Can “Just Right” OCD be experienced with ROCD? Because I’m pretty sure I get these moments of uncomfortable incompleteness where I have to figure out what’s wrong
OCD and Anxiety I definitely feel like it can tie into that idea! If I don’t feel “right” the relationship isn’t okay so when I feel “right” the relationship is fine and I feel reassured I guess. That makes sense, thanks.
I had this kind of ocd since my childhood and i used medication but when i stop it , the thing started again now i am completely stucked in it i also do ERP but my therapist is not specialist, here in Afghanistan we do not have specialist for ERP- he is just expose me but not show me the way for exposure and how to do that for howlong 😒
Yes. I luckily don't have severe problems but it can be troublesome enough. Often times for me it's things like typing a word, something feels uncomfortable and I just do it again until it feels right. Scratching an itch was a good way of putting it. The more anxious I am the more I get stuck in it.
Now that I know what Just Right OCD, I realize that I’ve been naturally trying to stop it. Like, sometimes I walk away and ignore it even if I feel like something bad will happen if I don’t fix it. I’ll convince myself that this feeling is fake and leave it be.
A few days ago I learned that there are actually different variations of OCD, I had only thought it was "having to do something a particular way, or something bad will happen." I have always had these weird feelings of occasionally having to do certain little things until it literally feels right in my body. I did not know this was not normal until a few weeks ago, because my obsessions are minor and do not distract me from my daily life- I never thought anything of them. However it feels so good to now be able to have a real name for what I am feeling, so thank you!!
heya! i encourage you to get help for it now! I too had the exact same feelings of 'just right' and ignored it because I didn't know it was OCD and it didn't distract me from my daily life unlike my friends who had been diagnosed with OCD. It took years, but it got worse without me realising. bad enough for me to seek out therapy...which is out of character for me. Anyway, i've realised its better to nip any mental health issue in the bud rather than ignore. really really encourage you to get help for it early while its easier xx
Yeah I have always had the same thing, the day I realized it wasn’t normal was when I tried to describe it to my siblings they didn’t know what I was talking about but now I’m glad to know what this is called
I’m about to start treatment for OCD, and feel like such a fraud because I don’t have the classical obsessions people usually associate with OCD, but I very much have these ‘just right’ feelings. When I pick up my phone I have to touch it to my in the right way, I have to turn taps and light switches on/off with both hands symmetrically, I have to close doors in a 2 step with a particular sound, and the list goes on... if I do these things wrong I have a surge of anxiety so I have to repeat and repeat till I’ve done it right. It’s exhausting.
I had this ocd when I was in 4-5 class.I used to close door particular times and used to sit on chair with a particular angle and what not.my mom said me was I mad.then it took me 4 years. I thought if I would not do those particular things something bad would happen.now I am going through HOCD and I feel like a shit.sometimes I think I am even faking my HOCD
I’ve lived with just right OCD since I was a child, I’m in my early 30s now. Many of the symptoms you described was true of me, particularly picking things up and putting them down again, counting rituals, taking huge amounts of time putting clothes on the “right way”, plus I have quite pronounced tics. My late teens and early twenties were made an utter hell by it, but it does get better with age in so much as I’ve learnt to deal with it better rather than it going away. Great video.
Congrats for learning how to cope!! I have some of the same symptoms such as: having to place my phone, pencil or fork down the right way, if I get one hand wet the other hand has to get wet as well, and even if I am stretching, I sometimes move my arms around until it feels like they are in the right spot. Luckily for me it is not debilitating and I haven't ever gotten trapped in a loop. I hope you are continuing to do well!
I’ve only recently been officially diagnosed with OCD despite having it for YEARS, and I think that’s because a lot of psychiatrists don’t recognise just right OCD as OCD. I’ve felt so lost because nobody seemed to understand that I was having so much discomfort despite not necessarily having specific thoughts behind my actions! I’m so glad I’ve started researching different types of OCD because watching this video has made me feel so seen. thank you
I’m on the verge of tears I’ve been experiencing this for so many years and I’ve never heard someone describe what I feel so accurately. Every single thing you said in this video I can relate to. I’ve had CBT properly once before but never been treated for or diagnosed with OCD. Other ways this can manifest for me are with cracking my joints (fingers, knuckles, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, toes, neck, back, shoulders - I’ve literally given myself tendinitis from doing this so much), skin picking, clearing my throat (this was a big one for me as a child), writing over my letters over and over again with a pen/pencil (yes, my teachers did hate me lol), turning knobs on microwaves/ovens, blinking, brushing my teeth (still takes me a minimum of 10 mins to do to this day), showering (this can make hygiene hard as I can put it off or be late for things bc I know how long it’ll take), echolalia, tying my shoe laces (this distressed me so much I resorted to tying all my shoes as tight as possible so there was some semblance of a limit/parameter for it, I gave myself painful blisters on my hands and my feet would always hurt and be cold from my shoes being so tight and cutting off my circulation), grinding my teeth (which I’ve had to pay for in egregiously high dentist bills), clacking my teeth together, typing on a keyboard, washing dishes, tending muscles, doing my hair, writing texts or emails, biting my lips - the list is potentially endless. It can honestly be debilitating and makes every day exhausting. I’m consistently depressed and anxious as a result, it can be really isolating as well especially if you don’t have the right words to describe it or get the right treatment. I can’t believe this isn’t more talked about, I mean if I feel this way imagine how many others must too. I hope my experience can help someone recognise this in their self and let them know they aren’t alone, we’re in this together and I’m so proud of you :) This video will be great to share with my sister to finally explain some of my behaviours. Thank you for doing this truly incredible work for us all
I wash my hands multiple times until I can remember clearly in my mind that I touch the soap. I need to make sure it is the soap that I touch. Sometimes I repeat and repeat washing until I got no intrusive thoughts. But right now I am trying to lessen the compulsions. Even writing this comment is difficult for me. I am afraid I will have intrusive thoughts while writing this. Most of the time I am afraid I'll get intrusive thoughts. And when i got, it's either I will delete what I am writing and type again. It is so exhausting. Though I am really trying hard to expose myself to the thoughts, not react, and push forward. Working is really hard for me. There are times when i need to repeat and repeat what i am doing because I don't want intrusive thoughts while doing what I do. But right now I am really trying to disregard the thoughts and move forward. I keep on calling out "intrusive, intrusive" "that thought is not true". Right now i can feel my heart pumping really fast. I used to be not like this. I was a happy person. I like commenting to social media. Until mental health got really worse starting December 2019. Right now i am bravely commenting.
OH MY GOODNESS. I knew I had OCD, but I never heard "just right" OCD explained before. I don't regularly experience straight-up intrusive obsessive thoughts, but the FEELING... that's me! It will just feel....wrong to leave something a certain way or not do a certain thing. Like you mentioned, I'll feel a tightness in my body... sort of along my spine. Wow. It's so interesting hearing this described. I don't tend to repeat things that others would notice, but I find myself unable to stop eating from a sleeve of crackers, for instance, until the cracker I ate feels like the last cracker I'm supposed to eat. I'll pace, and my exact pacing pattern is based on where it feels right to step. I will have straight-up intrusive thoughts here and there, but that's not what steers me... it's the feeling. This is fascinating.
OCD is such a complicated disorder. Because there are so many different types of it, makes it hard for people to understand what they are experiencing. I was never educated on ocd, only depression and anxiety. I only realised that I had ocd when I saw one of these videos on my recommended. I finally understand what was wrong with me
Symmetry and just right ocd sounds just like me. I get intrusive thoughts too. I used to stress more about things around me, but at some point I was able to realize that things around me are out of my control. I also realized that people around me are ok with it, so it must be ok. I definitely still have to get pressure right in my feet and hands. I actually came across your video of ocd vs adhd when I was looking up stuff about adhd. A coworker told me about her grown daughter and how she is feeling so much better and relaxed after getting on adhd meds. Until that point I didn't realize that I felt extra anxiety in my life. I thought everyone felt the way I did. I have realized that I do not have adhd, but I do struggle with ocd and anxiety. I'm always a little on edge and have to be constantly working on things. I have not had problems holding a job or getting through my days so I never thought I was dealing with something else. I am a person that is more sneaky with my compulsions and over the years have gotten them to a very manageable point. No one ever pointed out anything I do until I started dating my now husband.... he asked why I was "doing that" with my feet when we were hiking. He said my feet would kind of hover and intentionally step on rocks... it all had to do with the pressure. I didn't know that these little things I do are related to ocd. Being an elementary teacher has probably helped me the most with just right ocd. I had a 4th grade student that would redo things again and again and again. Everything she did (even her bad ones) were acceptable and very good in my eyes. I saw a lot of myself in her and realized that people around me don't have the same perfect/just right expectations that I put on myself... just like I didn't expect perfection from my students. Little by little I'm feeling less anxious. I really thought everyone felt this way, that everyone felt like they needed to constantly fix things they did. Your videos have also helped me with my husband. He's amazing, but I've often felt he doesn't care as much with our kids because he doesn't take the same safety precautions that I do. I have realized that my stressing and intrusive thoughts cause anxiety in me that are not normal and that he does not need to stress as much as I do to keep our kids safe (4 kids 5 and under). Thank you for helping me realize I struggle with ocd and anxiety and that I can live a more calm and peaceful life. And thank you for letting me realize that my husband can keep our kids safe. He hasn't hurt them, I just stress so much about them and worry when they aren't with me.
Your right~! It feels like scratching that itch, but it doesn't go away... once you get that satisfaction of scratching it... usually after some time it would go away, you would feel something, but once I do it it just feels empty and that itch it never going to go away.
Mixed with depression. I was almost lost into addiction and now that i look back being dropped out of college and isolated myself for 6 months or more maybe i don't even know how I'm even still alive just started thinking with the little logical thinking that's is left within me to understand that I'm not crazy it was just my mind tricking me to the edge 😞. Hope getting a help from a therapist might help that too my ocd makes me think if they get it wrond and the self doubting thoughts i feel like i was like this my whole life but the last three years had been the worst ✌️. Thank you for sharing atleast i could understand a little what i was upto 🙂💙✌️
Thank you so much for everything. You are one of the few persons of which I get the feeling you actually understand what's going on and can see from the sufferer's perspective. I am really looking forward to the "Just Right" treatment video, since this is one of my last hurdles left and it is tricky to tackle it. Again, thank you very much Nathan
i just got diagnosed with ocd and this is definitely my biggest one! the tension is a perfect way to describe it! i have to stand on the left and feel left or i get so uncomfortable and i have to chew in prime numbers i just feel like off and i hyper fixated on it if i cannot be on the left for a reason! but i am about to start prozac so i hope that helps
@@rylandweet7750 although this wasn't meant for me, I found clomipramine helped, but it made me very sleepy and hungry . But it worked really good. I'm now taking high doses of NAC with great success
man, this sounds like it would be SUPER frustrating living with while living with others who had no idea. 😅 makes me get like almost second-hand anxiety thinking about someone dealing with that. to anyone who struggles with this kind of OCD, I empathize(? That the right word?) With you.
