Am I OCD? I cant quite figure it out

Hey guys,

Ok to start off, I'm joining this board because I feel that there is something different about me than other people. I haven't really delved into it, and by that I mean I have not gone to see a psychiatrist of any sort. Anyway, I'll describe myself, and maybe some of you could tell me what you think I have (if anything).

Although I live a pretty normal life, which I wouldn't have any problems with if living in it indefinitely, I find I'm quite shy, first of all. Secondly, I also have tics. I've had them all my life, as far as I can remember, and I'm 21 now and in University and I still have them. They're worst when I'm nervous mainly, and I have a whole variety of tics, some which go and new ones which come. Some include cracking my neck excessively, blinking, unfocusing my eyes and refocusing, nose twiching, eye rolling (which looks quite disturbing actually). I do these in such a way that people don't usually notice them though (at least I don't think they do, almost nobody says anything).

I'm not a germophobe, but I dislike getting my hands dirty (I'll do it if I have to though). I have a bunch of weird obsessions too that seem to consume me sometimes. For example, I REALLY REALLY care about what people think of me.. I never want to insult anybody or get into a conflict with anyone, ever. Even when I'm driving, I always try to go as fast as I can without breaking the speed limit so the person behind me won't get frustrated due to me slowing them down, etc. I hate to disappoint people also.

Sometimes I have irrational obsessions, such as with my stocks (which I check all to frequently), getting people who owe me $$$ to pay me back, and other things. I often get anxiety thinking about things that displease me, and the thoughts come back frequently.

Although I can actually make friends, and I can speak to them, it takes me some time to become used to somebody and to properly open up to them. Sometimes I think the reason I force myself to make friends isn't only because I want friends but because I'm extremely scared of not having any. I have a group of really good friends, but I disfavor meeting new people and I generally don't like new people coming into my group, although I eventually get used to them. I make eye contact too well, if anything: I find it hard to look away from the face of people. I feel that if I do look away, they'll think I'm not paying attention to them. I think that I'm a little slow getting the full meaning of what people I don't know are telling me. For some reason, I don't feel this way with people I know. It's as if I can understand their facial expressions better.

I feel that my social skills are not innate. It's hard to describe what I mean by this, but I feel that my common sense is not as it should be and that I can communicate socially only by having learned how others do so. I have a ton of trouble expressing my emotions, and I sometimes feel like I have no opinion or emotions whatsoever regarding many, many things.

Anyway, this is a list of some of my psychological characteristics. Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for your answers!!

Hey,

You're basically describing me with this post too, and I assure you that there are many guys out there like you and I. I was diagnosed as having OCD a few years ago, but then I discovered that Asperger's Syndrome describes me better. Go look it up - you might find that you can relate to it too. There is an Asperger's Forum on this website which is very active.

Kevin

Hey, thanks for the response. I read up on Aspergers, and while it does seem sort of right, the characteristics of Aspergers seem to be much more intense. Also, I'm not disconnected from people and I'm definitely not unable to feel empathy towards them. It is interesting though, does Aspergers vary strongly in the characteristics described?

Hey,

Yeh, it does vary in intensity. I think it mostly depends on how each of us have grown up. Like, some of us have been 'forced' into socialising with various people while we grew up; while others have been left to themselves and would therefore exhibit stronger symptoms. So, what was your childhood like? In my case, I grew up pretty much alone but began to socialise when I turned 17. I'm now 25 and, as such, my symptoms aren't overly strong.