So iv had anxiety a year now im kinda learning to ignore it but fear my OCD is taking over, i was told about 3 months ago that i have OCD, i never noticed before untill i was told i have it now i kinda realise iv had it for a long time a year in may it got worse when i moved house im constantly checking the doors the windows the cooker the kids all switches have to be off it gets so bad that if i go to bed with out checking i will lie awake and give my self a serious head ache and cry about it untill iv checked every thing i have to check them 5 or 6 times at night. my husband will try stop me from checking again he has to watch me because i will think i havnt checked i will lock the front door and be half way down the street and have to walk back because i think i havnt locked it or iv left the cooker on even if i havnt used it ... i guess i just want to talk with anyone who is like this ... is there a way past this ?
Seems like cod and anxiety is hand and hand in your thoughts. You should seek any help professionally that is available to you. Try hard and good luck!
Hi Sarah
Is there a way past this you ask? You bet there is, and knowing that is the first step toward dealing with the problem.
The good thing is that you have narrowed down the enemy and identified him. Well call him OCD for short. I've met this guy. He was only little at first but would encourage me to do things more than once. Slowly but surely, he grew bigger and bigger, until I was spending several hours of my day going over and over the same thing time and time again.
He still hangs around a little bit, but only now and then. The thing is, don't let him get bossy. That was my mistake. It took a long time for me to realise that he was just a bully, and the best way to deal with bullies is to ignore them. It isn't easy, especially in the beginning, but do you know, after a while the bully gets fed up because he isn't getting the reaction he wants anymore, so he gives up and moves on.
When someone tells you that you have OCD, you do become more aware of it. It is always other people that notice your behaviour before you do. But Sarah, even if you have OCD, it doesn't mean that OCD has to have you! It's not like you owe him anything, or that he can really make you do something you don't want to do.
It's time to tell him who is boss. It won't work like a miracle, but if you stick with it, he will leave you. The very next time you lock the door, concentrate with your entire mind on precisely what you are doing. You can only think of one thing at a time. So, you are locking your door. You turn the key. You hear the sound of the lock engaging. You place your hand on the handle and try to open the door and it won't. Focus on every detail of those actions when you do them. Feel the key in your hand. Hear the sound of the lock. Remember pushing hard but the door wouldn't open. Focus, Focus, Focus on that one thing you are doing WHILE you are doing it.
Walk away to go and do whatever you were planning to do, and when the bully tells you to go back and lock the door, take a moment before you do anything, then remember all the sounds and sensations and feelings you had when you locked the door the first time. Then, knowing in your heart you did not imagine all those feelings, take a deep breath, and kindly tell OCD that you have already locked the door and that you have things to do, so if he doesn't mind, would he please 'GET LOST'!
It will really shock him. YOU telling HIM what to do! It doesn't work that way for him. He thinks it should always be the other way around. Well, you can tell him that he has had his own way for long enough and that from now on, you are going to do what you want to do and when you want to do it, so he can just stop wasting your time and his and buzz off!
Eventually, yes, eventually, he will start to leave you alone more and more. He may hang around, but now he is small again and you have him on a leash.
Best wishes Sarah.
Hi Sarah 
I was diagnosed with OCD when i was 14 & it was a really horrific time for me & i know how powerful it is! Nothing anybody says seems to get through to you, you just feel so controlled. I had loads of rituals that i had to do before bed & it would take me half an hour sometimes & it was emotionally draining because if i didn't do something right, i wouldn't stop untill i had. We had a family holiday booked so i done my rituals all 7x the night before to make up for not being able to do them on holiday & ever since i got back, i suddenly stopped doing them! It sounds bizzare but i'd got out of the habbit of doing them for 7 days that by the time i got back i didn't feel so pressured. Don't know if this will help but i'm doing so much better now and my OCD used to be severe so you must have hope & faith that you can beat it & there is 100% a way past it! You just have to believe you can do it x