Having finally been diagnosed with OCD, I am now on a year long waiting list for treatment. In the meantime I am supposed to resist compulsions, obviously. But I am confused about 'just right' OCD symptoms. I have those as well as other symptoms. By which I mean I usually need to touch something with both hands, or feet, etc. I have a similar thing with the number 9. If I see the time ends in a 9 I have to keep looking until it gets to a 1. I.e. It's 9.19, I don't feel right until I see 9.21 then I can stop checking.
In both cases, it's not that I think something bad will happen if I don't do these things. It just feels really uncomfortable, not right and incomplete. It drives me mad. Sometimes I forget to look at the clock when it gets to the 1. Sometimes someone touches one of my arms and then goes away and I can't get them to touch the other. I don't think something bad will happen, it just feels really bad.
I know with therapy for OCD, the treatment is usually to avoid doing the compulsions and realise nothing happens. I think I need to nag my partner for sex every weekend or we'll break up. I guess the idea is I don't nag her, we have it anyway and even if we don't we don't break up. Much easier said than done but I get the general idea. But how does it work for 'just right' OCD? If I always avoid touching something with the second hand after I've touched it with the first, and I thought that meant something bad and the something bad doesn't happen, that makes sense. But if it just makes me feel uncomfortable, if I avoid doing it it will still make me feel uncomfortable? Is the idea it just gets less weird feeling as time goes on? I don't really see how it can. Or is this much less annoying than more 'serious' types of OCD so I just put it down to a quirk and think it's ok if I keep doing it?
Does anyone have any experience with treating this kind of OCD?