangers in your wardrobe are all facing the same direction, with the clothes hung in the same direction too? Things like these can be just preferences and styles for some people, but in more serious cases, you could have OCD.
Here are 5 most common signs that you might have OCD.
Hand-washing.
The fear of germs. You fear that even after washing and scrubbing, there might be germs still stuck to your hands and that even buy touching someone else’s door knob or hand, you might get a disease.
Cleaning.
Those who fall into the hand washing category tend to want to clean compulsively too. Although cleaning might relief the anxiety of wanting to clean for a while, it’s not a helpful strategy because the urge will only come back stronger the next time. If you spend hours a day cleaning, and you’re no where close to done, it’s most probably related to OCD.
Checking.
Is the door locked? Did you turn off the iron? Is the heater on? Is the gas on? It’s normal to just double-check if things are locked, but… the checking gets out of hand if you were to keep checking even if you’ve already checked a couple of times, and after walking and taking a bus out 20 minutes later, you decide to go back to check if the door is locked again. This is a serious compulsion.
Counting.
Some people that have OCD count to a certain pattern with the things they do everyday. For example, the steps they have climbed. The number of times they shake their heads. Counting is fine. Counting makes you fall asleep but at certain points in your life, do you think it makes sense? If it does, it’s okay to count. But if it doesn’t, it is definitely bothering you.
Organisation.
It’s not just about being organised, it’s about relieving the anxiety of being neat and tidy. People with OCD tend to like their things to be symmetrical, or things to be the right number, in even or odd numbers too.
Provocation of Violence.
Everyone has thoughts about being affected by violence. The more we try to not think about a possibility of violence happening, the more we think about it, hence we fear and worry a lot. But for people with OCD, research shows that it is especially true! The more we suppress these thoughts, the more we want to act harshly to these thoughts because they are just not acceptable. An example would be, avoiding the night life area because you’re afraid of the drunken violence, calling your boyfriend or parents all the time in case something might happen to them, their safety. It can also be not going out at night at all because dark things happen all the time at night.
Unwanted harmful thoughts.
Always imagining that you would suddenly make moves on someone next to you, by groping you or molesting them? Sometimes you feel like tripping someone that’s running down the corridor? These are signs that you might have OCD. Most people will just shake it off. “What am I thinking? Nope i won’t do that. No big deal about it.” But for people with OCD, they will think, “I’m terrible. How can I think that way? How can I think of someone like this? Will I really do it?” At the end of the day, they stay away from people altogether.
Seeking Reassurance.
People with OCD always asks others, “Are you sure I did it alright?”, “Did I embarrass myself, what did I do wrong?”, “Do you think people hate me? Do I look bad?”, “Am I fat?”. People with OCD are always asking for the opinions of their friends and family, and they do not just ask once, but many times. They repeat themselves over and over. It’s a sign of OCD. The reassurance you get from your close ones is the compulsion to your obsession.
Worried about Relationships.
People with OCD tend to worry that they have said something wrong to someone, and it might affect their relationship with someone to a great extend where the person does not contact them ever again. For people, it’s normal for people to obsess over a break up, but for people with OCD, the problem gets bigger when their mind picks up all the information and makes it snowball where at the end of the day, they think they are bad people.
Hating on your looks.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a condition related to OCD where people insist that a part of their body is unattractive or abnormal. The obsessive thoughts associated with BDD is similar to OCD. Many people with BDD have symptoms of what OCD have too, where they think that an aspect of their body has got to do with cleanliness. For example, some might think that the pimple they have on their face is because they are not clean enough. People with BDD spend many hours a day looking at the mirror.
What can you do about this?! Speak to someone who you can trust and speak to a professional for some help!
Images credit: google.
outline from health.com 🙂
Cheers!
In the world today, psychiatry has made a lot of improvement from all the scientific researches. People are getting better quickly these days, but due to the advancement in this world today, there are still many others who are not able to recover even with all the great discoveries in terms of cure. People are still far from really understanding how the mind works.
Among many knowledgeable people today, diagnoses made now are not just based on definite scientific research. Sufferers of OCD, you are not just diagnoses walking around. We, sufferers of OCD are way more than that. On the psychological side, we may be ill, but we are really healthy as well.
From all the knowledge the world has about the brain of an OCD sufferer, it still doesn’t give our condition 100% credibility in the diagnoses it holds. Not everyone has the same patterns of the disorder, as nothing is a definite. We should take a look at our mental well-being rather than look rigidly at the circumstances which you find yourselves in have led you to believe.
Self-assuring one self is important. Our mind can work wonders that we are not aware of. I believe that self-improving and some therapy sessions once in a while can help us. It is not easy to recover, but with the love and patience towards ourselves, and from close family and friends, we will be able to perform a miracle.
