Nursing and OCD

[JessiekRN]

Hi All..so on a somewhat embarrassing and personal note I've been dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder for probably most of my 29 years. Very typical and textbook symptoms..a lot of cleaning/organizing/counting/checking behaviors. Which is inconvenient enough in my personal life but lately has been creeping into my job. Checking and rechecking orders, compulsively looking back at my own notes, constant worrying about anything/everything.. I know being careful is important but I also know I'm out of control. It's starting to affect my overtime after my shift because I spend a lot of time doing things that probably are not as urgent or necessary as they feel. I'm wondering if any other nurses are dealing with this. I'm very frustrated (been in and out of therapy..tried the medication thing..I'm starting to accept that I am always going to have this). I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else out there deals with ocd and how it affects your work. It would be nice to not feel so alone in this. Thank you for listening..

[sassy_squirrel]

What do you mean by 3's etc ?

I even count out loud "one, two, three - locked" and repeat that three times on my doors. And tap the door three times, or pulling the door tab three times.

[LennyLpz]

So, I am glad I came across this comment in my search for answers. I am a nursing student and my OCD is really good for school but horrible for my relationship. I've never been diagnosed with OCD because culturally my family didn't go to the doctors all the time. My baby bro died in a hospital setting so I think my dad had trust issues. Either way... I recognized what was wrong with me waaay later in life and by the time I learned about it I had already had my own way of dealing with it. My OCD circles around double and sometimes triple checking myself especially when I know I've done it anyway. Like setting my alarms or doing any kind of math. I reread paragraphs from the book over a few times and sometimes get stuck making sure I understood a sentence a few times even though I knew I understood but wanted to make sure. My boyfriend thinks I doubt him... when in actuality I just double check everything from what I read to what I have planned. I am not very organized so it makes it harder to keep track of certain things (part of me wishes I had the OCD in organization). Either way, I myself don't want to take meds but I am trying to fix my relationship. With my issue, I spend so many hours studying and little time for myself much less him. Are the meds worth the risk? I don't like med dependency and I am nervous about bringing this up with my physician. I am already 27 and feel like I won't be believed. Constantly doubting and it's driving me insane. I also think some forms of therapy are not beneficial as I have done therapy before for another incident (really bad car accident). Either way, I feel alone. Any suggestions?