For quite some time I have been avioding things in three's and have been doing things in two's and four's. I count my steps in groups of fours, and always avoid cracks with the fear of something happening to me. If there are three glasses in the cabinet, it has to be the middle one and it has to be turned upside down, or I won't take it. I re-zip zippers, and I'll open and close things twice. I make sure things are perfectly straight on a counter or table, like a pencil being alighned with a piece of paper wich is aligned with the edge of the table. I have to get it until it feels right. It is beginning to get to the point where it is causing me minor stress. Is his OCD? And if it is is it minor or major?

hi 2828

sure sounds like OCD type symptoms.

the "just right" and "have to" are a common theme for many with OCD

if it is getting to be stressful for you, one of the most helpful treatments IMHO is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

we have some info on CBT and other useful info re OCD on out sticky thread above here
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1395

hope that helps a bit and welcome to NeuroTalk

Hi 2828,
I totally agree with what Chemar has written in her post to you.
I see you say it's only causing some minor stress... well what I think is the key to that is not to allow it to get to the stage where it is causing major stress.

Lots of people in the world have OC behaviours that don't really bother them and can actually be channelled in a positive way in their daily lives with their type of hobbies or type of work etc.. The trouble lies in the amount of anxiety or stress these behaviours can cause once they get a hold. It's all too familiar to me and my thought would be to perhaps talk to a qualified professional about this now rather than later.

Your last question, is it minor or major... I think that depends on the level of anxiety that is involved or if this is interfering in your daily life to the extent that it's far too time consuming rather than the actual amount or type of behaviours. It's a bit like Tics in Tic disorders. Some people can have multiple tics all over their bodies and barely are bothered by it but other people can be more seriously bothered by just a couple of troublesome tics. It just depends.

Hope that makes some kind of sense.