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The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Support and Discussion Thread

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Reply 780
Original post by ViceVersa
Thank you! :biggrin: and surprisingly not, though there were the odd days when it was quite bad :erm:

and THANK YOUUUU!!! :biggrin: and thanks, I am kind of proud of myself :blush: awww thanks again :colondollar:

Oh hun :frown: :console: Has it become better since you posted this? :console:

Boyfriend and I are on a break :frown: feeling really **** :frown:


aww lovely.. that's really crappy. im so sick of life, why cant you catch a break for once?! when you get good news, it's always followed by bad news! :frown: big hugs to you :hugs: make sure you look after yourself, and try to see friends as much as possible to help with the loneliness and sadness. and keep lovely barts in mind! uni is wonderful, hard work but wonderful. so at least you've got something good coming up..eventually, once life has thrown a whole load of crap at you! :pinch:

im doing better... think im going through the "calm" phase truly now. have shiny new false lashes too and they totally hide the damage and look like my own lashes. so that helps.

working lots helps i think. helps detract from general stress and rubbishness too. although retail work destroys both the soul and mind a little more each day, my brain is mush recently. but then i dont like thinking about how crappy things are... so i keep stopping my brain from thinking too much... ugh crappy cycle of crap.

miserable post... end on a positive... my eyebrows look more normal than they've looked in ages! hahah. small woop :tongue:
Reply 781
Original post by popple7
aww lovely.. that's really crappy. im so sick of life, why cant you catch a break for once?! when you get good news, it's always followed by bad news! :frown: big hugs to you :hugs: make sure you look after yourself, and try to see friends as much as possible to help with the loneliness and sadness. and keep lovely barts in mind! uni is wonderful, hard work but wonderful. so at least you've got something good coming up..eventually, once life has thrown a whole load of crap at you! :pinch:

im doing better... think im going through the "calm" phase truly now. have shiny new false lashes too and they totally hide the damage and look like my own lashes. so that helps.

working lots helps i think. helps detract from general stress and rubbishness too. although retail work destroys both the soul and mind a little more each day, my brain is mush recently. but then i dont like thinking about how crappy things are... so i keep stopping my brain from thinking too much... ugh crappy cycle of crap.

miserable post... end on a positive... my eyebrows look more normal than they've looked in ages! hahah. small woop :tongue:


Thank you :hugs: Sory this is late I've had some really bad days after the breakup :frown: Thanks though :hugs: I tried but failed to look after myself much, got really drunk, SH a little, didn't eat, not socialised, not worked :sadnod: But I'm going to try and pick myself up now, going to do some chem tonight and go library or something tomorrow, and yeah try to keep barts in mind :erm: You're so lovely and sweet thanks :heart:

That's good you're doing better! Well done for your new lashes! :gah:

YAY for eyebrows! :gah:






Ahh with the down-ness of these few days comes my OCD worsening, just fun! :sigh:
Reply 782
Entered myself into the cooking and baking competition to take my mind off things! :colondollar: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1952472&page=6&p=36962121#post36962121 Took so long to make cossa OCD tendencies, but at least I was distracted!
Reply 783
Original post by ViceVersa
Thank you :hugs: Sory this is late I've had some really bad days after the breakup :frown: Thanks though :hugs: I tried but failed to look after myself much, got really drunk, SH a little, didn't eat, not socialised, not worked :sadnod: But I'm going to try and pick myself up now, going to do some chem tonight and go library or something tomorrow, and yeah try to keep barts in mind :erm: You're so lovely and sweet thanks :heart:

That's good you're doing better! Well done for your new lashes! :gah:

YAY for eyebrows! :gah:

Ahh with the down-ness of these few days comes my OCD worsening, just fun! :sigh:

Entered myself into the cooking and baking competition to take my mind off things! :colondollar: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1952472&page=6&p=36962121#post36962121 Took so long to make cossa OCD tendencies, but at least I was distracted!


aww im sorry you've had a bad time of it. it's perfectly normal to react to a break up like that though, so dont be too hard on yourself :hugs: really try to force yourself to see friends and do little things to make you feel happy (bubble baths, watching cheesy movies, shopping, etc.)... distractions are a good way to numb the pain a bit. and baking! lots more baking! your cake is the best thing ive ever seen! you're so creative and talented, wowzer! tried to rep it but apparently i need to rep others before i can rep you again. stupid tsr! good luck with the comp, hope you win!

hows the work going? did you manage to get some done since you posted? again, dont be too hard on yourself... it's been such a tough couple of months! and you've coped better than most of us would, and then some (getting offers from two top med schools.. proof of your awesomeness!). and hope OCD has calmed down a bit since you last posted too!

