Topic : Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Is going to a shrink the only way to get rid of OCD? I am constantly counting. Ever since I was a little girl, I HAVE to count everything!!! If you see me and I looked "spaced" out....I am counting. It doesn't matter what I count, as long as I am counting. It drives me crazy!

I don't really know if I have OCD about cleaning....I think it is just anal retentive. Before my boyfriend moved in, my room had to be spotless. Everything had to be in place before I went to bed. I would check to see if my door was locked like 5 times. Looking wasn't good enough, I would have to get up and go check. But I have calmed down on that since my boyfriend moved in. I don't know how to say this nicely, but my boyfriend is a complete slob! I finally gave up on cleaning and clean every saturday or sunday......but I am starting to notice that I have a lot of anger pent up inside because I want the room clean. I use to nag him till his ear fell off. He finally had enough and threatened to leave if I didn't stop. So I stopped.....but now I am always angry. He doesn't know this though. So now I get pissed over stupid things because I am really angry about the room. I don't know.

I don't have money to see a shrink. Any suggestions? Is this OCD?

I am diagnosed BIPOLAR and panic/anxiety disorder, but I swear I am developing a very irritating case of OCD.

Just for example, if I buy a pack of 10 pens and can only find 9, I go nutsoid trying to find that 1 pen and will worry about it for days with irrational fears such as What if my 3 y-o daughter found it when I wasn't looking and poked her eye out ? (She doesn't live with me and I fear ANYTHING happening for fear of retaliation from her father and my own deep personal guilt.)

Just today, I smoke and shouldn't and I am trying hard to quit, I lost one of two lighters and if I could hire a swat team to find that one d**n lighter I would. That is how irritating it is to me.

Am I the worst of OCD sufferers ? I sure do feel like it.

I have been having issues with my mental illness and I was just put on Risperdal and a very small dose of Xanax each day. This was prescribed through the ER and not with a psych doctor.

I have made an appointment with a mental health clinic and I will mention this to  them.

Things have been rocky in my household for some time. My husband and I are fighting and it mainly deals with the fact that he won't admit that he has OCD tendencies (ie the handwashing, cleaning, arranging things just so, counting the number of times that he rubs lotion onto each ear, and a ton more). These problems have become very hard for me to ignore and I am tired of running around doing things for him because he just can't handle it or I just can't handle him constantly asking me to check things (his hands, feet, clothes, etc) over to make sure they are ok (10 times). It makes me feel like I am an enabler, a role that I don't want. When I do say no, he tells me I am not being nice to him and cops an attitude. The more stress he is under, the worse this all gets. He snaps when the children (ages 3 and 1) don't clean up every few minutes while playing with their toys or they don't arrange things in an order that suits him. I have also noticed that my son (3 years old) is picking up on my husband's "habits" and I am very concerned about this and wonder if my daughter will be next. My questions are how much of OCD is habit that can be unlearned and how much is not. I am tired of this problem controlling our family. If he continues to ignore the issues, this constant strain is going to cause our family to split. Can anyone suggest anything to help me cope with this problem and suggestions for help for him? I just don't want my children to grow up in this unhealthy environment and hate me later on for not trying to do something about it.