OCPD, exams & everyday life...
Hi, I'm Shannon. I'm 17, a Listener and have just finished my first year of AS/A-level exams (UK). I am no longer in therapy because I was told that my issues were too servere and that I apparently did not want to recover badly enough... I was discharged at 16 after attending CAMHS since I was 13...
ANYWAY. I have OCPD which is very similar to OCD with many of the said behaviours, however the simplest way to describe it would be that I am a perfectionist to the extreme, I do not have any set rituals but more... set ways of doing things...Lists are my best friend and it's more a way of life that I feel has been developing over the years... I cannot really explain it but if you do want more of an understanding here's a link that might be helpful >> https://www.anxietyhouse.com.au/ocd-or-ocpd-whats-the-difference
With you suffering with OCD/OCPD how have you gone about your exams, schoolwork and/or everyday life? Even though things for me always look well presented, orderly etc. I actually end up quite behind because of the fact I write my schoolwork in class, then I have a separate book for all of my subjects at home so I can present such correctly... Alphabetical order by Titles, heading/subheadings then add in the colour coding... People at school do not understand that it is more than just being a perfectionist, although I do not have many friends anyway because of the issues I have been dealing with.
Anywho... I'd like to hear how you try to balance tasks/everydaylife/exams While coping with something such as OCD or OCPD?
Thanks!
Shannon.
It's none of my business, I know, but I noticed this post and I read some of your others in these forums. The picture they paint of you is of someone without any trace of personality disorder, someone open-minded and tolerant who likes other people and gets lots of great ratings as as a listener.
I'm wondering whether the personality disorder diagnosis was a formal diagnosis by a specialist, or just a label that CAMHS used as an excuse to dump you. It makes me think a second opinion might be valuable for you, because from what you write it sounds like some of the things you find most difficult might be very treatable. This is just me thinking out loud, so to speak. I know it's none of my business.
@ShanChan09
@RodWhiteley Thank you. Well it was my psychiatrist that diagnosed me however they said they would check me again in a few years because it cannot be diagnosed officially until i'm a certain age.... I try not to let my personal issues interfere with my reputation as a listener; more like... I'd rather help others than help myself sort of speak. I've had eating issues since I was 9 and self harm/issues with compulsive behaviours and other stuff a long the way which doesn't make it easy. Plus mental health runs in my family as my mother is schizophrenic and both her parents met in a mental hospital. I really appreciate your feedback and I would get another opinion... But I have been to therapist after therapist and have been to so many different services that I am just sick of chasing a lost cause, I'm sick of the hospital admissions and medication... All I can do is use my personal experiences to try and give someone else a better chance at recovery.
@ShanChan09
I also have OCPD so I understand a lot of what you are experiencing. I've found with school and other tasks I am better able to cope with life when I take on a lighter workload. Part of my OCPD makes me want to everything at once and do it perfectly, which when I go and register for 8 classes in a semester as well as taking on multiple jobs... just leads to a mental breakdown. Having OCPD it's important to remember that you need more time for things because you have routines and methods that get in the way of being as efficient as we would like. I am almost 21 - in university in Canada. I have had this disorder for quite a while and I have found this to be the most helpful thing to cope.
