I Was Diagnosed With OCD -- When I Was 22 Years Old | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

I Was Diagnosed With OCD -- When I Was 22 Years Old

Here's what it's like to learn about a disorder you never knew you had.

225
I Was Diagnosed With OCD -- When I Was 22 Years Old
Mediad

The first memory I have of being this way traced back to when I was around 5 years old and at dinner with my family. The waiter brought the check to the table as we finished our meals, and I reached for the receipt to look and see how much our dinner cost. My grandma took it away and said I didn’t need to look at it. I would scream and fly into a fit of rage over not being able to see the ticket. I did this for years -- until I was a teenager. We couldn't leave a restaurant without me seeing the ticket total.

During middle school, my neurosis switched to food. If anyone touched my food, I wouldn’t eat it. It didn't matter if they accidently touched my plate by reaching across the table for something. If anyone or anything touched it, I refused to eat.

In high school, I was fixated on clocks and mouth sounds. In class. I would keep a headphone in my ear near the clock in the room so I couldn’t hear the ticking. At home, we never had analog clocks because I would hide them in the closets or take their batteries out. I could hear them ticking from anywhere, like a sixth sense. Smacking gum or chewing food too loudly also made my skin crawl. Obviously, it’s impolite and gross, but it makes my whole body shake with rage until I have to just leave the room entirely.

As I get older, this list of ticks, as they call them, continues to grow. I have to face the door at restaurants, I despise any sounds that repeat for minutes at a time, changing plans no matter how far in advance unnerves me, my planner not being marked to the correct page unfuriates me, the list goes on. These things sound so mundane and make it seem like I'm a high-maintenance control freak. But the difference is this: it runs my life. If I don’t face the door of a restaurant, I don’t enjoy the time I’m spending with friends because I’m turning around every five seconds to look. It’s rude to ask people to stop chewing with their mouth open, so I have to just leave them.

Forever I’ve just said, “I’m sorry. It’s just my thing. I have to do it.” But I finally have a way to explain it. I was recently diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. You’re probably thinking, “Nothing you mentioned has anything to do with keeping your room clean and compulsively washing your hands.” And you’re right, but cleanliness isn't the only form of OCD. In reality, we all have a little OCD in some ways. Everyone likes things a certain way. But the difference between having a preference and obsessing over it is that a person with OCD drives themselves crazy until the issue is fixed. Their days are run by obsessing over these things and not being able to move on with life until they’re addressed.

Since discovering I do actually have OCD, I’ve become hyper-aware of my habits. There are things I never realized I’ve always done but can't not do. It’s almost annoying to think that I have to do certain things without a real reason as to why. I’m slowly trying to be more conscious of what is necessary and what’s obsessive. It’s difficult for me to understand my own mind, but it's a relief to know that there is finally a reason why I am the way I am.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
student sleep
Huffington Post

I think the hardest thing about going away to college is figuring out how to become an adult. Leaving a household where your parents took care of literally everything (thanks, Mom!) and suddenly becoming your own boss is overwhelming. I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of being a grown-up, but once in awhile I do something that really makes me feel like I'm #adulting. Twenty-somethings know what I'm talking about.

Keep Reading...Show less
school
blogspot

I went to a small high school, like 120-people-in-my-graduating-class small. It definitely had some good and some bad, and if you also went to a small high school, I’m sure you’ll relate to the things that I went through.

1. If something happens, everyone knows about it

Who hooked up with whom at the party? Yeah, heard about that an hour after it happened. You failed a test? Sorry, saw on Twitter last period. Facebook fight or, God forbid, real fight? It was on half the class’ Snapchat story half an hour ago. No matter what you do, someone will know about it.

Keep Reading...Show less
Chandler Bing

I'm assuming that we've all heard of the hit 90's TV series, Friends, right? Who hasn't? Admittedly, I had pretty low expectations when I first started binge watching the show on Netflix, but I quickly became addicted.

Without a doubt, Chandler Bing is the most relatable character, and there isn't an episode where I don't find myself thinking, Yup, Iam definitely the Chandler of my friend group.

Keep Reading...Show less
eye roll

Working with the public can be a job, in and of itself. Some people are just plain rude for no reason. But regardless of how your day is going, always having to be in the best of moods, or at least act like it... right?

1. When a customer wants to return a product, hands you the receipt, where is printed "ALL SALES ARE FINAL" in all caps.

2. Just because you might be having a bad day, and you're in a crappy mood, doesn't make it okay for you to yell at me or be rude to me. I'm a person with feelings, just like you.

3. People refusing to be put on hold when a customer is standing right in front of you. Oh, how I wish I could just hang up on you!

Keep Reading...Show less
blair waldorf
Hercampus.com

RBF, or resting b*tch face, is a serious condition that many people suffer from worldwide. Suffers are often bombarded with daily questions such as "Are you OK?" and "Why are you so mad?" If you have RBF, you've probably had numerous people tell you to "just smile!"

While this question trend can get annoying, there are a couple of pros to having RBF.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments