Difference?

[MWB]

What's the difference between an OCD and a habit?

[warpig3]

I think a habit is something you normally do for example you normally lock you front door when you leave the house.

An OCD is when you do it, check it, do it, check it, check it, check it, check it...........and so on. Or I have seen documentaries were people suffering from OCD have certain rituals that they must carry out eg switching a light off - they may switch it on and off five times before finally leaving it off and if they don't do it five times it will pray one their mind until they feel the need to carry out the ritual.

I think!!!!

[warpig3]

Oh should clarify, a habit is down to the individual, ie you may have a habit of biting your nails but not everyone will have that habit, an OCD suffer may have the habit of bitting each nail a certain number of times, thats the difference.

[NJOK]

Monks don't wear OCDs.

[Octavius]

OCD does what it says on the tin. Obsessive. Compulsion. It is a conscious psychiatric anxiety disorder which can cause the sufferer to be distressed if their obsessive or intrusive compulsions are not carried out. It is a disorder which can be debilitating through over obsessive anxiety, and is generally uncontrollable.

A habit is often an unconscious act which is done repeatedly such as a twitch or is a conscious leisurely act which can be controlled and regulated such as �aving a faag, or having a hobby.

In warpigs example above, someone may have the general habit of switching the light off every time they leave a room � but they will do this once each time, out of habit. Someone with OCD will suffer distress and anxiety if this not done repeatedly 5 times or 8 times, each time they left a room.

I am not sure NJOK is correct, I mean, who knows what monks wear under their habits?

[jno]

monks do indeed wear Orthodox Christian Drawers.

[Whickerman]

I bite my nails out of habit - it's pretty unconcious.

If I had OCD I'd bite them because, if I didn't, the actor Kenneth Branagh would die.

Ok, it's a bit of a stretch, but hopefully it shows the difference.

[saxy_jag]

My son has been recently diagnosed with OCD. As an example of what happens, he is one of these blokes who shaves his head (a need to feel clean) on a regular basis. A few weeks ago he got sunburnt on his head whilst working in the garden. Although blistered and sore, he still insisted on shaving, breaking open blisters and making a painful mess of his scalp. When his wife tried to talk him out of doing it in the first place, he became quite aggressive (verbally, not physically - he hates violence), so obsessed was he about keeping his head 'clean'.

This compulsion of his, as you can see, is quite irrational, and I think that's where the difference is.

[helpmetoo]

i once fell off my chair during a prog on ocd,
this bloke had to take 27 steps everytime he crossed the road, the road was only about 18 steps wide and he was fa**ing around pacing in the gutter with a double decker bus hurtling towards him,
on this occasion he just about managed to complete his 'task' and so survived,
jack nicholson in 'as good as it gets' was an ocd