im doing well with trich, no pulling for days now. wooop! bit scared of my lashes growing back fully, they are fairly "normal" at the mo but once they have grown back totally... i reckon ill start pulling again. this always happens... i stop, then when it's grown back, i slowly start again until i go mental and pull lots.

but im fine for now so i wont worry about that. still not sorted out my social life/hobbies, like we talked about. been doing lots of overtime at work, six days this week :s-smilie: but hopefully on my day off on sunday ill get round to making plans and setting some short and longer term goals. even though the thought of it makes me stop breathing and want to vomit a bit. it's hard and massively scary to pull yourself out of such an almighty rut!
Reply 784
Original post by popple7
aww im sorry you've had a bad time of it. it's perfectly normal to react to a break up like that though, so dont be too hard on yourself :hugs: really try to force yourself to see friends and do little things to make you feel happy (bubble baths, watching cheesy movies, shopping, etc.)... distractions are a good way to numb the pain a bit. and baking! lots more baking! your cake is the best thing ive ever seen! you're so creative and talented, wowzer! tried to rep it but apparently i need to rep others before i can rep you again. stupid tsr! good luck with the comp, hope you win!

hows the work going? did you manage to get some done since you posted? again, dont be too hard on yourself... it's been such a tough couple of months! and you've coped better than most of us would, and then some (getting offers from two top med schools.. proof of your awesomeness!). and hope OCD has calmed down a bit since you last posted too!

im doing well with trich, no pulling for days now. wooop! bit scared of my lashes growing back fully, they are fairly "normal" at the mo but once they have grown back totally... i reckon ill start pulling again. this always happens... i stop, then when it's grown back, i slowly start again until i go mental and pull lots.

but im fine for now so i wont worry about that. still not sorted out my social life/hobbies, like we talked about. been doing lots of overtime at work, six days this week :s-smilie: but hopefully on my day off on sunday ill get round to making plans and setting some short and longer term goals. even though the thought of it makes me stop breathing and want to vomit a bit. it's hard and massively scary to pull yourself out of such an almighty rut!


Thank you :hugs: Sorry this is so late...had a really hard week that consisted of an overdose :sigh: thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you liked my cake :hugs:

Sigh, I just hate everything at the moment :sigh: I hope things improve though :sadnod:

I'm really glad your trich had calmed down a but, that's great! :smile:
I saw the posts on here about Trichotillomania, and I'd love to talk to some of you people because I have it too!

I honestly can't remember a time when I haven't pulled. At a guess I'd say I started when I was around 6 or 7 years old, and I'm now 19. I mainly pull from my eyelashes, but recently I've started pulling from my eyebrows and arms too and picking at my skin in places as well. I went to the doctors about it a couple of weeks ago and they said they were going to refer me to a counsellor and they'd be in touch soon, I really hope so.

I can't pinpoint what causes me to pull, probably stress. My self confidence is pretty low and I get anxious alot too. I find that if I'm just sitting at home or at my desk working then I want to pull, which is really frustrating when I am trying to get coursework done. I've tried many things to try and stop, and they work for awhile but then I'll have a lapse and pull again and I'm back to square one and I hate myself for it. It helps to keep my hands busy, I've started wearing rings which I fiddle with and this is kinda weird but I sometimes carry a small doll around with me and when I get the urge to pull I comb her hair instead. That works quite well, I guess because it's still playing with hair? I look a bit insane though xD

I also love reading and writing, only when I do things like that I want to pull. I hate being afraid to write because of worrying about pulling. In September I'm going to study Creative Writing at uni, and I'm scared that my Trich is going to get worse when I get there.
Reply 786
Original post by ViceVersa
Thank you :hugs: Sorry this is so late...had a really hard week that consisted of an overdose :sigh: thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you liked my cake :hugs:

Sigh, I just hate everything at the moment :sigh: I hope things improve though :sadnod:

I'm really glad your trich had calmed down a but, that's great! :smile:


argh i didnt realise you had replied to me... sorry for not getting back to you sooner. aww hun, im so sorry it's been such a difficult week again :frown: :hugs: :hugs: have you been to your doc? maybe changing your meds would help? are you getting enough support from counsellors/etc?

i had CBT last summer... one of the techniques she taught me was to make daily care diaries. so make little goals of things you want to achieve in a day, break it ALL down... even things like "brush teeth, have a shower, make lunch". and put larger goals in there too. it's hard to want to do anything when you feel so down, but this can help give you a bit of get up and go and feel like you have a bit of purpose.

also, make time in your day for enjoying things. my therapist said that "watching telly" and doing things purely for pleasure is just as important as things like "do coursework" etc. if you make daily plans and include little pleasurable things like baking or seeing friends... it might give you a little bit of happiness back.

massive hugs and love to you. no more overdoses or feeling at the point of no return? message me, or message a friend if you feel that way again!

Original post by amy_celestia
I saw the posts on here about Trichotillomania, and I'd love to talk to some of you people because I have it too!

I honestly can't remember a time when I haven't pulled. At a guess I'd say I started when I was around 6 or 7 years old, and I'm now 19. I mainly pull from my eyelashes, but recently I've started pulling from my eyebrows and arms too and picking at my skin in places as well. I went to the doctors about it a couple of weeks ago and they said they were going to refer me to a counsellor and they'd be in touch soon, I really hope so.

I can't pinpoint what causes me to pull, probably stress. My self confidence is pretty low and I get anxious alot too. I find that if I'm just sitting at home or at my desk working then I want to pull, which is really frustrating when I am trying to get coursework done. I've tried many things to try and stop, and they work for awhile but then I'll have a lapse and pull again and I'm back to square one and I hate myself for it. It helps to keep my hands busy, I've started wearing rings which I fiddle with and this is kinda weird but I sometimes carry a small doll around with me and when I get the urge to pull I comb her hair instead. That works quite well, I guess because it's still playing with hair? I look a bit insane though xD

I also love reading and writing, only when I do things like that I want to pull. I hate being afraid to write because of worrying about pulling. In September I'm going to study Creative Writing at uni, and I'm scared that my Trich is going to get worse when I get there.


hello! again sorry for not replying sooner.. i dont get on here so much these days! but it's great to meet another trichster, especially a fellow lash/brow puller! how do you manage to hide the bald patches? fingers crossed about your counselling! i hope they get in touch soon, NHS waiting lists can be so frustrating though.

yeah, as mad as it may feel... i imagine the doll thing would really help with the urges. i dont have anything physical i can use to stop the urges... i really want some coloured threads so i can make friendship bracelets, it's a genius idea: keep my hands busy AND make jewellery! but keep forgetting to get some.

why dont you try holding your doll whilst you write? or try holding other things? or even, wear gloves. try lots of things to see if it helps with the urges. it's a shame to stop doing something you love just because of trich! i understand your anxiety over it though. it's so frustrating!

keep posting though, talking about trich can sometimes help with the urges or at least, it's nice to chat to people that understand and arent judgemental :smile:

ooh btw to everyone that follows this thread. im seriously thinking of telling my mate about my trich. i really feel that if i tell someone IRL (apart from my mum), it might help it feel like less of a horrible secret and make me feel slightly less mental. idk though, it all depends on if the moment arises! we'll see. ill keep you updated if i do!
Dermatophagia. Really annoying and quite embarassing at times.
Reply 788
Hey guys,

I'm new to the thread and I think I may have OCD. I have more of the obsession side though, than the compulsion side.

Last weekend I started getting some intrusive thoughts that really scared me and I even started to consider suicide as a way to escape what I thought I was. After a few days of turmoil, I realised how irrational the thoughts had been and I am starting to learn how to deal with them. In the past I have had other intrusive thoughts that have made me really worried so I think I may go and see a GP next week when I am back at uni.

Some other intrusive thoughts I've had in the past are as follows. After I found out that my friend self-harmed, I've had periods where I've been really worried I'm going to self-harm even though I have never wanted to and the thought kept on returning to my head. Also, I watched a documentary about a boy who developed schizophrenia when he was 19 and similar worry filled me and I couldn't stop thinking that the same thing would happen to me.

I have found that using mental relaxation techniques has been quite useful and I went to a meditation class yesterday. I have also been playing a lot of relaxing music from youtube.

I also found this quote which is really useful. It is something you should say to yourself when you have an intrusive though "“Well that thought/fear is a possibility, but it is very remote and I am not going to worry about that right now. Today I am trusting that all is well.”

Also, I found that imagining the thoughts as cartoons can help to stop the strong emotional response to them. I read that on a couple of websites (I also used it to get over a traumatic event that happened to me last year)

On the compulsion side I am effected less. I think I have one (but it is a bit private) and also when I do the laundry, I stack all of the clothes by colour and then wash the biggest pile and I have to have all the clothes folded in a certain way and I restack them in the laundry basket from smallest to largest (other rules are also involved but they are rather confusing :P)

Earlier today I had an incident where an intrusive thought got in my head and suddenly my whole body tensed up. I have never reacted that way to one of the thoughts before. I know that this is only minor compared to what some people have but it worried me at the time. Luckily I was able to calm myself down before it got worse.