Hi, I just wanted to say that it's really great what you do and the fact that you care about these kinds of topics is just awesome. Thank you for all of the work you do. :)
This is my type of OCD. Although I have had it vary over the years, so I have had the intrusive thoughts, but this feeling of "just right" dominates me now - and I have had OCD manifest in different ways since about the age of 7 and I'm now 40 and still stuck with OCD. It's almost like autopilot now though without any thoughts so this video definitely resonates with me, thank you for sharing and thank you for your channel, bringing awareness to sufferers, family members, trainee therapists etc. 🙏
Amazing explanation. Been going through this for 10+ years. I get so many of triggers you describe, i.e., saying things just right, combing my hair just right, scratching my skin just right, reading words just right, making sure things are "neat", etc. To the average person, I don't think they get how debilitating these simple tasks can be. And we really can't move forward correctly until it's just right. I've learned tricks to get out of some of these loops, but I always manage to fall back into a different one. It's a constant mental strain.
This one hits the nail on the head for me. Here is my experience. My peak moment was when I was 9 or 10 and decided 4 was the perfect number, so I touched things 4 times. However, soon I started feeling like I had to go back and touch it 4 times but 4 times (16 times), etc. Then I found myself unable to sleep and doing rituals throughout the night, including stomping my feet or entering certain rooms a number of times. Also, I remember doing things like throwing new pencils away because I did not open it correctly or needing to watch credits at the end of shows or movies in entirety, and much more. I am basically over the touching part, but I still to this day find myself doing it without any thought. I was able to defy that part of the OCD young by touching things the wrong number of times, starting specifically at times when I had no particularly strong urge and working my way out. I still have obsessions with punctuation and grammar as well as strong urges and rituals when doing my most favorite things like journaling and video games. I found this channel and feel understood and that I can overcome the strong thoughts.
I have a lot of what you've described here. I decided 4 was correct too and did the whole 16 thing. Apparently 3 is now the right number, but it's better to do 3 times, twice, once, twice, once, once, once (3,2,1,2,1,1,ONE)
I watched this with my 10 year old son, who was recently diagnosed with OCD. He says that he relates to the “Just Right OCD” feelings... especially having to do with touch and walking. He is working on overcoming his compulsions/rituals and finds it helpful to ignore it or to walk away. We are thankful to have TH-cam videos like this one that help to know we are not alone in having these feelings. 😊
Yeah, the best way I would describe it is like trying to scratch an itch. It feels as though at least one tic or itch is always active. A doctor once thought I had asthma, but it turned out I needed that “perfect” deep breath. When I text or write, I reread obsessively until it’s perfect. A lot of my art, writing, or video editing take 20+ hours per project. I pop my ears by flexing that tensor tympani muscle, I try to make my teeth chatter in a perfect way, I flex muscles and push the ends my fingers or toes for a certain feeling, I close my eyes and flex the surrounding muscles for a certain feeling, I push the end of my nose, bite my lips and inner cheeks, organize my belongings by type and color- used to organize the shelves in stores when I was little apparently too, I straighten things constantly, and rewatch my videos, reread my poems, and relisten to my songs obsessively until they no longer have value. I used to be bulimic- pretty sure OCD tied into my ED a bit there too, by trying to obtain that “perfect” bite of food. My OCD and tics are active for my every waking moment, but I’ve kinda just learned to live with em- my bipolar depression and anxiety feel like more troubling issues to seek resolutions for atm. Idk, I hate being obsessed with perfection- OCD feels like both a blessing and a curse. It takes forever to get anything done, but at least when it’s done, it’s done well. 🤷♂️
OH GOD THE PERFECT DEEP BREATH! I've had so much frustration with not being able to "breathe right" like my chest feels too tight or I feel my lungs haven't reached their proper capacity of how much air I can breathe in. God. it doesn't happen very often, but when it does. so frustrating
Ok I’m not diagnosed so I’m not sure I actually have ocd, but I distinctly remember the first time I had an anxiety attack my parents brought me to a doctor and, when she asked me what I was feeling, I just went: “It’s like I need to reach a certain level of oxygen in my lungs, but I can’t quite reach it and that makes me nervous” And she was like:”… so you don’t feel like your throat is closing up or something?” And I was so confused, like how couldn’t she understand that I felt like I couldn’t reach the *perfect* breath?
The reading one I struggle with the most. I have ADHD as well, so reading is... absolute hell. It's specific sounds that trip me up, when it comes to reading being hard because of the Just Right feeling. Gh, gd, gn, nd, qu, th, d/dh, & t/ti, I can think of right now. To read those damn sounds properly in my head, I have to move my tongue in my mouth to mimic how I'd say them aloud... but I often do it in a way that Feels Wrong. It also happens way less when I'm writing or editing something that I've done myself in my own words, and when it's short things like a tweet or brief text. The bigger the wall of text and the more words with the trigger sounds in them, the worse it is and the more it happens.
I usually do this with studying. Im always working hard and actually wanting to memorize everything im working but I also just feel like i need to do do it all over again until I get it right. This might not be related to what you're talking about but this drives me crazy
I only recently found your videos and they’re so helpful. I’ve had OCD since I was a kid and am now in my 30s finally going to therapy for it. I have just right OCD and a mix of pure O and ROCD. The just right seems to take up most of my time. I have a big problem with symmetry and usually trace a line to find the middle of something. It could be doorknobs or the letter “o” or “p” when I’m reading or pretty much any symmetrical thing and I feel this desire to trace it until it feels right. I was self conscious about it as a kid so I stopped physically touching things and now do most of the tracing in my head. I also repeat scenarios in my head until it feels right (the same scenarios over and over). I’m finding ERP for the pure O is easier for me than for just right as it causes me the most anxiety.
The things you share in this video have been life transforming for me. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and wisdom. Very very grateful for you.
You described me perfectly. I also look for patterns in things like floor tiles or carpets, especially if I'm feeling stressed. It's only occasional, and doesn't affect every aspect of life... I also have a thing with books.. when I'm reading, I keep flipping to places where the pages are uneven to see 'what's wrong'...
Body focused touching rituals i have....always had those and now getting answers for all my actions...really feels overwhelming to know that more people do suffer from this and that I am not alone...we all will get well, it may not go away completely, but definitely worth it
You have explained my condition soo well. For me it feels like by doing it over and over again, I have fixed it or cured myself from this terrible, embarrassing, shameful, scarry condition that I have.
When i watched your video about symmetry ocd i wrote in the comments saying i have everything you said there and now after watching this video I'm saying i have everything you said in this video too. I think I'm gonna die with this mental stress. I'm not able to stop it even if i try. Where i do in my life, in under ocd's pressure. Literally each amd every second of my life. When i take a deep breath and the air touches my left arm i tend to touch right arm with my breath. It's that bad. I'm crying😩😩
The dermatillomania comorbidity is huge. Knowing you can't stop touching until it looks "better" and then realizing you've made everything worse by trying to make everything look "just right".
Shouting in my garage because this is me. And my mom, who as you said never saw because it was normal for her too. Can’t wait to show her this, she’s been wondering about!! Do you know if there’s any connection or if you’ve treated those with adhd? Cuz I also have add and I am exactly like this, especially the avoidance thing!!!! Procrastination never sounded quite right to me, but this nails it. I had to read Harry Potter a specific way in my head when I was younger...or I guess my hogwarts letter would be revoked (wow). I obviously have bigger stuck avoidance patterns now as an adult. And I’ve hated how it’s held me back. I’m excited up bring this up to my therapist. But dang thank you for elucidating on the extreme discomfort of being stuck! Like it’s actually quite unpleasant, but everyone just thinks one is being (intentionally) dramatic.
I relate to many of these. As a kid whenever I stepped on the cracks of the sidewalk I had to do the rest of them but only with my right foot. Also had to clear any remaining numbers on the microwave, do weird body movements til it felt right but only in even numbers, music volume had to be only on even numbers but not too close to a whole number, rewriting letters or numbers, checking to see the stove off even after I checked 3 or 4 times, anxious for someone to stop talking to me so I can do that body movement again that didn't feel right lol and much more.
Although I appreciate your video's I think by not addressing the potential severity of these symptoms undercuts the intense suffering that many people can experience. using words like discomfort and distress doesn't come close to describing how it can feel to most individuals. This disorder has taken everything from me, hopes dreams, career opportunities and a marriage to the love of my life and so much more. I have suffered decades with extreme anxiety do to the emotional agony that my OCD symptoms cause me every waking hour of every day. I have had hours of intensive therapy including hospitalization, medication, relaxation techniques, positive thinking and every thing else under the sun with the exception of having my brain physically altered and still I continue to be tortured cruelly by this insidious condition. I think it is important not only to explain how the negative effects can control ones life but to accurately address the stigma surrounding OCD and how it has become a sort of insensitive comment in society. If effects self-esteem, willingness to seek help and also the need for funding to find more effective ways to relieve the torment caused by OCD and other mental illnesses. Whimsical music and care free descriptions can not possibly help the layperson understand this neurological monster. Please consider making a serious video without such a cavalier approach. Thank you.
Hey Adam. I'm so sorry to hear the tole this has taken on you. It sounds like you've been through a lot in your lifetime. I hope that you're in a good place now. I get where you're coming from as far as sharing the major negative effects of this. Each person experiences it a little different. Thanks for the feedback. 🙏🏻
I have just right OCD (and OCD in general, however just right is my worst form) primarily with handwashing. My daily handwashing can last up to 3 hours total on a really bad day, and up to 1.5 to 2 hours average daily. Most days I always have at least one, one hour sessions of non stop hand washing rituals. I also have a contamination phobia which means if I'm, for instance preparing coffee via a pour over, I have to wash my hands between EVERY! SINGLE! STEP! It took me over an hour yesterday to wash my hands and open an iced coffee. Because of COURSE I have a ritual for opening cans and bottles too, which takes forEVER! It is hugely time consuming and causes me a great deal of panic and anxiety. I have lost multiple jobs, my car and am currently in the appeal portion of my disability application. I have tried exposure therapy and every time I have panic attacks. If I was my hands and it doesn't feel 'just right', and I then prepare food and eat it, I will have a panic attack. I also have a phobia of being poisoned which makes me super paranoid when buying groceries. I do not eat out, or eat other peoples cooking. Do you have any tips or anything I can do for some relief? I am so exhausted from this :(.
