No I do not really think it is an addiction for me it is just something I have to do. I do not want to have germs on me. My stress level is high lately so now I am worse about it here the last couple of weeks. I am to the point again that I do not want anyone to touch me at all and now I am taking it to the point to where after somebody uses the bathroom any of it the sink, shower or toilet I have to go in the and put gloves on and clean the bathroom. I am trying to fight it but it is hard to do. The reason I do not think it is an addiction is because the levels of it change for me from good to bad almost by itself sometimes. Just two weeks ago I was to a point that my OCD was not driving me crazy and now it is.

no not really....i mean sometimes its worse than others....like i can shower 6 times a day for a while....and then it goes down to one, two or three? It depends how bad my compulsions and obsessiveness is as the time really! IM not addicted....Its just because i cant stop...its a compulsion. Things are going through my mind constantly, so im being told to do it...im not absent mindedly doing it because its a habit or anything. Hey mindy i know what your saying! A couple of weeks ago mine was so bad i was hardly able to function....and then suddenly it changed and i was doing really really well....but now its starting to come back quite nastily again!

Well if you think about it. It could be similar to a smoking addiction. I dont smoke, but I am only guessing people (who want to quit, not those who enjoy and dont want to quit) who smoke have trouble bc it could be an addiction. That is why it makes it so hard to stop. With ocd, the obsession can be looked at as an addiction, where we want to stop, but just get anxious when we dont. But I think with ocd it really causes a lot of stress and anxiety bc of the worry. With quitting smoking, it is prob calming for them to smoke. But they are not scared if they stop smoking for example that something bad will happen (I am guessing) I guess there could be similarities, but I only am able to write this bc there is an group on myspace that mentioned addiction and ocd

I think it's very similar, but based, not on habitually creating a neurological pathway, but on the chemical imbalance in the brain that makes us seek the comfort of ritual in the first place. Washing gives you a little chemical charge from you brain and it's the same as taking a hit of some drug or other. I think the only real difference is what's behind doing it. But that may be a pretty big difference in the end. I am trying to learn to just BE with my uncomfortable feelings. To acknowledge them and the level of discomfort, but to do nothing about it. Just be with it. Soooo hard to do!

That is where I am at. THe new therapist means business. lol I have hw for next time. THe thoughts is one of the things we are working on. I am supposed to take my thoughts and write a story. All this time I am trying to avoid thinking these things or completing the thoughts and now I have to sit with them like you said and not give into my compulsion. It cracks me up that my therapist told me to get a box of tissues when I write the story. Telling ya, she means business.

i dont think thats an addiction. like the other people said, it can change based upon your mood. there are times when i can go like a couple hours without it, the others when i do it over and over in just ten minutes. it is simply an impulse. not an addiction. id say it cause addictions are usually things you can live without but still do, but this thing with washing hands, it almost seems like you just CANT be comfortable or anything until you do.... you know what i mean tho????

for me i do not feel like it is an addiction...but perhaps i do it so much it can become a habit. so, there may be times i do it just because even if i did not necessarily feel like i needed to! this is a very good question katie! because now when i am thinking of it...i am thinking of how good it feels when i am washing!

Yeah, I agree. It may not start out an addiction, but it does turn into that. I believe that most people, even those without OCD, have their little addictive habits that make them feel better, more comfortable, more secure, whatever. Anything that stands in your way and you feel you MUST do, is an addiction. But as I said above, the difference lies in how that neural pathway is established. If it's established kind of "on purpose" ( you started taking drugs or drinking your sorrows away), then that's something that can only be cured by stopping whatever habit you have. With OCD, you have to stop the need to have the ritual itself. I think that's harder. Maybe I don't know that, but it seems like it is to me. Nevertheless, the only way to stop is to stop. It sucks that it has to be like that, but I think it does. I admit to being pretty lame when it comes to just stopping doing the things that comfort me. Actually, I suck at it.

Here it is.

thanks Katie, i really like clutters posts... i think im gonna call my parents whenever i get that uncomfortable feeling from now on.

Well, I don't like people getting in my personal space. If they do, then I wash my hands, arms and face. I don't like it. I can clean up my animals cage, and I can touch dirt and cook raw food, but I hate people getting in my personal space. Weird huh?

im just the same lol