What causes my symptoms? anxiety, habits

i posted this in neurology too coz dunno where it belongs....

Im 28 and since i was very young (7 or 8) ive had problems with anxiety and strange habbits. i started off by scrunching my nose, blinking my eyes and then i started scratching my head real fast or my fingers and screeching when excited. Its continued but i only do it in private so its never been a problem. I dont screech anymore but make little grunting noises often. The scratching the fingers and rubbing hands together seems to be worse than it was as a kid. I have started a new one where i shake and clench my stomach muscles continously, i just cant stop and it makes me feel sick. I feel stressed alot and sometimes so badly that i wanna cry. Ive had problems with phobias and anxiety all my life altho im lots better now. Could all these things be connected? on the surface im an intelligent outgoing sociable woman, if a little weird but inside i feel all wrong! any idea what any of it is?

[suzi-q]

Could it be OCD?  It sounds that your habits are obsessive.  Do you have a therapist or neurologist?  If not, start with your doctor and see where it takes you.  Best to you.

[396SS]

It does sound like OCD.  I used to play the piano, and I would play one song over and over just on the table or desk with my fingers.  It was like I couldn't stop because it comforted me.  I have a friend who is 26 and has a blanket she keeps in her car - she rubs it and has done it so long the blanket is torn to shreds!  You'd be surprised how many people have something - your's is getting on your nerves, though, so get to the doc and consider some treatment.  No need to suffer:)

[beeesad]

Wow i never thought of ocd! Na i don't think its that. I do get obsessive about things, over think etc but i don't care about cleanliness or doing things in a certain order. I don't do these things coz they comfort me or anything they're just like blinking to me if that makes sense. When people are around i keep it all in but when I'm alone in the house i make noises and scratch my fingers all the time. I do it in front of my boyfriend and he asked if i could stop which made me think about it for the first

[beeesad]

Time. Thanks for your advice. I think whatever it is i just need to learn to relax, i barely notice it when i'm calm but i'm under alot of stress the last few years. Anyone got any good relaxation tips x

[396SS]

I thought that could be ocd though, it doesn't have to be about cleanliness or order.  I could be wrong:)  Anyway, I think it's definitely an anxiety thing.  Deep breathing is good.  If you could find something constructive to take place of the scratching, etc. like knitting or scrapbooking or just something to keep your hands busy maybe.  

[suzi-q]

I agree with SS.  OCD doesn't have to mean cleanliness, not walking on cracks, etc.  There is a great range with OCD from being mild (which could be you) to severe (Jack Nicholson in AS GOOD AS IT GETS)  I am not a doctor and by no means would I diagnosis anyone...but I know that your symptoms are symptoms of OCD and you should check into it!  BEST TO YOU!

[debaser23]

I do a lot of the things you mention.  Scratching when I don't itch, scrunching my nose, clinching my eyes shut/blinking.  I also do this thing where I do a little drumroll on my neck with my fingers.  Even the little grunting noises.  That's a weird one to explain, isn't it?  But I think I know what you mean.  And I don't do this stuff where others can see me, either.  Just when I'm alone or have some privacy.  I think it's probably some sort of anxiety reaction.  Since I went on meds I've noticed I don't do these things as often, but will occasionally, especially if I've had a little caffeine.

Could be OCD.  OCD and panic are very closely related, I believe.  When I was having panic attacks I used to play this one video game over and over and over again.  It had ceased to be challenging a LONG time ago, but I played it anyway as part of some routine to ward off panic attacks.  I don't know how many hours a day I used to spend playing that game, but it was a LOT.  Since I got better, though, I think I've only played it a couple of times, and both times were just for a few minutes.  I simply got bored with it.  And the thing is I didn't get bored and switch to a different game...I just did something else entirely.

So I can see where there might be a tendency for anxiety/panic sufferers to have a little OCD.  For what it's worth, my house back then was an absolute mess.  I know other people with REAL OCD and they have messy houses, too.  Everyone fixates on different things.