ALL. MY. LIFE. it's positively exhausting and time consuming to constantly be fixated on how things are placed, how clothes are folded, how my shoes are lined up, just to name a few. and hardly be able to move on til they're "fixed" and it feels right. And it finally made sense why i procrastinate on things like re-organizing my cleaning my closet; I already know I'll get stuck like Chuck and I hate it! Any suggestions??
Lol every time I read any sort of webtoon when it scrolls downwards, if there aren’t enough bubbles on one side I end up having to constantly hit the side of the head it isn’t enough to feel comfortable. Or if I step an extra step on one foot I have to do a weird skippy thing to make it even, and one side steps just a little harder, I have to make sure both sides are always feeling the same. But then it isn’t even gain and I have to do it again... also while watching this video I had to make sure there was space between every icon, and that there was an equal amount of space and it made it really hard to focus XD lol sorry random ramble, but I don’t know if it’s ocd or if I’m just being crazy but if I talk about it it won’t feel normal...
I have that exactly the same with having to do something harder on one side of my body of something happened on the other side. Like if I'm riding my bike and my right leg hits the bar in the middle of the bike I'll have to hit my left leg on the bar as well to even it up
You really nailed it about "SOUND OCD" at 3:18. Repeating to hear the sound "RIGHT" can go even up to 100 and more times. It is quite exhausting. There is also "READING OCD" which adds up to this pressure. It is repeating same words or sentences over and over again. Glad you made this video because now I know for sure what this actually is. "Sound ocd" is also about trying to hear "right" what someone says. Too much attention to words. Wish you talked more about ERP in this case, though.
i used to have this more before but I had to make the other person content and happy before hanging up the phone with someone. It was a dilemma since maybe they were stressed or tired and how they felt had nothing to do with me. so I asked them if they are okay and they would say "yes", but it still would not 'feel right' to me. we’d hang up and I got this creeping feeling ,until I gave in and call them again. just to make sure that ‘it wasn’t just because I missed to say "this and this and this" but then they were more tired and I would feel even less good about it. i used to call a lot more like this ... now it has reduced to only one more call or none. i just deal with the anxious feeling and ride it out . which can be difficult. But thanks to these videos I have so much more tools and confidence to work with! So thank you! if you see this ♡
I have this for my fomo. I have stream of thoughts, I'm thinking about my day, jotting down ideas so as to not get overwhelmed and I do feel good once I'm done until...there comes a nagging feeling. Did I write it all? Did I miss something? A useful insight? I keep going back in my head over and over again to get to that thought which I didn't even know exists or if it does is probably unnecessary. It's a mental compulsion.
This is me 😭. I get the same stream of thoughts as you described, even when just trying to articulate my thoughts in speech or writing. Is this what I really mean to say? Is this the verbiage I want to use? Did I get all of my points across? It’s torturous lol
Uh huh, I have many of these things. The worst one is, when I read something i don't agree with, even the most dumb opinion ever, I feel like I need to re-read it to be 102% sure I understand their point, and even when I do, I get this uneasy feeling that I missed something for sure, so I better read it again... not to mention reading on the subject, to be absolutely sure, and it gets complicated when it comes to religion or philosophy or stuff like that, from obvious reasons.
I seem to have a mix of this and obsessive ruminations. Like I cant stop ruminating about how to make something right or go back to it's better feeling. It can turn a corner and I feel like I have to reset it or else it's all ruined and I can't get back, and then I think the more I try im going to over try and make it worse... it can spiral so fast
Omg haha yeah i have ocd .. I have to have things organized a certain way.I procrastinate with tasks that I have because I don’t want to not do it right. When I do something I have to make sure I’m doing it the right way.. When I was in high school my hair had to be a certain way .. and I had to dress a certain way to feel comfortable.. and if I made the wrong decision I couldn’t wait to come home. I just game to the point where I would wear the same black v neck everyday and I liked it so much I bought like 10 of the same shirts because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of picking the right thing to wear or I would be late.. my hair had to be a certain way or else I would just spend hours trying to fix it on a mirror.. k would obsess with having my hair a certain way.. I would even have rituals of how I would comb it .. yeah haha ... and at work all my tools have to be in a certain place because I fear I’m going to lose them. Yeah that’s me ... wow haha
When I was younger I would spend 5 minutes walking through a door frame over and over until it was correct. Breathing in the right pattern and blinking. If I rolled my eyes I had to roll them back the other way to ‘keep it even’. When I couldn’t fulfill the needs I just resorted to biting myself to relieve the anger.
Nathan, I've watched some of your videos and think they are great. I'm a trainee cbt therapist and have found your videos useful. What I continue to struggle with and can't find help through your videos is how to do ERP for just right cbt e.g. for a client who feels an urge to look back at a number 7 a second time and if they they look again, they need to look again (always an even number). For this client, we sat with the uncomfortable feeling (and urge to look back at number 7) for 15 minutes and the anxiety didn't shift.
I just stumbled upon this video and I experience and have always experience exactly everything. I had no idea that it was actually a thing! I knew about OCD but it didn't seem to fit me because I thought it wad only about obsessive thoughts. Now I know that there are many different kinds of OCD and it seems like I might have this "Just Right" OCD. It has been annoying me so much and made everything so difficult. Thank you!
The compulsion that has haunted me over the last few years now is whenever I am enjoying the thoughts of flow and doing well either problem solving in my mind, enjoying a good thought or doing well in a conversation my mind will realize my exceptionalism and ask the stupid question, "what if you just stop?" Then I cant not stop and I for some reason stop thinking and the great feeling turns into the literal worst feeling. Worse than betrayal, worse than regret, worse than guilt. Its infuriating. Why cant I just ignore that stupid question, let it go, and just continue thinking the good thought I was just thinking?
I feel like I have a bit of this, but fortunately my ADHD forces me to accept that most things are never right because I don't have the patience and stamina for it. I remember learning about OCD when in primary school, and I realized that I did have a habit of repeating things for fun or until it feels right, and I was scared to become trapped by rituals. So I decided that I'm allowed up to 3 repetitions of short duration actions (like rinsing a glass, shaking a piece of fabric before hanging it to dry, etc) if it feels more comfortable and strive to be satisfied with only one action, and at most one verification for time-consuming things if it's important such as going back to verify hat the stove is off or the door is locked. And for years I've allowed myself at most one extra hand wash between between meals for when my hands feel sticky or "contaminated" somehow for no real reason. I used to tell myself that even if my hands are actually contaminated it's probably not going to make me or anyone else sick, it's not like there is a plague or anything where I am. Though this strategy has worked pretty well until march 2020 when covid came to Norway and when my old boss stupidity came to work with a nasty cough. Then even a hand wash every 10 minutes didn't feel sufficient, and my reassurance that it probably won't make me sick stopped working completely, because literally anything around me could potentially be contaminated with an actual pandemic virus. So I panicked and went home, and I have been working from home since 12. March. My hands got really sore and irritated from soap initially, but fortunately spirit hand sanitizer is much less harmful to the skin. So now I allow myself as much hand sanitizer as I want and only allow soap when coming home from a short excursion, before eating and after toilet. The hand sanitizer use limits itself because it's slightly sticky if I use a lot, and I hate stickiness more than contamination so I avoid touching things so I don't have to use it. Really wonder if I'll ever will feel comfortable without hand sanitizer...
When I'm recording music for example, sometimes I'll do a vocal take, and especially when I really like that take, it won't *feel* right. So what I have to do is I have to delete that take, and perform another one. Then usually that one won't feel right either, so I have to delete it, and repeat until it feels right. Other times, when I'm typing, if it doesn't feel right, I have to go back and delete it and retype it. Or sometimes, I'm in the middle of a very important task at work, but I'll get the STRONGEST, most PRESSING feeling that if I keep working I'm gonna die or something. So then I have to stop working, and I can only start working again (usually 5 mins or so) when it *feels* right again. Let me tell you, it is truly awful and very restrictive to normal functioning. Not to mention the hours of guilt and rumination that I have to go through when I ignore these feelings. But even worse, is the remorse I feel when I DO give in to my OCD. When I give in to it, I get an awful feeling of detaching from myself. As if, by continuing to listen to my OCD over my own self, I am less able to see what MY will is. And at its worse, it was like my will/desires become clouded by my OCD and I, for a brief amount of time, am unable to distinguish between myself and my OCD. It's truly an awful, awful experience. And not to pull that old cliché but, I truly wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.
I had this so badly as a child with things that I touched or touched my body. My mom made up a little song that made fun of what I was doing, I was embarassed and would try to not to it in front of her anymore. I asked her when I was older why she didn't get me help and she said "I called the doctor and he said it was childhood ocd and you'd outgrow it." I later developed panic disorder and agoraphobia. Im now a therapist, and I dont have a relationship with my mother.
What might the origins of this be? Needing that "settled" feeling? That talking one is fascinating I've done that too! Like I have to keep talking to say something even if I don't want to or I'm exhausted (or the other person is)
Hi, i have this just right ocd and other themes too (i think) Do you do online therapy sessions? I am in a terrible state right now... very, very stuck and very low, and feeling like i wanna die sometimes. I’m sure i have this just right ocd as soon as i wake up sometimes, where how i move myself and just do things that you shouldn’t think about like itch or wipe my eye, sit up (for example) all feels wrong, so i try to make myself go back to sleep, in hope i will wake up feeling normal, like I’m just ‘being’ without worrying about it and not being so aware of everything I’m doing. It’s been so bad that I’ve started to wet the bed before! Then this carries on throughout my day, on and on. Even now I’m not sure I’m getting this exactly right. I really need some help. My story is a long one as Ive had very bad ocd since i was 17 and I’m now 41. I never finished college, driving, or have had a job since. I never managed to become a dancer like i wanted. I had to have help the whole time with my 2 boys, ( they came later) and I’m still in a very bad place now. I have a better times, but its been up and down, changing. The first ocd thing i had was doubting i new how to wash properly, (or something like that) thats why i ended up taking longer and longer to wash.. eventually ending up by not being able to go anywhere. The help where i was in a village in England/UK, just wasn’t there for my severity. They wanted me to go to groups I couldn’t even get to, and didn’t even really think that could help me, because i thought that i could figure out what was wrong with me myself! I had no understanding of mental health, i just thought i was going crazy. Anyway years later after finding out I could actually could go to a hospital in London, (finding out my rights at a conference i went to) i went there, five years ago now. They said i had incompleteness ocd and disgust ocd. It didn’t work out too well there cause they said they were not getting the results they wanted. Anyway, i really need some help. Could you help me? Thanks. I have had medications too.
