OCD

[mumofthreesmallmen3]

Hi everyone, Ive been in therapy recently abd possibly have some form of OCD, not in the form of cleaning although it can be at times,more obsessive interest or thought that I will be really into,can be pretty much anything, then it will be dropped for the next new interest/thing. They all really vary and there's no pattern, normally is something sparked off by something I may of read/seen. I also have systems in my mind that involve counting certain letters to make 21, I do this when stressed since a very early age and it's something I do really normally now and don't particularly notice I'm doing it,so I seem aloof and uninterested as I'm obviously in my head doing my counting of only certain letters that count. Anyone with experience of OCD or other things too could you let me know your experiences and if it does sound like it as I don't know personally much about it or if what I do is normal or a sign of disordered thinking of some kind? I take obsessive interests in things but never for long,they normally change regularly, I also have quite bad anxiety and have panic attacks sometimes. Is it just anxiety or something more
Thanks :)

Have you ever wondered about a neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism? What was the outcome of the therapy input?

Yeah it was mentioned too, I need to look into them all more as I don't know lots about them, thanks for replying

My interests are intense for when they last, then change again, so I'll be interested in one thing for example, soebd a couple of weeks obsessed about it and read everything about it etc and then it can change again, have periods where it is cleaning too and weeks where I absolutely need to get everything done,then change again, to maybe diet, an interest, anything really. And I have the symptoms for coping if I feel overwhelmed or stressed,like mind games things that keep my mind occupied but it's affecting my life because Im not concentrating as much as I should as I'm doing these routines in my head,but these started around age 5. Im 32 now and it's all just starting to surface and become a problem now, I'm quite introverted and anxious about things

What happens if you don't do things a certain way or a certain number of times? What is the anxious thought? Are you worried something bad will happen to you if you don't do it for example? And how much is it interfering with your daily functioning other than lack of concentration?

Nothing happens if I don't,I just become more anxious, distraction technique? It's not compulsions etc as if I have to do them ,it's more routine and interests that take a lot but don't last forever with huge anxiety, I ordered a chewlery to hopefully save my nails

I don't know what is making me anxious actually, I think probably everything really, I'm not very good at social I'm quite awkward and absolutely hate that,I'm introverted and it's not the norm for my family/friends, I find it exhausting and always have,I made up my counting in childhood and still go back to it without thinking now