Well, good luck.  

[kittydisco]

Oh honey, don't beeesad, beeehappy!  (sorry, I had to say it...)

I read your post and at first was like - oh i can't relate but then I started really thinking about some stuff I do and I TOTALLY CAN!!!

Okay, when I go to sleep at night, I wiggle my feet back and forth under the covers.  I have done this since I was a kid, I used to practice my tap dancing steps in my head in bed before sleep.  For me its like a comfort thing.  I was with my last boyfriend for 8 years so he got really use to it.  The first night I spent with my fiance, (we are getting married in June), he didn't say anything but asked me about it in the morning.  I was so embarassed!  He then told me he thought it was cute and he didn't mind at all.

Scratching your head?  I do that too, but only when I am alone and stressed out, or, sometimes I do it after we "did the deed" and I am really relaxed.  It totally doesn't make sense and then when I do it, he picks on me and says "I was that good, I just made you itchy?".  Ew, I am doing it now because I keep thinking about it!!!  

I have a friend who blinks alot.  Another friend tapps his knee really fast whenever we are driving and we pass a cop.  I also had a teacher in High School who used to clench his butt cheeks together while he was standing and lecturing.

I think these things are just little nervous ticks we all have.  Like the kids that stick their tongues out when they color or draw in elementary school. If it really starts to bother you, I guess you could see a doctor about it.  Maybe ask your boyfriend what it is about your ticks that bothers him.  

I think its possible to have little nervous habits or comforting habits and not really have OCD... or maybe we are all a little OCD...

[PikeP]

I have a similar problem as well.. I dont do the screeching, but I know some friends that do when having an anxiety attack. My little twitch involves blinking/tightening my throat kind of.. Its hard to explain really. Sometimes when I tighten my neck/throat  and start blinking, the muscles kind of lock until the blinking is sufficient. In worse fits it restricts me from breathing until the blinking is sufficient, which can be annoying. I also do not do this (for the most part) in front of anyone, although sometimes my wife will catch me blinking a lot and ask if everything is alright.. I shrug it off like its nothing. These twitches usually only occur when I have really dry-feeling eyes and no,..it doesn't help to use lubricating eye drops.. if anything the "twitch" uses the lubricant as an excuse to blink even more.

I haven't been to a doctor as I am totally embarrised to admit that I have a problem, but I have asked a pharmacist how to stop excessive blinking (as if that was sufficient) only to be directed to an OTC lubricating eye drop. :(

Best of luck to you in your search for answers!
If anyone knows what might trigger my twitch, please share!

[badeggs65]

have u thought about tourettes....i have a friend who has similar things and has a mild form of tourettes syndrome...just a thought.....cindy

[karans7]

hey even em suffering fr dis stuff...i blink my eyes tightlyyyyy...clench my muscles  n stomach...shake my head up n down...almost evrything wot beeesad had writennnnnn.........ny cure for disssssss??????

[ARH85]

Hi I have this problem too. I found this page because I googled my symptoms. Is there anyone qualified to say what it is here? I think it's OCD but have recently discovered my little brother (who has been diagnosed with asbergers) also has similar compulsions, when I asked my mum she could also relate...I feel like it is genetic but it's driving me insane I feel like I can't ever just relax. When I was little I used to comb the carpet so as it all went in the same direction. I grew out of the compulsive tidyness thing but now when I am under pressure I tend to start developing the habits again. Blinking non stop, then if it doesn't satisfy the tick i find it hard to breathe and develop really weird breathing patterns.... I clench my teeth in a tapping pattern, sometimes I swallow a lot or scrunch up my nose. sometimes when I hear about other peoples compulsions I develop them too so I try to overcome it (mind over matter) it seems to just be a subconcious thing. I find myself doing it and the more I try to stop the more frustrating it becomes...someone please tell me what this is and help me fix it. I have tried St john's wart (i heard it helps) but it didn't. Anybody got any suggestions (besides radical therapy!!)