Anyone who has mild OCD of any kind, please get help early! I have had OCD since I was about 6 and it wasn't that bad at first. I didn't get help for years but it just made it worse, and now I have much more severe OCD that I could have prevented. Please, anyone else who has it, get help if you can!!!!
Thanks a lot for your great videos - I really love them. They are truly interesting and beneficial. I am experiencing the “Just Right OCD” too..exactly how you described in your video. Would you please provide us with more details on how do you handle such OCD - more live examples would be lovely. Looking forward to hear more from you. Thanks and regards. - Clement
You also mentioned about people with “JustRight OCD” being procrastinators. Is it advisable for people with this condition to avoid triggers altogether, ‘cos then they would not have to deal with anxiety which could result from any imperfections in whatever they do. Would be great if you could also elaborate on this in your next video. Thanks very much in advance. Regards.
Omg the touching things.. When I was in highschool I would not let people in my room because of the fear of them touching things. Or one time a parent looked for something and moved a few things and I had a panic attack for like 3 hours. Or the reading and talking. Reading and re-reading over and over. Saying the same word over and over. Having to restart not only my entire sentence but my thought from the beginning if interrupted by others or even myself, or if I messed up saying something. I'm scared to start anything, because it will take me HOURS. I tried to unpack and spent 3 hours organizing 10 books on 2 shelves. I still haven't been able to unpack and it has been over a month. Which in itself is distressing.. My anxiety about people touching or moving things in my space is so bad I avidly avoid leaving my room so I can make sure it doesn't happen. If someone goes near there I start to panic. I try to prolong how quickly I go to check things, I went from needing to right that second, to being able to wait a few minutes. Not a lot but it counts. Thank you for sending me over here, this, this is a thing.
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! You're awesome! This sounds so painful of what you're experiencing! I hope you can find some relief soon. I would check iocdf.org to see if you can find someone near you. 😃
I'm obsessed with me, and my coworkers lunches. I need them to be 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30. Or 1, 2, and 3. One of my coworkers either takes forever to go on her lunch so the times are wrong, or she will not take her lunch, and clocked off and keep working. It has literally effected my ability to build a work relationship with her, because of her lack of predictability.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Julia. This sounds so painful to go through. I'm sorry. I hope you can find some ways to break these patterns and feel better. Therapy can help if you find the right person. I usually look at iocdf.org. 😃
Omg. I am like this ever since I have started to think. I tackled my pure O just few months before and now I'm constantly checking these therapy videos because I never get the "just right" feeling. I feel like something is missing. This theme is majorly focussed on my toolkit for other anxiety themes so I'm confused what to to about it! If I deviate myself from the just right feelings I might end up for getting my therapy toolkit and drown in the disorder again!
thank you for this video. 🖤 i always have to do things about 2-3 times. i touch and turn my light off 3-4 times every time . and whenever i place something down, i CANNOT put my phone or any object down if it’s not placed down directly in the center. if it too left, i feel “incomplete” and same with the right. idrk now to describe it, i have to do it until it’s “just right” and it has become a habit that i cannot stop :/ and whenever i put a comment on yt or something, i have to read it like 5-9 times! it’s sucks!!
It’s because we attribute the completion or just right place, to a sense of completion, fullness, and therefore complete and not vulnerable, and therefore can feel safe about life. If it’s incomplete it feels like it’s not safe anymore because it seems like incomplete means not full or not complete and therefore vulnerable, and so not safe and you feel like life is going to end and it’s all going to fall apart because you’re vulnerable.
(I just learned of this subtype of OCD today.) when I was little, I used to say the feeling of incompleteness felt like the cringe of nails on a chalkboard. I would always use that as my example because no one really likes that sound and it triggers a visceral reaction, and that’s how I would feel when I had to do something to feel right. I need to do it or it’s that horrible cringe feeling…discomfort….irritation..the list goes on. It has no rhyme or reason. As I’m typing this you were just talking about picking things up with certain fingers and it made me tear up. When the iPhone came out with fingerprint recognition I kept my iPhone5C until 2016 because I KNEW how that light touching of the button with one finger would drive me mad. When iPhones had buttons that was a big one for me. Now they’re gone so that problem is gone too lmao. I’m just rambling now but I feel so seen. Ive also developed tics due to Covid anxiety, and I dealt with trich as a child but have mostly overcome that. I can’t believe it’s all related. It all makes sense.
I definitely have anxiety, and Im obsessive and compulsive. However my tendencies have not interfered with my daily life enough to be a disorder. I mean it’s possible that I just have a very mild case but it hasn’t affected my grades.
I haven’t been diagnosed but I’ve been to therapist and I always have this like feeling that like I’m somehow faking it. That even though it’s not like I can really control it, somehow I’m faking it. Like you have mentioned in other videos I feel like these overwhelming sensations to like crack my knuckles or more so blink a lot along with the doing things just right or I die. I have no idea why I feel so often like I’m somehow doing this for attention (even though there’s people in my life who think I am). I’m also very scared to you know talk to my family about wanting to get diagnosed or start therapy again. And I don’t know if it’s even worth getting diagnosed, I would just want it so it could be easier to talk to people about it. Sorry for spilling my life lmao but do you have any suggestions for how to like bring this up to people ❤️❤️
I have this mainly for school I’m failing all my classes bc I’ve been avoiding doing work bc it takes so long to get 1 assignment done I rather turn in nothing than something that’s not right
I keep feeling like something's missing that is keeping me from being happy. I can be really enjoying doing something but in the back of my head it feels like something's missing. But the thing that's missing keeps changing in my mind. Last week I felt I didn't have enough friends who shared the same interests. This week, I feel like I might be in the wrong career. It feels like I'm craving these things even though there are areas of my life that I know are right for me. I don't know if this is a form of just right. I also get the thought that something unknown to me is wrong daily.
I would find it really helpful if you made a video that went more into depth with the mental and less visual aspect of just right ocd with perfectionism and decision making
I'm finally seeing someone who specializes in ocd! They wrote down a list of my compulsions and obsessions and then we sorted them based on severity and we work together to come up with exposures that seem realistic, usually like 1 or 2 after a session and see then how it went the following session. Some general things I've been trying to do are making quick decisions and sitting with the doubt, regret or anxiety about it possibly being the wrong thing. , saying to myself "maybe I did (do, say, pick etc) the wrong thing" and sitting with the discomfort (not fighting the ocd!!). Also making mistakes (working my way up though from mildly uncomfortable to more challenging exposures). I'm only in the beginning of this process but working with someone who understands and knows what to do has made me feel a lot more hopeful. I also recommend a podcast called All the Hard Things by Jenna Overbaugh that's on Apple and Spotify. I learned so much from her before I even started therapy. But yea! I hope you're able to get the info and support you need as well!!
Do you have any insight as to what type of symptoms 'Just Right' OCD and ADHD could present. I have ADHD and was recently diagnosed with OCD falling more in line with just right tendencies. I haven't had many sessions yet and I am still in the early stages of treatment but I always have doubts about whether or not I have either of them. Any information regarding their co-morbidity would be appreciated, thanks!
There actually is a pretty high co-morbidity rate with just right OCD and ADHD. Although, they both manifest itself differently. Hopefully your therapist can help you through these.
When I was a young kid, I made myself invision a cross obsessively and I would have to do it over and over again because I had to do it until it felt right.
I have this disorder, and my daughter was just diagnosed with it yesterday, and she's only 4 years old. Clothing has been a big problem for her, especially socks.
I haven't been professionally diagnosed, but I think I have just right ocd. I wash my hands until i feel it's ok. Recently I can't be touched or touch certain things or else I'll have to wash my hands again.
I repeat a phrase sometimes until I feel that I understand it perfectly. What is that? If I dont repeat it and understand it perfectly until it feels right, it will bother me until I do. If I try and ignore it, it will still bother me until I understand it perfectly. So I give in and repeat it until it feels right, because my fear is that I will have to go to work and it will distract me so I cant get my work done.
The feeling of doing something wrong with every move I make has been worse after leaving my husband. He liked to have the control, as did my parents. When I was with them as long as I did what they all wanted, I was okay. But, it didn't help whenever they all wanted different things.
I still can’t read books because of this. I actually went through a 3 month period where I held my eyes closed 24/7 because I was so unable to see words/text and not compulsively read it until I did it “perfectly”.
Have you expereinced "Just Right" OCD? What does it look like for you?
Can “Just Right” OCD be experienced with ROCD? Because I’m pretty sure I get these moments of uncomfortable incompleteness where I have to figure out what’s wrong
It's possible. It's also possible it's a type of compulsion of waiting to feel okay in the relationship to verify that things are going to work out. 👍
OCD and Anxiety I definitely feel like it can tie into that idea! If I don’t feel “right” the relationship isn’t okay so when I feel “right” the relationship is fine and I feel reassured I guess. That makes sense, thanks.
I had this kind of ocd since my childhood and i used medication but when i stop it , the thing started again now i am completely stucked in it i also do ERP but my therapist is not specialist, here in Afghanistan we do not have specialist for ERP- he is just expose me but not show me the way for exposure and how to do that for howlong 😒
Yes. I luckily don't have severe problems but it can be troublesome enough. Often times for me it's things like typing a word, something feels uncomfortable and I just do it again until it feels right. Scratching an itch was a good way of putting it. The more anxious I am the more I get stuck in it.
I’ve always felt like I was faking it because I never had those specific “my family’s gonna die” thoughts. This describes it perfectly.
😂🤚 same haha
Same
Yea there’s not always intrusive thoughts or feelings but rather discomfort or fear- that if I don’t fix this everything will collapse
Now that I know what Just Right OCD, I realize that I’ve been naturally trying to stop it. Like, sometimes I walk away and ignore it even if I feel like something bad will happen if I don’t fix it. I’ll convince myself that this feeling is fake and leave it be.
How have you been now?
@@sebastionstandoff5149 it’s been improving but it could still be better
But the point with just right ocd is that there aren't bad thoughts that come with it, right?
@@TigerPrawn_ I have Just right ocd but also other forms of ocd not a result from that like intrusive thoughts
spoiler alert : you cant fix it :)
A few days ago I learned that there are actually different variations of OCD, I had only thought it was "having to do something a particular way, or something bad will happen." I have always had these weird feelings of occasionally having to do certain little things until it literally feels right in my body. I did not know this was not normal until a few weeks ago, because my obsessions are minor and do not distract me from my daily life- I never thought anything of them. However it feels so good to now be able to have a real name for what I am feeling, so thank you!!