Doing the same thing everyday, cleaning, washing, thinking all sorts of destructive thoughts can make any normal person go crazy. So, hang in there and persevere. Don’t give up. The problems we face everyday will help us grow and we will be able to fight our own weaknesses and make it into strengths. OCD does not make you what you are; you make what OCD is.
cheers
Jarell
Have you been to find professional help for your condition?
It is proven that early intervention is important, as the earlier OCD is identified and treated, there is a higher and easier chance of recovery. Speak to your GP!
Unfortunately, there are many GPs out there who have limited knowledge about OCD. Hence, OCD-UK came up withe a GP ‘Ice Breaker’ where people can print it off and hand it over to the GP to read. The printout explains what OCD is and the help you will need.
The purpose of this form is to give people with OCD an opening to let their GP know about their condition, and it also serves a purpose which is to use this form to explain clearly to a health professional. It minimises potential risk of misunderstand, and it ensures that they are given the correct tools to help the GPs correctly assess the risk in a person with OCD.
You can download the GP Ice Breaker form here.
For more information, visit http://www.ocduk.org/ffc-advice.
3. Manage your OCD, FACE YOUR FEARS!
Break the vicious cycle! Gradually eliminate the washing, the cleaning, the strategies. Slowly do less of a certain strategy every week. Do it slowly and steady. Also, learn to think about your obsessions in a more balanced way! Take it easy!
p.s I know it’s easier said than done. I myself haven’t got a chance to break away from my unhelpful strategies at all.
Here’s what we need!
ERP = Exposure Response Prevention Therapy!
ERP is a type of cognitive behavioural therapy. It involves treating a person with OCD by making him or her face her fears and refrain from ritualising their obsession (triggers). It is in fact really anxiety-provoking, but it will make the anxiety eventually disappear. An example of how it works is making someone with OCD who has issues with germs, to touch a toilet seat cover, or touching thrash from a dustbin and not allowing them to wash their hands (compulsions, unhelpful strategies).
A way to face your fears is to also use the Obsessive Fear Monitoring Form. List your triggers and rate your level of fear. Use it to monitor your obsessions and it will help you to manage this disorder.
Ways of Prevention
4. Stay Strong
It’s OKAY to talk to someone about your fears and worries! If you are afraid that you will carry out a compulsion, talk to someone, ask the person to accompany you. Talk. Be brave. Tell yourself you want to get better, and smile.
Most importantly, maintain all your progress! Practise makes perfect! Practise and get better 🙂 At the end of the day, others with OCD will rely on you. After hearing your story of recovery, they will be able to find a new hope 🙂
For more detailed information, please visit anxietybc.com
Cheers!
How do you manage your OCD at home?
credit: instagram @branypoo
OCD is a much more than cleaning, and liking things to be straight. It consists of so many other kinds of variations of the disorder and are closely linked with other disorders such as depression too. It can cause intrusive harmful thoughts where you can even envision harmful things happening to those you love, it can also be linked with fears that can make you catastrophic, worrying that you harmed someone due to your actions and you will just keep worrying about it, over and over and over again. It’s a vicious cycle and here are some things you need to know so that you can help yourself!
1. What is Anxiety?
According to Google, here’s the meaning of Anxiety.
Fact 1: Anxiety is an adaptive system in the body that lets us when we are coming into danger. Therefore, while you deal with Anxiety, you should find a way around managing it, and not a way to eliminate it.
Fact 2: Anxiety becomes a problem to us when our body tells us that we are coming into danger, but in actual fact, there is no real danger at all.
It is important to know the real meaning of anxiety and to what extent is it okay to have anxiety or not, because when you know what anxiety really means, only then you can work on it and get around managing your anxiety.
The next step is recognising that THIS anxiety, is in fact OCD.
2. What is it about OCD?
People with OCD tend to give unhelpful meanings and strategies to control obsessions.
What are unwanted thoughts? Doesn’t everyone have them from time to time?That’s true. It’s normal for everyone to have unwanted thoughts from time to time. Good thoughts doesn’t mean things will go smoothly, bad thoughts does not make you a bad person. So, what differentiates someone from having OCD or not is how they give a thought a certain interpretation or meaning.
If I were to tell myself this when I see someone running down a hallway, “I want to make this guy trip.” But then you think to yourself again and say, “No way I’m going to do that, it’s bad, I’ll not do it. No big deal, just a random thought.” With thoughts like these, you most probably won’t develop OCD.
But.. if you were to think like this, “Omg, I’m a horrible person, I’m dangerous. How can I possibly thing that way?”, then your chances of having OCD increases. This is so as your interpretation of your first thought, makes you think more in your second thought, and the thoughts can go on and on.
