- Date posted
- 13w
Childhood OCD
Since when do you believe you have OCD? Anyone who would like to share what were the indications/symptoms in childhood?
Since when do you believe you have OCD? Anyone who would like to share what were the indications/symptoms in childhood?
There were many signs of OCD in my childhood, that funnily enough, I didn’t realize were OCD until later: - I remember thinking I was responsible for the death of a famous actor, because the day before I watched a movie that he was in, therefore “jinxing him” in some way - if I didn’t pray until it felt “right” then my current intrusive thought would come true and it would be my fault - I couldn’t breathe in the same room as someone who was sick, because I thought if I did, the sickness would be “inside of me” - I had to play with each of my dolls in turn for equal amounts of time, otherwise they would get mad and come for me lmao
Me: during childhood I had nothing special, all kids do silly stuff sometimes. Also me: I had a special number that I considered to be right. I scratched my head till I bled At age 10 I tried to memorize all my symptoms/moment/ life to share with a psychiatrist when I grew older but I shouldn't list or write them because it would turn real. I had intrusive nsf images. I swallowed my saliva to get rid of a bad thought so it does not turn real.
i remember being in 4th grade taking a test and thinking a bad thought and out loud saying "shush" and "stop" to stop thinking it. i was scared that people could read my mind and knew what the bad thought was. as an even younger kid, though, my excitement for christmas was replaced by the fear that santa was going to give me coal. i was also raised christian, but whenever i had a problem that most people would pray for help for, i avoided praying because i was afraid that if i let god know about the problem he would make it worse because he hated me.
11 after my mom got sick I thought all sickness where bad so I would pray continually or do what I believe where compulsions but it stopped and came back during Covid and now it turned into harm ocd which feels like a deeper root that probably started from living in abusive household thank you for letting me share
When I was 6, I took all the scissors from around my house and hid them in case anyone tried to come in our house and hurt us.
I was scared to wear Halloween mask for too long because of every horror film my uncle showed me the killer always had a mask on. I thought if I wore a mask too long something would mentally snap in me and I’d hurt my family. I had a toy sword that I swung around when I played and you know that sound it makes when you swing something through the air hard enough? Well as time went on and that air swooshing sound got louder I was scared I was “becoming too strong” and that I wouldn’t be able to be contained if I went crazy. This is all going on in my head at the age of 8-10 and I’m 25 now.
After some trauma is when my onset for OCD was. Also my cousins tortured me with the "fly touch" where they would touch dead flies and then touch me. It was hell. My main theme as a kid was contamination. Took me 12 years to get treatment, 8ish years to get a diagnosis.
My earliest memory of obsessions and compulsions were genuinely before I even started kindergarten. I was a 3-5 year old having existential crisis' and suffering with 'just right' and/or symmetry OCD. My parents thought I was just acting out and misbehaving, so I was punished for my compulsions and meltdowns.
@tulip2 I would have intrusive thoughts of my teachers/authority figures naked and cry myself to sleep because I thought I was a pervert. Violent intrusive thoughts about loved ones I also had/have severe Counting theme in my OCD that tethered to my 'just right' and symmetry OCD. I would stand in one spot in public doing my compulsions and my parents would have to snap me out of it. I would sit in class and stare at the clock for entire class periods.
@tulip2 I'm so very sorry for the punishments you suffered. I would also have images of teachers etc. ♥️
@Ocidokie Thank you. Can I ask what grade your intrusive images started? Mine was 3rd grade, I think.
@tulip2 I clearly remember at 9-10y but I remember swallowing to avoid bad things long before
@Ocidokie That's interesting, I used to count things/do things in even numbers to prevent bad things
I wasn’t diagnosed until a year and a half ago, but once I was, everything made sense. My very first obsession/compulsion started in 2nd or 3rd grade. I had a friend tell me if I did something bad, I could ask God for forgiveness and be forgiven. Any thought, words, or actions that I even remotely thought was “bad” I’d repeat under my breath or in my head “God please forgive me” and this stayed throughout childhood, teens, and sometimes even now. It pops up every so often.
Is it common for children with OCD to have intense fears of certain things? For example, I was extremely afraid of tsunamis – I was constantly dreaming about them. Then, I became afraid of ghosts, robbers, war, the possibility that someone close to me might get sick or die, that I might develop a tumor, that our house could catch fire, or that I would grow up to be a drug addict. I even thought about getting a tongue piercing when I was older and was scared of doing that without having control, which now seems kind of funny. There were periods when I had different fears, but I always needed to ask my parents if these things would happen, and they would always reassure me. Although I don’t remember everything clearly, I know that throughout my childhood, I constantly had such fears. I remember ehen something was wrong with me (for example: i had headache) I immediately thought of the worst case scenario and I was extremely anxious. And another thing is that I couldn’t let go of a past as a child (still actually) Now I’m wondering, is this something every child experiences (even those without OCD), or is it more intense for children with OCD?
Last year during April I started to experience groinal responses when I looked at kids. I was terrified of what it could mean and decided to attempt two weeks later. The very next day I had those responses I decided to attempt. I didn’t really have the courage to do so at that time but I started experiencing images about disturbing things done to kids and as days went by it got worse. April 16 was the last straw and I couldn’t take it anymore. I ended up in a mental hospital but before I ended up there I had searched up what I was experiencing. That’s when I started to understand that it was OCD. I felt relieved for a few moments until I felt the urge to get more information. I saw lots and lots of things and many comments saying that it wasn’t normal and that people who went through this were disgusting people who shouldn’t be allowed to roam free. That’s when my anxiety and fear became worse and I tried to get rid of it but nothing worked. I shook the entire time I was awake, I didn’t have motivation for anything anymore, I just felt so disgusting. In the end, I’m so glad I ended up in that mental hospital or else I wouldn’t be here with my friends and family. Thank you for reading my story, I’m so glad that I’m not alone
So basically I didn’t know till my hocd started. But looking back at my life I had ocd since I was a kid. Like 6-7 years old. First time happening I remember that when I was doing stuff many times I had to say something like a little poem in my head to stop it. Then I had this thing were if I felt my left foot touch the floor 5 times I had to do the touch the floor with my right foot too. Then I had something I guess contamination??? Basically after washing my hands I had a sensation on my hand like I could still “feel” the germs and I had to wash them again. Then I started having thoughts of my family members getting hurt. I had intrusive thoughts about me hurting my dog. Then I had this obsession that a guy who used to be in my school is looking for me to beat me up. And how it’s this obsession about my sexuality even tho I never doubted or questioned it before. Is that possible??? Like can you be born with it? I’m pretty sure both my parents have it too. At least at some level. Take my father for example he had an obsession that he was going to die the moment he turned 30.
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