There we go, that's a brief summary of what I am going through. It's slightly poorly written but I am kinda tired :P
hello! again sorry for not replying sooner.. i dont get on here so much these days! but it's great to meet another trichster, especially a fellow lash/brow puller! how do you manage to hide the bald patches? fingers crossed about your counselling! i hope they get in touch soon, NHS waiting lists can be so frustrating though.

yeah, as mad as it may feel... i imagine the doll thing would really help with the urges. i dont have anything physical i can use to stop the urges... i really want some coloured threads so i can make friendship bracelets, it's a genius idea: keep my hands busy AND make jewellery! but keep forgetting to get some.

why dont you try holding your doll whilst you write? or try holding other things? or even, wear gloves. try lots of things to see if it helps with the urges. it's a shame to stop doing something you love just because of trich! i understand your anxiety over it though. it's so frustrating!

keep posting though, talking about trich can sometimes help with the urges or at least, it's nice to chat to people that understand and arent judgemental :smile:

ooh btw to everyone that follows this thread. im seriously thinking of telling my mate about my trich. i really feel that if i tell someone IRL (apart from my mum), it might help it feel like less of a horrible secret and make me feel slightly less mental. idk though, it all depends on if the moment arises! we'll see. ill keep you updated if i do!


That's ok, I haven't been online much myself! Revision is killing me -.-

Honestly, not very well. My eyebrows aren't too bad, I seem to hold off from attacking them too much but my eyelashes look terrible. Mostly I just keep my hair down and hide behind it, and keep my fringe over my eyes. People have told me I don't make eye contact when I talk to them either.

Yea it's been a few weeks now, I may go back and ask for an update if I don't hear anything soon.

Making bracelets is a great idea! And then when you've made them you can wear them and play with them like I do my rings :smile: I started cross stitching too, that's good for keeping your hands busy.

I've tried wearing gloves, but they make it a bit awkward to hold a pen or type :frown: It really is frustrating.

I agree! Talking helps so much. I've told a few of my close friends, and after each person I told I felt a bit stronger, like I was making positive steps to beating Trich. My friends are really supportive too and tell me off for pulling and let me rant to them when I get anxious.

I think you should tell your mate, if you think they're a true friend and will understand. They may be able to help you like my mine have, and you will feel so much better for having told someone, it feels like such an achievement! And the secret thing as well, Trich doesn't have to be something you hide. It's just part of who we are, albeit a pretty bad part, but there's no shame in admitting it to someone you trust. Let me know how it goes, I hope thins work out for you! :smile:
Reply 790
Don't know if this is OCD, but MOSTLY every time I climb stairs. I count them!

No Problems. Just wanted to share :biggrin: :smile:
I dont know if this is OCD, but i find it necessary to fart in awkward silences. I always make sure I do. It's getting on my nerves a bit now.
I've ended up counting pavement squares again and also make sure not to step on cracks.. arrgh. :/...
Reply 793
Original post by amy_celestia
That's ok, I haven't been online much myself! Revision is killing me -.-

Honestly, not very well. My eyebrows aren't too bad, I seem to hold off from attacking them too much but my eyelashes look terrible. Mostly I just keep my hair down and hide behind it, and keep my fringe over my eyes. People have told me I don't make eye contact when I talk to them either.

Yea it's been a few weeks now, I may go back and ask for an update if I don't hear anything soon.

Making bracelets is a great idea! And then when you've made them you can wear them and play with them like I do my rings :smile: I started cross stitching too, that's good for keeping your hands busy.

I've tried wearing gloves, but they make it a bit awkward to hold a pen or type :frown: It really is frustrating.

I agree! Talking helps so much. I've told a few of my close friends, and after each person I told I felt a bit stronger, like I was making positive steps to beating Trich. My friends are really supportive too and tell me off for pulling and let me rant to them when I get anxious.

I think you should tell your mate, if you think they're a true friend and will understand. They may be able to help you like my mine have, and you will feel so much better for having told someone, it feels like such an achievement! And the secret thing as well, Trich doesn't have to be something you hide. It's just part of who we are, albeit a pretty bad part, but there's no shame in admitting it to someone you trust. Let me know how it goes, I hope thins work out for you! :smile:


aww my lashes arent great either... they arent as bad as they can be! but there are little gaps. my left eye is growing back quite well though! but i pulled from my right eye 2 nights ago... and i remember how amazingly good the last lash i pulled felt. do you enjoy the physical sensation too? it's so disgustingly satisfying. trying to keep in mind my beautiful natural lashes, in the hope it deters me from having another slip up.