Next. You would want to get rid of all these unwanted thoughts! But some unhelpful strategies might make you fall deeper into making your OCD worse!
If you read my previous post, you will know about my OCD cycle.
I think of a dog pooping in the park. Someone picks up the poop. Someone sits at that same spot on the grass where the dog poop. He goes and take a bus and takes a seat. He gets off, and I sit on that seat. My pants are dirty. There’s dog poop on my pants. I die inside. A lot. And then I wash. Things are clean again. The cycle continues.
cr: anxietybc
So… It’s the OCD Awareness Week from 13 to 19 October 2014! I’m doing my part to promote OCD Awareness Week on Social Media by posting a picture of me with this sign “Are you really ‘soooo OCD’?” to help spread awareness about OCD and related disorders!
OCD is characterized by obessions and compulsions that take up at least an hour day – or usually longer – and cause significant distress.
I’ve OCD, and here’s part of my story. Everyday when I come home into my room from Uni or anywhere else, I’ll immediately change into home clothes. If I do not do that, I’ll not allow myself to sit on the couch or touch anything. I’ll be sure to clean my phone, clean my laptop, clean my earpiece, etc. And then I’ll bathe. And after I bathe, I’ll touch nothing besides the things I’ve already cleaned, and will only sit on my bed, and the only chair that I’ve cleaned in my room.
If I wanted to have a milo, I’d go down to the kitchen and get clean cups and drink the milo without putting the cup down anywhere. And then, before I went back to the room, I’d wash my hands and clean any part of my legs or body that has accidentally touched somewhere in the kitchen.
Ok i’m going on for too long, but the whole point is this. I’ll go crazy if I think about the germs flying everywhere.
When i sit on the bus and see other commuters putting their legs up on the seat opposite them, all I can do is panic, but endure in silence.
TO summarise all of these:
I think of a dog pooping in the park. Someone picks up the poop. Someone sits at that same spot on the grass where the dog poop. He goes and take a bus and takes a seat. He gets off, and I sit on that seat. My pants are dirty. There’s dog poop on my pants. I die inside. A lot. And then I wash. Things are clean again.
The cycle continues.
As i’m typing this right now, my head actually hurts so bad and I just want to delete everything that I’ve just typed.
A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I hope that this part of my story that I’m writing here can help people know about this disorder and the seriousness of it. It’s not something anyone should make fun of because people are suffering from it, it’s not a laughing matter!
SO I really hopeeeee all of my friends out there will do their part and post a status, something like this “For OCD Awareness Week, I donate my status in support of anyone who has ever battled this disorder. May they find treatment, comfort and hope. Together we can end the stigma around mental illness. Please copy and paste this as your status to promote the International OCD Foundation’s OCD Awareness Week efforts. Learn more at www.iocdf.org. #OCDweek” or post a picture like mine, follow the link to get a sign like that! https://superpowerocd.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/do-your-part-and-raise-awareness-for-ocd/
Help spread awareness for OCD! Thank you.
Cheers!
Jarell
Do you happen to fall in this category?
You’re aware of OCD and you really want to raise awareness for the people who are suffering from it, but you have no idea how to go about doing it.
I hope you fall in this one and only category, because here’s an idea for how you can go about and raise awareness for OCD! It’s a simple act of raising awareness for those suffering from this disorder.
Show your support for the OCD Week starting today, 13 October to 19 October 2014!
Choose from either one of the signs.
1. “Are you really ‘soooo’ OCD?”
or
2. “I’m supporting OCD Awareness Week” sign!
Print it out, take a picture with it, and post it onto all your social media platforms to show your support for the OCD Awareness Week!
Or, you could just open it up on your laptop or iPad and just take a picture with it to show your support!
OR.. Even simplier, You can just post a picture of either one of these pictures onto the various social media platforms to let others know about it, and to, of course, show your support as well!
Even posting these few words “I’m supporting the OCD Awareness Week” will count and make a difference!
What will you get out of this?
You won’t be getting any prizes or winning any competitions, but at the end of the day, knowing that your help can make someone out there smile will make you feel complete inside. It’s as if you’ve won the title of being the nicest person on Earth!
Download the “Are you really ‘soooo’ OCD?” Sign today!
Downloadd the “I’m supporting OCD Awareness Week” sign here!
Thanks in advance for the support!
REFER TO THIS POST FOR THE FACEBOOK DONATION STATUS!
https://superpowerocd.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/international-ocd-week/
For more information, visit http://iocdf.org/programs/ocdweek/2014-signs/.
Cheers!
-Jarell
My Super Power? OCD 