this is crazy,but i have to post it

[beemer5]

i have a little cat now,and for some odd reason i have picked up the obession with the crap thing now.(there i said it)it's alway's doubting myself which makes my life a living hell.when i go by the cat box,which is off to the side of my washer as im heading there i say make sure you don't touch it,then while i am there i reinact my steps at time's to make sure i did not,knowing if i hit it i would feel it.but i alway's have to make sure.then i carry it everywhere,i open a cabinet and see there is nothing there but i will still check my hand's once twice and when i close the same cabinet i will check my hand's once twice the same way.when you don't see something is there why do i keep checking it?is this just a habit i am forming?i can't keep doubting myself because it is driving me crazy,i never can feel relaxed in my own house.tat when you responded to my last post,when i check it once and then check it twice should i just move on and let the feeling not feel right?i believe that is the answer,but reassurance from other's is nice to hear.i know this sound's crazy but i had to post it.thank you.p.s.year's ago when i did not have ocd i would just check something as a natural habit and move on,now it is like i have to do it,its weird and im sick of the whole thing.thank's again

[beemer5]

thank you very much for taking the time to put this here.it will really help me out.i am going to get a copy of the book brain lock also.its funny when you asked your husband what's that?did i touch it?because when i am in the kitchen and turn to put something in the garbage can and i can see the litter box down the hall in my laundry room which is, i would say a good 10 feet away,once my eyes pick up on it,i say to myself there is no way i could have touched,but sometimes i have to stand there and reason it out,which make's no sence in reality.just bother's me i would even think about it.but like you said it's brain lock.and i am going to work on it.again thank you for posting this here,i really appreciate it.take care,tat

[LivingwithOCD07]

Sorry for the numerous posts, but I wanted to tell you about how you think you may have touched the litter box, but you're not sure. It's funny because when I go out with my husband, running errands or what not, I would ask him: Whats that? did i touch that? and the funny part is it would be about 5 or 10 feet from me. He would say the only way for me to have touched it is if I was like gumby and could stretch my arms or legs out like spaghetti and touch it.

[LivingwithOCD07]

So, in a nutshell, these are the four self treatment steps to rid yourself of OCD symptoms.
STEP 1: RELABEL awnsers the question, "What are these bothersome, intrusive thoughts? The important point to keep in mind is that you must relabel these unwanted thoughts, urges and behaviors. You must call them what they really are: They are obsessions and compulsions. You must make a concious effort to keep firmly grounded in reality. You must strive to avoid being tricked into thinking that the feeling that you need to check or to count or to wash, for example, is a real need. it is not. Your thoughts and urges are symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a medical disease.

STEP 2: REATTRIBUTE awnsers the questions, "Why don't these bothersome thought, urges and behaviors go away?" "Why do they keep bothering me?" "What should I attribute them to?"
The answer is that they persist because they are symptoms of OCD, a condition that has been scientifically demonstrated to be related to a biochemical imbalance in the brain that causes your brain to misfire. There is now strong scientific evidence that in OCD a part of your brain that works much like a gearshift in a car is not working properly. Therefore your brain gets "stuck in gear." As a result, it's hard for you to shift behaviors. Your goal in the reattribute step is to realize that the sticky thoughts and urges are due to your balky brain.

STEP 3: REFOCUS tells you what to do when you are trying to overcome those urges to do the compulsive behaviors. It instructs you to "work around" those nagging, troublesome thoughts by refocusing your attention to some useful, constructive, enjoyable activity, such as gardening or playing a computer game. The key to the refocus step is to DO ANOTHER BEHAVIOR. When you do, you are repairing the broken gearshift in your brain. Your brain starts shifting more smoothly to other behaviors. The more you practice the refocus step, the easier it becomes. That's because your brain is beginning to function more efficiently.

STEP 4: REVALUE is a natural outcome of diligent practice of the first three steps- Relabel, Reattribute, and Refocus. With consistent practice, you will quickly come to realize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are worthless distractions to be ignored. With this insight, you will be able to Revalue and devalue the pathological urges and fend them off until they begin to fade. As your brain begins to work better, it will become easier to see the obsessions and compulsions for what they really are. Your brain will function in a much more normal, automatic way. As a result, the intensity of your symptoms will decrease.

[LivingwithOCD07]

Here are a few paragraphs from the book Brainlock:

It's not Insanity, it's Brain Lock

In treatment, the person is first assured that the diagnoses is just OCD. It's just the brain sending false messages. We show pictures of the brains of people with OCD that prove conclusively that OCD is associated with a biochemical problem that causes the underside of the front part of the brain to overheat.
In short, the person is suffering from Brain Lock. the brain has become stuck in an inappropriate groove. the key to unlocking the brain is behavior therapy, and that begins with the relabeling step. Relabeling simply means calling the unwanted thoughts and urges by their real names- obsessive thoughts and compulsive urges. These are not just uncomfortable feelings like "maybe it's dirty," but gnawing and unremitting obsessions. not just bothersome urges to check for the fourth or fifth time, but brutal, compulsive urges.

This is war, and the enemy is OCD. In fighting back, it is critical to keep in mind what the enemy really is. the person with OCD has a powerful weapon: the knowledge that "It's not me- it's OCD." He or she works constantly to prevent confusing the true self with the voice of OCD.
All well and good, you may say, but OCD has a mind of it's own. It wont shut up. To this I reply: "yes it will, but it takes time." Praying for OCD to go away wont instantly make it happen, nor will idle and futile cursing.
If you wish to pray, what you should pray for is the strength to help yourself. God helps those who help themselves, and it's only reasonable to believe that God would help someone engaged in such a worthwhile struggle. In this case, it means concentrating on doing the right thing, while letting go of an excessive concern with feelings and comfort level. this is, in the best sense, performing a good work!
At the same time it is medical self treatment that begins with accepting what you cannot change- at least in the short term. Right off it is vital to understand that the simple act of relabeling will not make your OCD dissappear. But when you see this enemy for what it is, OCD, you sap it of its strength and you, in turn, become stronger. In time, it wont matter that much to you whether the bothersome thoughts totally go away because you are not going to act on them. Furthermore, the more you are able to dismiss the importance of your OCD, the more you will feel in control and the more it will go away. On the other hand, the more you focus on it, wishing and hoping and begging for it to leave you alone, the more intense and bothersome the feelings will become.