i recommend false lashes! particularly these ones (in black).. i trim the length down, then i cut them into sections to fill the gaps in my lashes. looks really natural! and if you apply them right, you cant even feel them on. plus eyeliner is a quick and easy way to disguise bald eyes. i dont know if you're into makeup or not? it helps with my confidence, so i recommend experimenting!

aww it's really great you have told people, you're really inspired me to do the same :smile: i was gonna tell my mate last week but we didnt hang out for long. hopefully will talk to him about it next time we meet! i really think it might help.

a trich website im on says that using handcreams can help too.. or even putting vaseline on your lashes and on your finger tips of your spare pulling hand. ultimately, do everything possible to stop your hand from going near your face. even if you just do it to stroke the hair or to rub your eye, focus on not putting your hand anywhere near your face. it's too tempting otherwise.

and also, another trichster said to me to focus on the POSITIVE rather than the negative when im pulling. focus on happy thoughts and happy goals (my hair looks nice, regrowth is looking good, i havent pulled for days) rather than being frustrated and sad (i cant believe im pulling, i really need to stop, why wont i stop, just one more hair, etc).

im doing fine with it though, well since my last slip up anyhow. making sure i stick to the no-hands-near-face rule :smile:
Reply 794
I think i have OCD i certainly have obsessive thought and rituals.
I have to have everything in order, i know where everything is in my room, I make a plan for my day and stick to it i can' handle it if someone interrupts my plan or moves something in my room.
I have to eat foods a certain way and can't let different foods touch each other for example if i eat a burger i have to eat the burger first then the bottom bun and lastly the top etc.
When talking to someone i'll count in my head numbers that correlate with the letters in the words there saying e.g. if someone said HI i'd imagine a mobile and think of the keys id press to write that HI down i.e. 44
Reply 795
I was diagnosed with OCD ( and a million over things) half way through my first year at Uni. However finding anyone going through anything like me is hard, as my best friend suffers from OCD but not in the same ways I do.

My OCD is very concerned with my health, similarly to some people I check doorhandles ovens straighteners doors etc but my main problem is that I check different parts of my body every hour for changes as I feel like I am ill all of the time.

This got gradually worse over two years, got to the point where I was checking for something every 5 minutes and had no life at all, doctor has put me on meds 2 months ago, and we are starting to notice a difference and I guess its a long road I have to go down.

Anyone have this same experience as me?
Reply 796
Original post by xbubblezx
I was diagnosed with OCD ( and a million over things) half way through my first year at Uni. However finding anyone going through anything like me is hard, as my best friend suffers from OCD but not in the same ways I do.

My OCD is very concerned with my health, similarly to some people I check doorhandles ovens straighteners doors etc but my main problem is that I check different parts of my body every hour for changes as I feel like I am ill all of the time.

This got gradually worse over two years, got to the point where I was checking for something every 5 minutes and had no life at all, doctor has put me on meds 2 months ago, and we are starting to notice a difference and I guess its a long road I have to go down.

Anyone have this same experience as me?


I know exactly how you feel. I am down a long road of medication and CBT but I am slowly starting to get there. I can't use the tap, I have to turn it off with my elbow etc. I am living in closed doors.

Maybe we could chat together if you want to try and keep each other sane, or at least in my case! :wink:
Reply 797
Welcome to all the new people :biggrin:

I have another boyfriend...:blush:

Original post by popple7
argh i didnt realise you had replied to me... sorry for not getting back to you sooner. aww hun, im so sorry it's been such a difficult week again :frown: :hugs: :hugs: have you been to your doc? maybe changing your meds would help? are you getting enough support from counsellors/etc?

i had CBT last summer... one of the techniques she taught me was to make daily care diaries. so make little goals of things you want to achieve in a day, break it ALL down... even things like "brush teeth, have a shower, make lunch". and put larger goals in there too. it's hard to want to do anything when you feel so down, but this can help give you a bit of get up and go and feel like you have a bit of purpose.

also, make time in your day for enjoying things. my therapist said that "watching telly" and doing things purely for pleasure is just as important as things like "do coursework" etc. if you make daily plans and include little pleasurable things like baking or seeing friends... it might give you a little bit of happiness back.

massive hugs and love to you. no more overdoses or feeling at the point of no return? message me, or message a friend if you feel that way again!


same :ashamed2:

I'm being taken off my meds, and I was meant to see a dcotor but things got messed up and didn't end up seeing one. Will try and get another appointment sorted out :sadnod:

That sounds like an idea, I might try it thanks x
Reply 798
Thanks, I'm actually an old user. Remember me, Mr reset guy?
Reply 799
Original post by Alexyy
Thanks, I'm actually an old user. Remember me, Mr reset guy?


Yes. I remember. Are you ok?

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