Same
heya! i encourage you to get help for it now! I too had the exact same feelings of 'just right' and ignored it because I didn't know it was OCD and it didn't distract me from my daily life unlike my friends who had been diagnosed with OCD. It took years, but it got worse without me realising. bad enough for me to seek out therapy...which is out of character for me. Anyway, i've realised its better to nip any mental health issue in the bud rather than ignore. really really encourage you to get help for it early while its easier xx
Yeah I have always had the same thing, the day I realized it wasn’t normal was when I tried to describe it to my siblings they didn’t know what I was talking about but now I’m glad to know what this is called
It’s like I wrote this. Had the same experience!
It can become into a full blown theme if you let so please do your best to treat it now that it's weak
I’m about to start treatment for OCD, and feel like such a fraud because I don’t have the classical obsessions people usually associate with OCD, but I very much have these ‘just right’ feelings. When I pick up my phone I have to touch it to my in the right way, I have to turn taps and light switches on/off with both hands symmetrically, I have to close doors in a 2 step with a particular sound, and the list goes on... if I do these things wrong I have a surge of anxiety so I have to repeat and repeat till I’ve done it right. It’s exhausting.
OH MY GOODNESS SAME I REALLY THOUGHT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH ME
That seems like typical Ocd to me
They sound like pretty classical OCD to me. I don’t blame you though because OCD can make you feel like a fraud or invalid no matter what you do
@@howtopasstime ya i fucking hate it
I had this ocd when I was in 4-5 class.I used to close door particular times and used to sit on chair with a particular angle and what not.my mom said me was I mad.then it took me 4 years. I thought if I would not do those particular things something bad would happen.now I am going through HOCD and I feel like a shit.sometimes I think I am even faking my HOCD
I’ve lived with just right OCD since I was a child, I’m in my early 30s now. Many of the symptoms you described was true of me, particularly picking things up and putting them down again, counting rituals, taking huge amounts of time putting clothes on the “right way”, plus I have quite pronounced tics. My late teens and early twenties were made an utter hell by it, but it does get better with age in so much as I’ve learnt to deal with it better rather than it going away. Great video.
Congrats for learning how to cope!! I have some of the same symptoms such as: having to place my phone, pencil or fork down the right way, if I get one hand wet the other hand has to get wet as well, and even if I am stretching, I sometimes move my arms around until it feels like they are in the right spot. Luckily for me it is not debilitating and I haven't ever gotten trapped in a loop. I hope you are continuing to do well!
I’ve only recently been officially diagnosed with OCD despite having it for YEARS, and I think that’s because a lot of psychiatrists don’t recognise just right OCD as OCD. I’ve felt so lost because nobody seemed to understand that I was having so much discomfort despite not necessarily having specific thoughts behind my actions! I’m so glad I’ve started researching different types of OCD because watching this video has made me feel so seen. thank you
I’m on the verge of tears I’ve been experiencing this for so many years and I’ve never heard someone describe what I feel so accurately. Every single thing you said in this video I can relate to. I’ve had CBT properly once before but never been treated for or diagnosed with OCD. Other ways this can manifest for me are with cracking my joints (fingers, knuckles, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, toes, neck, back, shoulders - I’ve literally given myself tendinitis from doing this so much), skin picking, clearing my throat (this was a big one for me as a child), writing over my letters over and over again with a pen/pencil (yes, my teachers did hate me lol), turning knobs on microwaves/ovens, blinking, brushing my teeth (still takes me a minimum of 10 mins to do to this day), showering (this can make hygiene hard as I can put it off or be late for things bc I know how long it’ll take), echolalia, tying my shoe laces (this distressed me so much I resorted to tying all my shoes as tight as possible so there was some semblance of a limit/parameter for it, I gave myself painful blisters on my hands and my feet would always hurt and be cold from my shoes being so tight and cutting off my circulation), grinding my teeth (which I’ve had to pay for in egregiously high dentist bills), clacking my teeth together, typing on a keyboard, washing dishes, tending muscles, doing my hair, writing texts or emails, biting my lips - the list is potentially endless. It can honestly be debilitating and makes every day exhausting. I’m consistently depressed and anxious as a result, it can be really isolating as well especially if you don’t have the right words to describe it or get the right treatment. I can’t believe this isn’t more talked about, I mean if I feel this way imagine how many others must too. I hope my experience can help someone recognise this in their self and let them know they aren’t alone, we’re in this together and I’m so proud of you :) This video will be great to share with my sister to finally explain some of my behaviours. Thank you for doing this truly incredible work for us all
I wash my hands multiple times until I can remember clearly in my mind that I touch the soap. I need to make sure it is the soap that I touch. Sometimes I repeat and repeat washing until I got no intrusive thoughts. But right now I am trying to lessen the compulsions.
Even writing this comment is difficult for me. I am afraid I will have intrusive thoughts while writing this. Most of the time I am afraid I'll get intrusive thoughts. And when i got, it's either I will delete what I am writing and type again. It is so exhausting. Though I am really trying hard to expose myself to the thoughts, not react, and push forward.
Working is really hard for me. There are times when i need to repeat and repeat what i am doing because I don't want intrusive thoughts while doing what I do. But right now I am really trying to disregard the thoughts and move forward.
I keep on calling out "intrusive, intrusive" "that thought is not true".
Right now i can feel my heart pumping really fast. I used to be not like this. I was a happy person. I like commenting to social media. Until mental health got really worse starting December 2019.
Right now i am bravely commenting.
OH MY GOODNESS. I knew I had OCD, but I never heard "just right" OCD explained before. I don't regularly experience straight-up intrusive obsessive thoughts, but the FEELING... that's me! It will just feel....wrong to leave something a certain way or not do a certain thing. Like you mentioned, I'll feel a tightness in my body... sort of along my spine. Wow. It's so interesting hearing this described. I don't tend to repeat things that others would notice, but I find myself unable to stop eating from a sleeve of crackers, for instance, until the cracker I ate feels like the last cracker I'm supposed to eat. I'll pace, and my exact pacing pattern is based on where it feels right to step.
I will have straight-up intrusive thoughts here and there, but that's not what steers me... it's the feeling. This is fascinating.
OCD is such a complicated disorder. Because there are so many different types of it, makes it hard for people to understand what they are experiencing. I was never educated on ocd, only depression and anxiety. I only realised that I had ocd when I saw one of these videos on my recommended. I finally understand what was wrong with me
Symmetry and just right ocd sounds just like me. I get intrusive thoughts too. I used to stress more about things around me, but at some point I was able to realize that things around me are out of my control. I also realized that people around me are ok with it, so it must be ok. I definitely still have to get pressure right in my feet and hands. I actually came across your video of ocd vs adhd when I was looking up stuff about adhd. A coworker told me about her grown daughter and how she is feeling so much better and relaxed after getting on adhd meds. Until that point I didn't realize that I felt extra anxiety in my life. I thought everyone felt the way I did. I have realized that I do not have adhd, but I do struggle with ocd and anxiety. I'm always a little on edge and have to be constantly working on things. I have not had problems holding a job or getting through my days so I never thought I was dealing with something else. I am a person that is more sneaky with my compulsions and over the years have gotten them to a very manageable point. No one ever pointed out anything I do until I started dating my now husband.... he asked why I was "doing that" with my feet when we were hiking. He said my feet would kind of hover and intentionally step on rocks... it all had to do with the pressure. I didn't know that these little things I do are related to ocd.
Being an elementary teacher has probably helped me the most with just right ocd. I had a 4th grade student that would redo things again and again and again. Everything she did (even her bad ones) were acceptable and very good in my eyes. I saw a lot of myself in her and realized that people around me don't have the same perfect/just right expectations that I put on myself... just like I didn't expect perfection from my students. Little by little I'm feeling less anxious. I really thought everyone felt this way, that everyone felt like they needed to constantly fix things they did.
Your videos have also helped me with my husband. He's amazing, but I've often felt he doesn't care as much with our kids because he doesn't take the same safety precautions that I do. I have realized that my stressing and intrusive thoughts cause anxiety in me that are not normal and that he does not need to stress as much as I do to keep our kids safe (4 kids 5 and under). Thank you for helping me realize I struggle with ocd and anxiety and that I can live a more calm and peaceful life. And thank you for letting me realize that my husband can keep our kids safe. He hasn't hurt them, I just stress so much about them and worry when they aren't with me.
Yes! just right is probably one of my biggest things!!
It can be a tough one to work on and be very complex. I hope you can find some relief soon! 😋
Oh that "stuck" feeling... im in it now and you are articulating this in a way I've never been able to phrase. I'm in tears, thank you. It's so scary
Your right~! It feels like scratching that itch, but it doesn't go away... once you get that satisfaction of scratching it... usually after some time it would go away, you would feel something, but once I do it it just feels empty and that itch it never going to go away.
Mixed with depression. I was almost lost into addiction and now that i look back being dropped out of college and isolated myself for 6 months or more maybe i don't even know how I'm even still alive just started thinking with the little logical thinking that's is left within me to understand that I'm not crazy it was just my mind tricking me to the edge 😞. Hope getting a help from a therapist might help that too my ocd makes me think if they get it wrond and the self doubting thoughts i feel like i was like this my whole life but the last three years had been the worst ✌️. Thank you for sharing atleast i could understand a little what i was upto 🙂💙✌️
Me too
Thank you so much for everything. You are one of the few persons of which I get the feeling you actually understand what's going on and can see from the sufferer's perspective. I am really looking forward to the "Just Right" treatment video, since this is one of my last hurdles left and it is tricky to tackle it. Again, thank you very much Nathan
I am excited to make the treatment video and hopefully can do so sooner than later! Thanks for your kind words!
i just got diagnosed with ocd and this is definitely my biggest one! the tension is a perfect way to describe it! i have to stand on the left and feel left or i get so uncomfortable and i have to chew in prime numbers i just feel like off and i hyper fixated on it if i cannot be on the left for a reason! but i am about to start prozac so i hope that helps
Wow. Thanks for sharing. This sounds so difficult. According to IOCDF.org medications can help reduce 40%-60% of symptoms. I hope it works for you!! 😃
Hey it’s been 2 years, how are you doing now? I am debating on taking meds, did it work for you?
@@rylandweet7750 although this wasn't meant for me, I found clomipramine helped, but it made me very sleepy and hungry . But it worked really good.
I'm now taking high doses of NAC with great success
man, this sounds like it would be SUPER frustrating living with while living with others who had no idea.
😅 makes me get like almost second-hand anxiety thinking about someone dealing with that.
to anyone who struggles with this kind of OCD, I empathize(? That the right word?) With you.
