OCD, what is it? Is this something like it?

I'm new here. I was hoping to get some input if I could...

(It's a tad long, please read on...) I have been really stressed out lately. Normally, I'm a bit of a neatfreak. Not so much a neat freak, as I am really particular about orderliness and can be pretty hard to deal with once something is out of place. I cannot handle it very well and start getting really anxious. Last night though, a bit before midnight, I took a bath...I had alot on my mind and after the bath, I dried my hair, parted it exactly, made a perfect bun, put on matching shorts and shirt and went nuts cleaning. Mind you, this is around eleven p.m. at night. In one hour I washed all the floors in the house, all the bathrooms, cleaned alll the windows, folded and hung) all the clothes((about two weeks worth, i have been insanely busy)) (inverted, facing away from me, sorted by colors and type of item), folded the socks, the underwear, cleaned out and ordered all items in all the drawers, ran outside and cleaned out the car, wiped all counters, cleaned out and organized the closet. I worked up a sweat so bad it was sweaty under my knees. I was frantic. I felt like if I stopped for just a minute, something absolutely horrible would happen. I was crying hysterically yet I COULD NOT stop. It felt like I was in a dream. My mind was going so fast that it felt like everything was in slow motion and I was detached. It felt like a dream in which you are running absolutely as fast as you can and you cannot get anywhere yet you continue to run. I was losing my breath and hyperventilating, but I could not stop until I was done. My husband was knocked out dead asleep, but once I finished, I was sobbing so loud he woke up. I could not stop. I took off all my clothes, folded them perfectly and placed them back where they belonged and collapsed into bed crying in hysterics.

Obviously this is not usual.
You have to understand it is not something I'd be proud or feel comfortable speaking about. Is this a case of OCD? Far as I can tell, OCD is just like rechecking the stove or aligning cds alphabetically. Which I do, but it does not necessarily take over my daily life. But this scared the living day lights out of me because I had absolutely NO control. I could stop but even though I knew it was irrational, I felt the world or I would collapse.

I don't want to tell too many people nor do I quite understand who I would go to with this? Is it even necessary or is there something I can do? I am very very confused and a little scared. It still feels like a dream, so I am almost questioning whether it happened, but the husband got wierded way out. He does not know what to do with me. Any help?

Hi,

I think I know the particular feeling that you had in your head, and I therefore know how horrible it is to have such a feeling. When I get a feeling like that, I just lie down somewhere if I can, and oddly enough, I have been diagnosed with OCD. I know that youv haven't been diagnosed with it, but everything you've written here is indicative of it. It's not really clear what causes OCD - I mean, it's a brain disorder but it's so common that there are therapies now that can really help ppeople like you and I with this. There is medication too, believe it or not, and it has the effect of 'slowing down' the mind. that's the best way that I can describe it.

To set the ball rolling, phone your local doctor and arrange an appointment.

Kevin