INTP + OCD

[Oculus Sinister]

I have finally solved the mystery of my erratic and compulsive behavior. As a child, I engaged in rituals to rid the fears I had manifested inside of my imagination. After seeing the movie, Arachnophobia, for example I would say three times after each meal, "please god, make the bad things go away, please god make the bad things go away, please god make the bad things go away." Another instance where I used rituals to rid off fear was when my aunt(super-NF, its uncanny) told me that Satan will go away only if ask him to. Every night before bed, every morning, multiple times throughout the day when my imagination took off I would say to myself in my head, "please god, make satan go away, please god, make satan go away." Since these early childhood experiences I have had compulsions, unhealthy obsessions and other behaviors I choose not to disclose. Lately, I have been experiencing a lot of compulsive thoughts due to my insistance on believing that I am ADD/ADHD and my choice to take adderall(amphetamine). Now that I know the source of my problem, I am thrilled beyond belief to know, and now I am going to make the first step in the hope of solving my problem behaviorally instead of using mind-altering medication.

Do or have other INTP's had experiences with OCD like behavior? I realize that this has been discussed previously but I would like to provide a newer post. Here is a description of OCD from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive-compulsive_disorder Note, its important not to mistake OCD for Obessive Compulsive Personality Disorder because they are completely different. Fortunately, I have the more treatable from of OCD; people with OCDPD refuse to believe there is anything wrong with their compulsions and go on believing they are normal while washing their hands 15 times every morning before touching the kitchen door five times, etc. I truly hope noone experiences a severe case of OCD or OCDPD but if anyone here has experienced similar compulsive thoughts, habits, etc. I would be curious to hear about how you cope and or cured your obsessive behaviors. Thank you.

[lbloom]

For some time in college, I just went crazy having to return to check if I had locked my room. It really pissed me off.

I don't have that any more. It just went away.

I'm prone to getting very distracted by a niggling issue till I resolve it. This is sometimes good for research.

[Oculus Sinister]

Here. I found a test. http://www.brainphysics.com/ybocs.php I scored a 20 in the moderate range but definitely held back on a few. My OCD comes and it goes; under severe stress I become very distraught by the odd behavior I participate in. Though, I have certain behaviors I engage in on a daily basis.

[attila_the_hunny]

Washing my hands. Big time. It irritated my grandmother to no end, because I hated getting my hands dirty. Luckily, I am praised for it because I'm in the medical field now.

[INThoughtPolice]

I used to have some pretty serious OCD issues. It ran my life and it was one of the most difficult things for me to overcome. Introspection finally broke the habits/rituals.

[rainfall]

Nope, not really. I switch too fast, I guess...

[Ferrus]

Yes, I have obsessive thinking patterns. Indeed I almost lost my mind once.

[rainfall]

Yes, I have obsessive thinking patterns. Indeed I almost lost my mind once.

Was it like in aviator? A dirty room and milkbottles full of urine lined up against a wall? Spare no detail :)

[Ferrus]

Was it like in aviator? A dirty room and milkbottles full of urine lined up against a wall? Spare no detail :)
No, my physical OCD has been very limited - refusing to eat in dirty houses, use dirty toilets and checking locks (and so on). However my mental OCD pratically crippled me for 2 weeks when I returned (in my mind) to an incident wherein I was almost run over a few years previously. I kept seeing it in my head and started to feel life wasn't worth living, ergo I stayed in bed. It still comes to haunt me occasionally but not to that degree.

[rainfall]

No, my physical OCD has been very limited - refusing to eat in dirty houses, use dirty toilets and checking locks (and so on). However my mental OCD pratically crippled me for 2 weeks when I returned (in my mind) to an incident wherein I was almost run over a few years previously. I kept seeing it in my head and started to feel life wasn't worth living, ergo I stayed in bed. It still comes to haunt me occasionally but not to that degree.

Shit, I know what you mean. Sometimes I go back to remembering something unpleasant and just wanna kick something. Usually I do. I try to block it out as fast as I can, perhaps this is why it keeps coming back.

[cut the grass]

i take ativan for my OCD, and it helps a lot, but only cognitive behavioral therapy will finish you off.