Hi, I just wanted to say that it's really great what you do and the fact that you care about these kinds of topics is just awesome. Thank you for all of the work you do. :)
Thank you so much for your encouragement! It means a lot!😉
This is my type of OCD. Although I have had it vary over the years, so I have had the intrusive thoughts, but this feeling of "just right" dominates me now - and I have had OCD manifest in different ways since about the age of 7 and I'm now 40 and still stuck with OCD. It's almost like autopilot now though without any thoughts so this video definitely resonates with me, thank you for sharing and thank you for your channel, bringing awareness to sufferers, family members, trainee therapists etc. 🙏
Amazing explanation. Been going through this for 10+ years. I get so many of triggers you describe, i.e., saying things just right, combing my hair just right, scratching my skin just right, reading words just right, making sure things are "neat", etc. To the average person, I don't think they get how debilitating these simple tasks can be. And we really can't move forward correctly until it's just right. I've learned tricks to get out of some of these loops, but I always manage to fall back into a different one. It's a constant mental strain.
This one hits the nail on the head for me. Here is my experience. My peak moment was when I was 9 or 10 and decided 4 was the perfect number, so I touched things 4 times. However, soon I started feeling like I had to go back and touch it 4 times but 4 times (16 times), etc. Then I found myself unable to sleep and doing rituals throughout the night, including stomping my feet or entering certain rooms a number of times. Also, I remember doing things like throwing new pencils away because I did not open it correctly or needing to watch credits at the end of shows or movies in entirety, and much more. I am basically over the touching part, but I still to this day find myself doing it without any thought. I was able to defy that part of the OCD young by touching things the wrong number of times, starting specifically at times when I had no particularly strong urge and working my way out. I still have obsessions with punctuation and grammar as well as strong urges and rituals when doing my most favorite things like journaling and video games. I found this channel and feel understood and that I can overcome the strong thoughts.
I have a lot of what you've described here. I decided 4 was correct too and did the whole 16 thing. Apparently 3 is now the right number, but it's better to do
3 times, twice, once, twice, once, once, once
(3,2,1,2,1,1,ONE)
I watched this with my 10 year old son, who was recently diagnosed with OCD. He says that he relates to the “Just Right OCD” feelings... especially having to do with touch and walking. He is working on overcoming his compulsions/rituals and finds it helpful to ignore it or to walk away. We are thankful to have TH-cam videos like this one that help to know we are not alone in having these feelings. 😊
I’ve always been this way forever and I’m just now figuring this out
Same
Same
Yeah, the best way I would describe it is like trying to scratch an itch. It feels as though at least one tic or itch is always active. A doctor once thought I had asthma, but it turned out I needed that “perfect” deep breath. When I text or write, I reread obsessively until it’s perfect. A lot of my art, writing, or video editing take 20+ hours per project. I pop my ears by flexing that tensor tympani muscle, I try to make my teeth chatter in a perfect way, I flex muscles and push the ends my fingers or toes for a certain feeling, I close my eyes and flex the surrounding muscles for a certain feeling, I push the end of my nose, bite my lips and inner cheeks, organize my belongings by type and color- used to organize the shelves in stores when I was little apparently too, I straighten things constantly, and rewatch my videos, reread my poems, and relisten to my songs obsessively until they no longer have value. I used to be bulimic- pretty sure OCD tied into my ED a bit there too, by trying to obtain that “perfect” bite of food. My OCD and tics are active for my every waking moment, but I’ve kinda just learned to live with em- my bipolar depression and anxiety feel like more troubling issues to seek resolutions for atm. Idk, I hate being obsessed with perfection- OCD feels like both a blessing and a curse. It takes forever to get anything done, but at least when it’s done, it’s done well. 🤷♂️
OH GOD THE PERFECT DEEP BREATH! I've had so much frustration with not being able to "breathe right" like my chest feels too tight or I feel my lungs haven't reached their proper capacity of how much air I can breathe in. God. it doesn't happen very often, but when it does. so frustrating
but also I relate to a lot of other things you say, organising by colour is a big one for me
Ok I’m not diagnosed so I’m not sure I actually have ocd, but I distinctly remember the first time I had an anxiety attack my parents brought me to a doctor and, when she asked me what I was feeling, I just went: “It’s like I need to reach a certain level of oxygen in my lungs, but I can’t quite reach it and that makes me nervous”
And she was like:”… so you don’t feel like your throat is closing up or something?”
And I was so confused, like how couldn’t she understand that I felt like I couldn’t reach the *perfect* breath?
The reading one I struggle with the most. I have ADHD as well, so reading is... absolute hell.
It's specific sounds that trip me up, when it comes to reading being hard because of the Just Right feeling. Gh, gd, gn, nd, qu, th, d/dh, & t/ti, I can think of right now.
To read those damn sounds properly in my head, I have to move my tongue in my mouth to mimic how I'd say them aloud... but I often do it in a way that Feels Wrong.
It also happens way less when I'm writing or editing something that I've done myself in my own words, and when it's short things like a tweet or brief text. The bigger the wall of text and the more words with the trigger sounds in them, the worse it is and the more it happens.
I completely understand, I have both too it drives me crazy
I finally found what I have!! I knew I had OCD but I thought I had Tic Syndrome, turns out it's more likely this! It's so amazing to feel understood
I usually do this with studying. Im always working hard and actually wanting to memorize everything im working but I also just feel like i need to do do it all over again until I get it right.
This might not be related to what you're talking about but this drives me crazy
I only recently found your videos and they’re so helpful. I’ve had OCD since I was a kid and am now in my 30s finally going to therapy for it. I have just right OCD and a mix of pure O and ROCD. The just right seems to take up most of my time. I have a big problem with symmetry and usually trace a line to find the middle of something. It could be doorknobs or the letter “o” or “p” when I’m reading or pretty much any symmetrical thing and I feel this desire to trace it until it feels right. I was self conscious about it as a kid so I stopped physically touching things and now do most of the tracing in my head. I also repeat scenarios in my head until it feels right (the same scenarios over and over). I’m finding ERP for the pure O is easier for me than for just right as it causes me the most anxiety.
The things you share in this video have been life transforming for me. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and wisdom. Very very grateful for you.
You described me perfectly. I also look for patterns in things like floor tiles or carpets, especially if I'm feeling stressed. It's only occasional, and doesn't affect every aspect of life... I also have a thing with books.. when I'm reading, I keep flipping to places where the pages are uneven to see 'what's wrong'...
Body focused touching rituals i have....always had those and now getting answers for all my actions...really feels overwhelming to know that more people do suffer from this and that I am not alone...we all will get well, it may not go away completely, but definitely worth it
omg the reading part caught me off guard because i’ve never heard anyone talk about it. thank u for validating it
You have explained my condition soo well. For me it feels like by doing it over and over again, I have fixed it or cured myself from this terrible, embarrassing, shameful, scarry condition that I have.
After a 12 hr workday where all you want to do is relax and enjoy video games and this 'just right' thing hits is a complete bummer.
LMAO this is so relatable I almost cried
When i watched your video about symmetry ocd i wrote in the comments saying i have everything you said there and now after watching this video I'm saying i have everything you said in this video too. I think I'm gonna die with this mental stress. I'm not able to stop it even if i try. Where i do in my life, in under ocd's pressure. Literally each amd every second of my life. When i take a deep breath and the air touches my left arm i tend to touch right arm with my breath. It's that bad. I'm crying😩😩
The dermatillomania comorbidity is huge. Knowing you can't stop touching until it looks "better" and then realizing you've made everything worse by trying to make everything look "just right".
Shouting in my garage because this is me. And my mom, who as you said never saw because it was normal for her too. Can’t wait to show her this, she’s been wondering about!!
Do you know if there’s any connection or if you’ve treated those with adhd? Cuz I also have add and I am exactly like this, especially the avoidance thing!!!! Procrastination never sounded quite right to me, but this nails it. I had to read Harry Potter a specific way in my head when I was younger...or I guess my hogwarts letter would be revoked (wow).
I obviously have bigger stuck avoidance patterns now as an adult. And I’ve hated how it’s held me back. I’m excited up bring this up to my therapist. But dang thank you for elucidating on the extreme discomfort of being stuck! Like it’s actually quite unpleasant, but everyone just thinks one is being (intentionally) dramatic.
I finally feel understood
I relate to many of these. As a kid whenever I stepped on the cracks of the sidewalk I had to do the rest of them but only with my right foot. Also had to clear any remaining numbers on the microwave, do weird body movements til it felt right but only in even numbers, music volume had to be only on even numbers but not too close to a whole number, rewriting letters or numbers, checking to see the stove off even after I checked 3 or 4 times, anxious for someone to stop talking to me so I can do that body movement again that didn't feel right lol and much more.
Although I appreciate your video's I think by not addressing the potential severity of these symptoms undercuts the intense suffering that many people can experience. using words like discomfort and distress doesn't come close to describing how it can feel to most individuals. This disorder has taken everything from me, hopes dreams, career opportunities and a marriage to the love of my life and so much more. I have suffered decades with extreme anxiety do to the emotional agony that my OCD symptoms cause me every waking hour of every day. I have had hours of intensive therapy including hospitalization, medication, relaxation techniques, positive thinking and every thing else under the sun with the exception of having my brain physically altered and still I continue to be tortured cruelly by this insidious condition. I think it is important not only to explain how the negative effects can control ones life but to accurately address the stigma surrounding OCD and how it has become a sort of insensitive comment in society. If effects self-esteem, willingness to seek help and also the need for funding to find more effective ways to relieve the torment caused by OCD and other mental illnesses. Whimsical music and care free descriptions can not possibly help the layperson understand this neurological monster. Please consider making a serious video without such a cavalier approach. Thank you.
Hey Adam. I'm so sorry to hear the tole this has taken on you. It sounds like you've been through a lot in your lifetime. I hope that you're in a good place now. I get where you're coming from as far as sharing the major negative effects of this. Each person experiences it a little different. Thanks for the feedback. 🙏🏻
I have just right OCD (and OCD in general, however just right is my worst form) primarily with handwashing. My daily handwashing can last up to 3 hours total on a really bad day, and up to 1.5 to 2 hours average daily. Most days I always have at least one, one hour sessions of non stop hand washing rituals. I also have a contamination phobia which means if I'm, for instance preparing coffee via a pour over, I have to wash my hands between EVERY! SINGLE! STEP! It took me over an hour yesterday to wash my hands and open an iced coffee. Because of COURSE I have a ritual for opening cans and bottles too, which takes forEVER!
It is hugely time consuming and causes me a great deal of panic and anxiety. I have lost multiple jobs, my car and am currently in the appeal portion of my disability application.
I have tried exposure therapy and every time I have panic attacks. If I was my hands and it doesn't feel 'just right', and I then prepare food and eat it, I will have a panic attack.
I also have a phobia of being poisoned which makes me super paranoid when buying groceries. I do not eat out, or eat other peoples cooking.
Do you have any tips or anything I can do for some relief?
I am so exhausted from this :(.
