Obsessive Counting: Does Anyone Else Experience This?

I feel like I have to count EVERYTHING!! how many times I scrub my hands when washing them, say a certain word/phrase in my head, chew on food, drink.. EVERYTHING!!

Hey there! So my OCD was very much numbers related when I first started getting symptoms (like 10 years ago) I’ve learned that it is the easiest part of OCD to quiet down. I recommend trying to get in contact with someone who can help you break the habits because in my experience (not that this will happen to you of course) if you don’t silence it , it will keep progressing into other things. Good luck with everything and don’t hesitate to reach out! ❤️

Numbers/counting things....its like I like pairs but I like odds, and it's even better if the number adds up to 5 (say 77 as an example, because 7+7=14 ; 1+4=5. So as long as it ultimately adds up to 5. It became an obsession after a movie that dealt with the number 23/numbers that add up to 5 dealt with some murder thriller thing,) Now while I have specific things I do tentatively, I do not need to have a specific count/number of times(like check the oven knob is off a number of times, or on a game (even with an autosave), and have to save multiple times before moving on but have no specific number of times I need to do it I just do it till it feels right.)

I used to count my steps in sets of four. It was okay for a while until it turned into not being able to walk on differing surfaces within the sets. I found myself behind my group because I was too busy counting my steps, or even jumping over decorative floor tiles that differed from the rest and I didn't have time to count for. The only thing that helped me move on from it was intentionally going against my counting rules. It was horrible at first, but eventually it didn't bother me anymore.

i usually don't notice it too often but i find that i can't complete a task unless i've counted "enough" or "correctly", especially if i'm typing or if i've accidentally tapped something