How to identify OCD thoughts?

[spudlet7]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can provide some insight into ocd. I'm not officially diagnosed but it's fairly obvious to me (and anyone who knows me) that I have it lol.

Mine is Mostly based around germs and contamination, which can revolve around anything from anxiety around how well meat is cooked to having to wash my hands multiple times.

I'm seeing someone who I'm hoping will help with coping techniques, e.g. mindfulness. But my question is, even if I am semi-competent at dealing with an ocd thought, how do I identify it as such?

For example, I'm at a restaurant and eating chicken breast. I'm almost always concerned it's not cooked and I do a lot of examining to check during eating. Now, I'm aware at the time that I have ocd around this BUT even people with ocd can be given undercooked chicken now and then lol. So if I think it's pink (and I do around 50% of the time, yet I've never had food-poisoning), how can I tell that it's my ocd and not actually pink?

That's just an example btw, could apply this to plenty of scenarios! Would love to hear others' tips/experiences.

I have OCD and mine is also around germs/contamination. I used to be much the same as you regards food, and you need to break the cycle of reinforcing the thoughts. So using your example, you think the chicken may not be cooked properly, so you check it, it may not be cooked properly, and by checking, that reinforces you to carry on checking, because next time it may not be either, if that makes sense. I’m not great at explaining.
I will use my example. I was obsessive for a while about fleas. I would check, not find any (obviously because we didn’t have them), but because I didn’t find any I would think that I hadn’t checked properly and start again. It even got to the point that I was pulling up my carpets to check underneath
In my case, anti depressants and anti psychotics are managing my OCD at the minute (the flea thing is the tip of the iceberg) and CBT is helping also.
I would reccomend seeing your GP and if possible, avoid eating chicken if you can’t cook it yourself.

Sorry about the length of that reply OP. I didn’t mean to go on!

Thanks @mrsnolasco Yes I see what you mean - the compulsion/action validates the thought, this beginning a vicious cycle. This definitely works for me when I can implement it. It's just that every now and again I find myself questioning whether it's an ocd thought in the first place IYSWIM.

Doctors told me I wasn't bad enough for a referral (having literally no idea of my symptoms). But I'm currently pregnant and the first few months had awful morning sickness which made my depression and anxiety skyrocket. Midwife referred me to MH team who I've just started seeing. I was on sertraline previously for depression/anx but weaned off it at the start of pregnancy.

You sound like you've had it pretty hard. I'm glad you're finding ways to cope. Life's hard enough without shitty mental illness on top 🙄

Oh and you didn't go on at all, appreciate you taking the time

My dd has been evaluated a number of times over the past 3 years. She is only 9, and has hoarding OCD-like behaviours. We were told that unless she says why she hoards (Eg, because if she didn’t keep all her stuff something bad might happen to someone) that they would not diagnose OCD. I’m a bit worried by this as I think she is emotionally delayed (as ASD is a developmental delay condition). In addition, she pulls out her eyelashes, which is often connected with OCF.

Oh that sounds hard @imip Is your daughter being assessed for ASD or just for OCD? It certainly sounds like compulsive behaviour so it's hard to understand their reasoning

Hi I suffer with anxiety and often I'm struggling with what feels like a valid worry but my dp will say 'this is your anxiety'. For example, worrying about how an important meeting will go at work and I'm thinking this is a normal worry, everyone worries about this but he will say it's anxiety. It's breaking out of the reassurance, and in your case, checking spiral. So you check the chicken- it's cooked you eat it without checking again. I tell my dp my concerns, we talk about it and I accept there's no point worrying- it's done. Hope this makes sense and I'm not just going on!

She was diagnosed with ASD 3 years ago, and many times since then had been evaluated. We were always told in the absence of any worry over why she was hoarding, it wouldn’t be ASD. I have 2 dc with ASD and it’s clear this dc is very emotionally delayed. OCD also commonly occurs alongside ASD, and many young children develop it,

Thanks @myusernameisnotmyusername Yes it helps having someone who can identify it and point it out. It works most of the time when my Dh does this. But oh to be able to trust my jen judgement! 

@imip I wasn't aware that once they diagnose ASD that they diagnose other conditions separately. My younger sister has ASD and likely a few other things too that have never been recognised. But then she is 26 now so the process has likely changed quite a lot!