I suffer so much from just right ocd, in fact I actually had an ocd attack tonight lol, thank you for this!
ALL. MY. LIFE. it's positively exhausting and time consuming to constantly be fixated on how things are placed, how clothes are folded, how my shoes are lined up, just to name a few. and hardly be able to move on til they're "fixed" and it feels right. And it finally made sense why i procrastinate on things like re-organizing my cleaning my closet; I already know I'll get stuck like Chuck and I hate it! Any suggestions??
Lol every time I read any sort of webtoon when it scrolls downwards, if there aren’t enough bubbles on one side I end up having to constantly hit the side of the head it isn’t enough to feel comfortable. Or if I step an extra step on one foot I have to do a weird skippy thing to make it even, and one side steps just a little harder, I have to make sure both sides are always feeling the same. But then it isn’t even gain and I have to do it again... also while watching this video I had to make sure there was space between every icon, and that there was an equal amount of space and it made it really hard to focus XD lol sorry random ramble, but I don’t know if it’s ocd or if I’m just being crazy but if I talk about it it won’t feel normal...
I have that exactly the same with having to do something harder on one side of my body of something happened on the other side. Like if I'm riding my bike and my right leg hits the bar in the middle of the bike I'll have to hit my left leg on the bar as well to even it up
I can't watch movies because of just right ocd. I always try to imitate the actors body or facial expressions.
You really nailed it about "SOUND OCD" at 3:18. Repeating to hear the sound "RIGHT" can go even up to 100 and more times. It is quite exhausting. There is also "READING OCD" which adds up to this pressure. It is repeating same words or sentences over and over again. Glad you made this video because now I know for sure what this actually is.
"Sound ocd" is also about trying to hear "right" what someone says. Too much attention to words.
Wish you talked more about ERP in this case, though.
i used to have this more before but I had to make the other person content and happy before hanging up the phone with someone.
It was a dilemma since maybe they were stressed or tired and how they felt had nothing to do with me.
so I asked them if they are okay and they would say "yes", but it still would not 'feel right' to me.
we’d hang up and
I got this creeping feeling ,until I gave in and call them again. just to make sure that ‘it wasn’t just because I missed to say "this and this and this"
but then they were more tired and I would feel even less good about it.
i used to call a lot more like this ... now it has reduced to only one more call or none.
i just deal with the anxious feeling and ride it out .
which can be difficult. But thanks to these videos I have so much more tools and confidence to work with!
So thank you! if you see this ♡
I'm crying this actually explains exactly how I've been feeling for so many years 😭
Have you been able to overcome it?
@cerealis_5432 Actually, for the most part, yes. It's still lingering in the background and affects me sometimes, but overall nothing like it was!
@@Mrbscott that’s amazing! How’d you do it? Do you have any advice?
I have this for my fomo. I have stream of thoughts, I'm thinking about my day, jotting down ideas so as to not get overwhelmed and I do feel good once I'm done until...there comes a nagging feeling. Did I write it all? Did I miss something? A useful insight? I keep going back in my head over and over again to get to that thought which I didn't even know exists or if it does is probably unnecessary. It's a mental compulsion.
This is me 😭. I get the same stream of thoughts as you described, even when just trying to articulate my thoughts in speech or writing. Is this what I really mean to say? Is this the verbiage I want to use? Did I get all of my points across? It’s torturous lol
Have you been able to find ways to cope or lessen that incomplete feeling?
Just don't negotiate with those thoughts, no rumination whatsoever
Uh huh, I have many of these things. The worst one is, when I read something i don't agree with, even the most dumb opinion ever, I feel like I need to re-read it to be 102% sure I understand their point, and even when I do, I get this uneasy feeling that I missed something for sure, so I better read it again... not to mention reading on the subject, to be absolutely sure, and it gets complicated when it comes to religion or philosophy or stuff like that, from obvious reasons.
I seem to have a mix of this and obsessive ruminations. Like I cant stop ruminating about how to make something right or go back to it's better feeling. It can turn a corner and I feel like I have to reset it or else it's all ruined and I can't get back, and then I think the more I try im going to over try and make it worse... it can spiral so fast
I’ve been experiencing the same thing. Has your condition improved since writing this post?
How to separate rumination from anxiety and rumination from ocd?
Omg haha yeah i have ocd .. I have to have things organized a certain way.I procrastinate with tasks that I have because I don’t want to not do it right. When I do something I have to make sure I’m doing it the right way.. When I was in high school my hair had to be a certain way .. and I had to dress a certain way to feel comfortable.. and if I made the wrong decision I couldn’t wait to come home. I just game to the point where I would wear the same black v neck everyday and I liked it so much I bought like 10 of the same shirts because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of picking the right thing to wear or I would be late.. my hair had to be a certain way or else I would just spend hours trying to fix it on a mirror.. k would obsess with having my hair a certain way.. I would even have rituals of how I would comb it .. yeah haha ... and at work all my tools have to be in a certain place because I fear I’m going to lose them. Yeah that’s me ... wow haha
When I was younger I would spend 5 minutes walking through a door frame over and over until it was correct. Breathing in the right pattern and blinking. If I rolled my eyes I had to roll them back the other way to ‘keep it even’. When I couldn’t fulfill the needs I just resorted to biting myself to relieve the anger.
The keeping it even thing - yes!
Nathan, I've watched some of your videos and think they are great. I'm a trainee cbt therapist and have found your videos useful. What I continue to struggle with and can't find help through your videos is how to do ERP for just right cbt e.g. for a client who feels an urge to look back at a number 7 a second time and if they they look again, they need to look again (always an even number). For this client, we sat with the uncomfortable feeling (and urge to look back at number 7) for 15 minutes and the anxiety didn't shift.
I just stumbled upon this video and I experience and have always experience exactly everything. I had no idea that it was actually a thing! I knew about OCD but it didn't seem to fit me because I thought it wad only about obsessive thoughts. Now I know that there are many different kinds of OCD and it seems like I might have this "Just Right" OCD. It has been annoying me so much and made everything so difficult. Thank you!
The compulsion that has haunted me over the last few years now is whenever I am enjoying the thoughts of flow and doing well either problem solving in my mind, enjoying a good thought or doing well in a conversation my mind will realize my exceptionalism and ask the stupid question, "what if you just stop?" Then I cant not stop and I for some reason stop thinking and the great feeling turns into the literal worst feeling. Worse than betrayal, worse than regret, worse than guilt. Its infuriating. Why cant I just ignore that stupid question, let it go, and just continue thinking the good thought I was just thinking?
For me ,It's like the ocd craves danger behind this mask of certainty
I feel like I have a bit of this, but fortunately my ADHD forces me to accept that most things are never right because I don't have the patience and stamina for it.
I remember learning about OCD when in primary school, and I realized that I did have a habit of repeating things for fun or until it feels right, and I was scared to become trapped by rituals. So I decided that I'm allowed up to 3 repetitions of short duration actions (like rinsing a glass, shaking a piece of fabric before hanging it to dry, etc) if it feels more comfortable and strive to be satisfied with only one action, and at most one verification for time-consuming things if it's important such as going back to verify hat the stove is off or the door is locked.
And for years I've allowed myself at most one extra hand wash between between meals for when my hands feel sticky or "contaminated" somehow for no real reason. I used to tell myself that even if my hands are actually contaminated it's probably not going to make me or anyone else sick, it's not like there is a plague or anything where I am.
Though this strategy has worked pretty well until march 2020 when covid came to Norway and when my old boss stupidity came to work with a nasty cough. Then even a hand wash every 10 minutes didn't feel sufficient, and my reassurance that it probably won't make me sick stopped working completely, because literally anything around me could potentially be contaminated with an actual pandemic virus.
So I panicked and went home, and I have been working from home since 12. March.
My hands got really sore and irritated from soap initially, but fortunately spirit hand sanitizer is much less harmful to the skin. So now I allow myself as much hand sanitizer as I want and only allow soap when coming home from a short excursion, before eating and after toilet. The hand sanitizer use limits itself because it's slightly sticky if I use a lot, and I hate stickiness more than contamination so I avoid touching things so I don't have to use it.
Really wonder if I'll ever will feel comfortable without hand sanitizer...
When I'm recording music for example, sometimes I'll do a vocal take, and especially when I really like that take, it won't *feel* right. So what I have to do is I have to delete that take, and perform another one. Then usually that one won't feel right either, so I have to delete it, and repeat until it feels right.
Other times, when I'm typing, if it doesn't feel right, I have to go back and delete it and retype it. Or sometimes, I'm in the middle of a very important task at work, but I'll get the STRONGEST, most PRESSING feeling that if I keep working I'm gonna die or something. So then I have to stop working, and I can only start working again (usually 5 mins or so) when it *feels* right again. Let me tell you, it is truly awful and very restrictive to normal functioning. Not to mention the hours of guilt and rumination that I have to go through when I ignore these feelings.
But even worse, is the remorse I feel when I DO give in to my OCD. When I give in to it, I get an awful feeling of detaching from myself. As if, by continuing to listen to my OCD over my own self, I am less able to see what MY will is. And at its worse, it was like my will/desires become clouded by my OCD and I, for a brief amount of time, am unable to distinguish between myself and my OCD. It's truly an awful, awful experience. And not to pull that old cliché but, I truly wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.
My god! You get it!
That's the same word i used - "incomplete".
I had this so badly as a child with things that I touched or touched my body. My mom made up a little song that made fun of what I was doing, I was embarassed and would try to not to it in front of her anymore.
I asked her when I was older why she didn't get me help and she said "I called the doctor and he said it was childhood ocd and you'd outgrow it." I later developed panic disorder and agoraphobia.
Im now a therapist, and I dont have a relationship with my mother.
What might the origins of this be? Needing that "settled" feeling? That talking one is fascinating I've done that too! Like I have to keep talking to say something even if I don't want to or I'm exhausted (or the other person is)
Hi, i have this just right ocd and other themes too (i think) Do you do online therapy sessions? I am in a terrible state right now... very, very stuck and very low, and feeling like i wanna die sometimes. I’m sure i have this just right ocd as soon as i wake up sometimes, where how i move myself and just do things that you shouldn’t think about like itch or wipe my eye, sit up (for example) all feels wrong, so i try to make myself go back to sleep, in hope i will wake up feeling normal, like I’m just ‘being’ without worrying about it and not being so aware of everything I’m doing. It’s been so bad that I’ve started to wet the bed before! Then this carries on throughout my day, on and on. Even now I’m not sure I’m getting this exactly right. I really need some help. My story is a long one as Ive had very bad ocd since i was 17 and I’m now 41. I never finished college, driving, or have had a job since. I never managed to become a dancer like i wanted. I had to have help the whole time with my 2 boys, ( they came later) and I’m still in a very bad place now. I have a better times, but its been up and down, changing. The first ocd thing i had was doubting i new how to wash properly, (or something like that) thats why i ended up taking longer and longer to wash.. eventually ending up by not being able to go anywhere. The help where i was in a village in England/UK, just wasn’t there for my severity. They wanted me to go to groups I couldn’t even get to, and didn’t even really think that could help me, because i thought that i could figure out what was wrong with me myself! I had no understanding of mental health, i just thought i was going crazy. Anyway years later after finding out I could actually could go to a hospital in London, (finding out my rights at a conference i went to) i went there, five years ago now. They said i had incompleteness ocd and disgust ocd. It didn’t work out too well there cause they said they were not getting the results they wanted. Anyway, i really need some help. Could you help me? Thanks. I have had medications too.
