I’m a 35-year-old man and I have OCD

[Neima41]

Hi

I’m a 35-year-old man and I’ve had OCD since I was 16. My main symptoms have been intrusive thoughts and checking. Before I leave my flat, I have to check that the cooker’s off, the windows are shut, the lights are off etc. I have to do it in a certain order, and sometimes when I’m checking, I forget halfway through. I also perform a ritual that is me checking my testicles for lumps, and this ritual actually made me miss an appointment last year.

I also have an intrusive thought that my aunt controls my life, but when I think about things she’s said, there’s no evidence that she controls my life. I recently bought a new phone, and I did something with it, I think it was to do with Google Play Store, and I now have a thought that because my aunt is in my contacts on my phone, she can read messages that other people have sent me. It’s made me cry twice. I’m sad about the fact that I have OCD. Also, I think I could have autism, but that’s a separate problem.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

I’m not sure here is the best place for advice. You should make an appointment with your GP and ask for help.

That all sounds really difficult. Please make a GP appointment. I have OCD and life has improved enormously for me since I saw my GP and accessed therapy.

I’m seeing my GP at the end of the month, and I’ve been having therapy for a number of months now

Sounds very difficult , sorry you are going through that! Is there such a thing as medication for OCD? I would start with that to be honest. I had some episodes of OCD before so I can empathize, its really hard

Bless you, it’s so brave of you entail your struggles as people without this condition really struggle to see how life changing and disruptive the condition is. I struggle with it to varying degrees, it has got much better since taking medication but during my 20s it was debilitating and I lost my career. I hope you’re getting the right support, you’re never alone and people struggle with it to varying degrees more than you think.

I’ve spoken to five people about OCD and all the other things people have, and they all basically told me that OCD and all the other things didn’t exist before the 1960s

I’ve been on medication for OCD since 2010 I think, but I want to come off it one day

Im not sure there's evidence of when ocd began? Im on fluoxitine which is supposed to help ocs, hopefully your GP can prescribed something to help. Wanted to offer my sympathy as I also suffer

Hello. Sorry you have this, I do too. Have you had therapy for it? I paid for a private OCD specific therapist and it has been very life changing for me as she gave me the tools to learn and practice to help me combat the compulsions.

Why do you think mumsnet is the main audience to your concern?

Sorry just seen u are having therapy. Is it with an OCD specialised therapist? There’s a big difference in some generic therapists trying to support those with OCD and therapists who specialise in it.

Maybe he’s looking for advice from others who feel similar?

OP I am a similar age to you and recently realised my anxiety is OCD. I always thought OCD was about being organised and germ phobic etc. I didn’t realise my ‘paranoia’ (as some people would call it) was OCD. I didn’t realise my constant checking, reassurance seeking, Googling etc was a compulsion. It got worse during Covid.

My advice is to self refer to NHS talking therapies (free) specifically for OCD. There are also online OCD support groups like OCD action, which I’ve found helpful as It makes me feel not so alone. During my worst periods I really thought I was crazy and didn’t want to tell anyone how I felt, not even therapists, as I thought I was the only one who thought the way I do.

I would have thought mums and net was a clue and if I was a male with a mental health issue, it wouldn't be my first port of call 🙃

@Spiffingdarling88 there are actually quite a few men on here. There’s also a lot of women without children on here. Hence there being boards for other topics and areas.

I’m not sure if my therapist specialises in OCD actually. I’ve never asked or thought about it until you mentioned it.

I do have a feeling that OCD, autism, Tourette’s and all the others are way more common now. There’s a theory about what causes autism, and OCD is probably caused by stress and trauma.

Apparently a lot of young people have had mental health problems since the 2020/2021 lockdowns