Okay, I was looking up symptoms for OCD the other day, and I am sure I have it, because I have a few symptoms, but one is annoying me greatly:

Almost anywhere I go everyday, I count syllables of what I'm reading, thinking, seeing, hearing, or all. Then, I try and count them and exclude or include words to make them an odd number. I Just can't have even, and it's like my brain is acting of its own accord.


Is there a way I can fix this, because it is really irritating, because I can't watch a movie, read a book or listen to a conversation without moving my finger like I'm playing a piano up and down to count the syllables of what is being said. Also, if this happens to you, tell me how you cope with it.

I don't want to add tou your dilemma so I'll keep this short

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/ob...compulsive.html

Yeah, that's pretty much one of those things you want to ask a doctor about, as no one here is really qualified to diagnose any disorders...

On the bright side, if it is an OCD issue you are dealing with, there are several therapies and techniques that have been developed to deal with it...

Best of luck.

I have to strongly agree. I come from a medical family and have worked quite awhile in the medical field. Even if someone on here had the background, they would stress that you need to go in and meet with a professional.

A good way to determine if this warrants a consultation is if the symptoms you are encountering are so extreme as to be a detriment to your life. To me, that seems to be the case here.

Again, I would not take the advice of anyone on the forum unless it is suggesting that you speak with a professional.

Hope everything works out for you

Yeah, thanks, though I doubt its serious. It's not too extreme, no. I also suffer at the hands of Kanker Sores, which are sores that appear inside your mouth. A doctor told me that's from anxiety also. Which is strange, because I'm really not too nervous most of the time.

The professionals will only give you drugs, so unless you think you need drugs F it, my only advice would be to study poetry.

That might seem un-related and useless, but specifically im talking about the syllable based breakdowns(haiku comes to mind as a good starting point, or heptameter even)

In the least this will give you an awesome feel for speaking rhythms which might possibly distract you from the compulsive urge to force everything into odd numbers, maybe you can teach yourself to also tolerate evens?

I myself have several OCD symptoms, such as arranging random things i see, or the urge to compulsively place chess pieces perfectly in the center of squares and the like, and even bordering your problem i have always counted the sides of 3-d shapes(or points of 2-d shapes) that i see and try to make some sense of it. This has actually led me to a startling conclusion about geometry itself, but i wont go into that right now.

For whatever reason your mind is driven to categorize all sensory input into an abstract pattern, this is not necessarily a bad thing because really your not trying to fit everything into "your" worldview(and lose all discernible perspective), your just trying to find that pattern that already exists, and i assure you it is there. It is there because beyond what we perceive as "thought" or physical objects is some weird formless "force" that is ever present and ever evasive. Im reluctant to call it an "entity" as that denotes the idea of god, though divinity itself is not bad, i hate organized religion with a vengeance.

As an example of this what does the word "realize" mean? it means to understand something right? Did this "force" intend that "realize" sounds exactly like "real eyes"?
Did this same force intend that the word "see" to sound like "sea"?

It is "waves" of light that pass through the eyes and into the mind to be deciphered, by a stream of conscious thought no less.

I can only say that of all the problems i have ever had, music is the only thing that has kept me alive, if you don't already play you should consider it.

hi
I am obsessive-compulsive and I am pretty much used to it. I have had my whole life to get used to it because my parents recognized it when I was very young. I no longer fight it, but instead roll with it until it passes and then I move on. I too started using my fingers like playing piano keys to count vowels, nouns, change the letters in words. I remember the exact time I did it. It was November 1993 and I still do it today. But it does not bother me because I realize it is just a way to release stress, so I don't concern myself with it. Some people handle things differently and my way is to do little things that lets that stressful energy out instead of keeping it bottled up. You should definitely see someone to help you understand that it is alright and you will be fine. But you must have support to come to terms with OCD. It can be frustrating but the more you learn about yourself, the more you will realize that you are not crazy or alone. I understand. Blessed be.

I'm OCD to the max; counting syllables is just one of the many routines I perform

I count syllables as well as steps. I don't really think of it as an OCD though, and it doesn't really do me any harm.

I'm an aspiring artist in many fields: animation, film, comics, and music. I play guitar daily, write daily, and think of new ideas daily, so yes, I am occupied, which is why I am so shocked that I have the habit, because my mind if on so many other things.. Thanks for this reply too, very informative. And nice point with that "force" stuff, and the toleration bit. Thank you.

I have OCD too so don't worry you're not alone. I don't have the a fear of germs nor do I count things or want things to be even. All of my compulsions (sp?) have to do with my fear of certain religions. I used to be the opposite way when I was little though. So I wouldn't be surprised if the stuff that you do changes like that sometime in your life.
I don't really have that many compulsions anymore, and the ones that do have aren't that annoying. I have to take medicine for it though (lexapro) or else I would be a nervous wreak.

Have you seen a doctor about this?

whereas I don't count steps , I do find I count syllables on occasion. and sometimes add numbers but my math is so bad it doesn't matter ! lol

what I do alot however is judge color , hues , tints and planes ( like mentally always painting)................ all the time really. but that's the artist training I think.