Anyone who has mild OCD of any kind, please get help early! I have had OCD since I was about 6 and it wasn't that bad at first. I didn't get help for years but it just made it worse, and now I have much more severe OCD that I could have prevented. Please, anyone else who has it, get help if you can!!!!
I touch something and have to touch it again or while my hand across the place I touch till it feels just right
I didn't even realize I was doing it but once I did I had to laugh. I replayed one part of your video like 16 times about articulating words. 😂 Wtf
Thanks a lot for your great videos - I really love them. They are truly interesting and beneficial. I am experiencing the “Just Right OCD” too..exactly how you described in your video. Would you please provide us with more details on how do you handle such OCD - more live examples would be lovely. Looking forward to hear more from you. Thanks and regards. - Clement
Thank you for your kind words! I will create a video on more detail about the treatment! 😃
OCD and Anxiety thanks. You are a great man! 🙂
You also mentioned about people with “JustRight OCD” being procrastinators. Is it advisable for people with this condition to avoid triggers altogether, ‘cos then they would not have to deal with anxiety which could result from any imperfections in whatever they do. Would be great if you could also elaborate on this in your next video. Thanks very much in advance. Regards.
I had to watch this video 20 times until it felt right
Omg the touching things.. When I was in highschool I would not let people in my room because of the fear of them touching things. Or one time a parent looked for something and moved a few things and I had a panic attack for like 3 hours. Or the reading and talking. Reading and re-reading over and over. Saying the same word over and over. Having to restart not only my entire sentence but my thought from the beginning if interrupted by others or even myself, or if I messed up saying something. I'm scared to start anything, because it will take me HOURS. I tried to unpack and spent 3 hours organizing 10 books on 2 shelves. I still haven't been able to unpack and it has been over a month. Which in itself is distressing..
My anxiety about people touching or moving things in my space is so bad I avidly avoid leaving my room so I can make sure it doesn't happen. If someone goes near there I start to panic.
I try to prolong how quickly I go to check things, I went from needing to right that second, to being able to wait a few minutes. Not a lot but it counts.
Thank you for sending me over here, this, this is a thing.
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! You're awesome! This sounds so painful of what you're experiencing! I hope you can find some relief soon. I would check iocdf.org to see if you can find someone near you. 😃
I'm obsessed with me, and my coworkers lunches. I need them to be 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30. Or 1, 2, and 3. One of my coworkers either takes forever to go on her lunch so the times are wrong, or she will not take her lunch, and clocked off and keep working.
It has literally effected my ability to build a work relationship with her, because of her lack of predictability.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Julia. This sounds so painful to go through. I'm sorry. I hope you can find some ways to break these patterns and feel better. Therapy can help if you find the right person. I usually look at iocdf.org. 😃
We got this people! ❤️
Omg. I am like this ever since I have started to think.
I tackled my pure O just few months before and now I'm constantly checking these therapy videos because I never get the "just right" feeling. I feel like something is missing. This theme is majorly focussed on my toolkit for other anxiety themes so I'm confused what to to about it! If I deviate myself from the just right feelings I might end up for getting my therapy toolkit and drown in the disorder again!
Damn, this is me 100%. I never knew it had a specific name! It is paralyzing.
Thanks for posting this. It was helpful. I could deeply realate to what u discussed
Thank you for taking the time to write this! It means a lot! 😃
I have things in my room that I haven't touched in over 8 years and am constantly anxious that they somehow have moved without me knowing.
thank you for this video. 🖤 i always have to do things about 2-3 times. i touch and turn my light off 3-4 times every time . and whenever i place something down, i CANNOT put my phone or any object down if it’s not placed down directly in the center. if it too left, i feel “incomplete” and same with the right. idrk now to describe it, i have to do it until it’s “just right” and it has become a habit that i cannot stop :/ and whenever i put a comment on yt or something, i have to read it like 5-9 times! it’s sucks!!
Thank you for sharing. I am so sorry for what you were going through. I hope that you can feel better soon. Also, are you the real Mike Wazowski?😜
OCD and Anxiety dang it you caught me!😅
but thank you, it’s tough but i can live with it!!
It’s because we attribute the completion or just right place, to a sense of completion, fullness, and therefore complete and not vulnerable, and therefore can feel safe about life. If it’s incomplete it feels like it’s not safe anymore because it seems like incomplete means not full or not complete and therefore vulnerable, and so not safe and you feel like life is going to end and it’s all going to fall apart because you’re vulnerable.
Could u plz upload a video about how to treat just right ocd - thank u soo much for ur videos❤️
Great suggestion! Yes! I need to do this video!
I have just right OCD. I had to quit my job over it. Ppl stressing me out from corporate. Triggering it even more.
(I just learned of this subtype of OCD today.) when I was little, I used to say the feeling of incompleteness felt like the cringe of nails on a chalkboard. I would always use that as my example because no one really likes that sound and it triggers a visceral reaction, and that’s how I would feel when I had to do something to feel right. I need to do it or it’s that horrible cringe feeling…discomfort….irritation..the list goes on. It has no rhyme or reason. As I’m typing this you were just talking about picking things up with certain fingers and it made me tear up. When the iPhone came out with fingerprint recognition I kept my iPhone5C until 2016 because I KNEW how that light touching of the button with one finger would drive me mad. When iPhones had buttons that was a big one for me. Now they’re gone so that problem is gone too lmao. I’m just rambling now but I feel so seen. Ive also developed tics due to Covid anxiety, and I dealt with trich as a child but have mostly overcome that. I can’t believe it’s all related. It all makes sense.
I definitely have anxiety, and Im obsessive and compulsive. However my tendencies have not interfered with my daily life enough to be a disorder. I mean it’s possible that I just have a very mild case but it hasn’t affected my grades.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's good to know what's happening and what you can do about it. 😃
I haven’t been diagnosed but I’ve been to therapist and I always have this like feeling that like I’m somehow faking it. That even though it’s not like I can really control it, somehow I’m faking it. Like you have mentioned in other videos I feel like these overwhelming sensations to like crack my knuckles or more so blink a lot along with the doing things just right or I die. I have no idea why I feel so often like I’m somehow doing this for attention (even though there’s people in my life who think I am). I’m also very scared to you know talk to my family about wanting to get diagnosed or start therapy again. And I don’t know if it’s even worth getting diagnosed, I would just want it so it could be easier to talk to people about it. Sorry for spilling my life lmao but do you have any suggestions for how to like bring this up to people ❤️❤️
I have this mainly for school I’m failing all my classes bc I’ve been avoiding doing work bc it takes so long to get 1 assignment done I rather turn in nothing than something that’s not right
I keep feeling like something's missing that is keeping me from being happy. I can be really enjoying doing something but in the back of my head it feels like something's missing. But the thing that's missing keeps changing in my mind. Last week I felt I didn't have enough friends who shared the same interests. This week, I feel like I might be in the wrong career. It feels like I'm craving these things even though there are areas of my life that I know are right for me. I don't know if this is a form of just right. I also get the thought that something unknown to me is wrong daily.
Sounds like MDD
I would find it really helpful if you made a video that went more into depth with the mental and less visual aspect of just right ocd with perfectionism and decision making
Yes!!! Have you been able to find ways to cope with these issues since writing this post?
I'm finally seeing someone who specializes in ocd! They wrote down a list of my compulsions and obsessions and then we sorted them based on severity and we work together to come up with exposures that seem realistic, usually like 1 or 2 after a session and see then how it went the following session.
Some general things I've been trying to do are making quick decisions and sitting with the doubt, regret or anxiety about it possibly being the wrong thing. , saying to myself "maybe I did (do, say, pick etc) the wrong thing" and sitting with the discomfort (not fighting the ocd!!). Also making mistakes (working my way up though from mildly uncomfortable to more challenging exposures). I'm only in the beginning of this process but working with someone who understands and knows what to do has made me feel a lot more hopeful.
I also recommend a podcast called All the Hard Things by Jenna Overbaugh that's on Apple and Spotify. I learned so much from her before I even started therapy.
But yea! I hope you're able to get the info and support you need as well!!
Do you have any insight as to what type of symptoms 'Just Right' OCD and ADHD could present. I have ADHD and was recently diagnosed with OCD falling more in line with just right tendencies. I haven't had many sessions yet and I am still in the early stages of treatment but I always have doubts about whether or not I have either of them. Any information regarding their co-morbidity would be appreciated, thanks!
There actually is a pretty high co-morbidity rate with just right OCD and ADHD. Although, they both manifest itself differently. Hopefully your therapist can help you through these.
Theres still a fear included. The fear of anxiety itself.
When I was a young kid, I made myself invision a cross obsessively and I would have to do it over and over again because I had to do it until it felt right.
I have this disorder, and my daughter was just diagnosed with it yesterday, and she's only 4 years old. Clothing has been a big problem for her, especially socks.
I haven't been professionally diagnosed, but I think I have just right ocd. I wash my hands until i feel it's ok. Recently I can't be touched or touch certain things or else I'll have to wash my hands again.
I repeat a phrase sometimes until I feel that I understand it perfectly. What is that? If I dont repeat it and understand it perfectly until it feels right, it will bother me until I do. If I try and ignore it, it will still bother me until I understand it perfectly. So I give in and repeat it until it feels right, because my fear is that I will have to go to work and it will distract me so I cant get my work done.
The feeling of doing something wrong with every move I make has been worse after leaving my husband. He liked to have the control, as did my parents. When I was with them as long as I did what they all wanted, I was okay. But, it didn't help whenever they all wanted different things.
Why you calling me out with the lamp! hahahah
Wow u said it all what I was never able to explain anyone... 😅
Thank you so so much for this video it’s helps so much!
I still can’t read books because of this. I actually went through a 3 month period where I held my eyes closed 24/7 because I was so unable to see words/text and not compulsively read it until I did it “perfectly”.
This video was so helpful thanks ❤️