# "Is it locked?" "Are you sure?" "I'm gonna check again."



## the Prince of nowhere (Aug 11, 2010)

yeah... I don't know if this should go here, but does anyone else do this?

Everytime I head out the door and lock it, then I check it a bunch of times, even unlocking it again to open & close it, then repeat.
I do this for probably a good 30 seconds, but even then I still keep asking myself once I've left If the door is locked, It really is an annoyance when these thoughts pop up while I'm out. When I leave with other people and they see me checking if it's locked they say
"hey It's locked, stop worrying" 

It goes beyond the front door to, I always over-check if the car doors are locked, (even though my mom is the driver) my school locker (one time I even checked my friends lock after he locked it, and he's like 
":blank wtf?!") and at night; I always double check (or more then that) the front door and backdoor to ensure they're both properly locked.

I might add that I'm much more at ease when I locked the door myself, rather then someone else. 

So are any of you this cautious or do I have some kind of problem?


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## ont6 (Nov 1, 2010)

its OCD i check my locker at work repeatedly even if i'm already down the stairs i run up to check again,and again...


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## mind_games (Nov 30, 2008)

It's OCD. As long as it doesn't get in the way of you living your life it's not something to worry too much about I reckon. But the moment it starts to interfere with your life or your enjoyment of your life then I'd take action (talk to your doctor or a therapist. I think there are meds that help too). 

I get the door locking thing too, but only end up needing to check about 3-5 times before I'm convinced that yes that door is indeed locked :teeth. Because this front door checking is the only opportunity for my OCD to pop up in my current lifestyle I'm not worried about it and do not seek any help for it. But I know from experience if I get a job that involves getting measurements right that the checking issue will escalate and lead to wasting time rechecking and worrying. 

For me at least I think there are at least two causes for it:
1)For those checking worries that involve wondering whether I shut all the doors/turned off the oven etc:

I don't live in the moment. This means that I do stuff on autopilot (ie close the windows and doors on my way out without really being aware of it). I don't have any vivid memories of actions I carry out under autopilot. This means that 5 mins down the road from my house when I try to recall whether I actually locked the doors I don't have any definitive memory of it, which leads to suspicion and worry.

solution: Because I know I have this issue I need to slow down and really try to be aware of myself as I am locking the door or closing that window.

2)The other version of this checking issue is where I lock the door and I'm aware of me locking the door but I feel compelled to recheck it the very next instant. 

I put this down to a lack of confidence in myself.


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## the Prince of nowhere (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks for the answers guys. 
but does OCD have something to do with a lack of trust in others and yourself? just curious.


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## sarafinanickelbocker (May 16, 2010)

Yup, done that and checked the oven to see that it's off several times too.


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## Georgina 22 (Jan 4, 2009)

I used to be bad when I was younger. I used to have to check the light in my room was off several times before I was satisified it was really off


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## solasum (Nov 17, 2008)

I do things like that, too. I'll constantly check in my purse to make sure my credit cards and cell phone are there. It's not necessarily OCD.


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## kelsomania (Oct 12, 2010)

Sometimes I'll check locks twice. I've had my car broken into 2 times in a 3 month period so now I get kind of obsessive about it. I used to check my alarm clock multiple times because it didn't always go off and I would sleep in.


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## maclasch (Jan 9, 2009)

I have OCD too. I used to worry a lot more than I do now about whether the door was locked, among other things. Granted, I still do my checks at night before bed, but I hate them so much I try to do them as quickly as possible. It's just when you've been having it as long as I have, it gets old, but I can't completely stop worrying, (because I actually think it's good to check; I've found the oven left on before). I try to get a picture in my mind of the door lock in it's locked position, or the stove switches in their off positions, and convince myself that all is well.

kelsomania, I also have to check my alarm clock repeatedly.


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## ont6 (Nov 1, 2010)

the Prince of nowhere said:


> Thanks for the answers guys.
> but does OCD have something to do with a lack of trust in others and yourself? just curious.


 don't know about trust issues but i told my brother i thought i was going crazy and he said our father(we all have it) said it would be less intense as we got older.it did calm down a bit now in my twenties so give it some time.


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## kingfoxy (Oct 18, 2009)

I always double check stuff better to be sure and safe.


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## kelsomania (Oct 12, 2010)

maclasch said:


> kelsomania, I also have to check my alarm clock repeatedly.


It got so bad that I used to set 2 alarm clocks in case the first one didn't go off. That's probably crazy but its saved me a few times.


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## macaw (Sep 6, 2010)

This started for me about 6 months ago.

:c The one time I didn't check the stove, I had left it on. Didn't help the paranoia...


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

macaw said:


> This started for me about 6 months ago.
> 
> :c The one time I didn't check the stove, I had left it on. Didn't help the paranoia...


If it started recently, you can end it that way. 
It is just a bad habit kind of ordeal.


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## kid a (Aug 26, 2010)

yea that is ocd.. i have that too but not in that way. mine is that,i dont know why but sometimes i feel like something i wear is going to have a certain affect on the day or its just a bad luck shirt or something, so i have to change several times . Ill think oh i had a bad day last time in that shirt i think so i wont wear it and i have to change, i know that cant be true but i feel like im forced to change it over until its right.what would happen if you didnt like the door?

where does ocd even come from!!why


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

The more you give in to the desire to check things, the worse it will get. 

My mom is a door-checker. She finds that it helps to be in the present moment and to tell herself, "I am locking this door. Now the door is locked."

Also, a therapist can help a lot with OCD.


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## heyJude (Aug 1, 2009)

Yep, OCD.

I have these tendencies too. Locks on doors, the iron, the stove, any plugs. Drives me mad sometimes.


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## Takerofsouls (Oct 20, 2010)

kelsomania said:


> It got so bad that I used to set 2 alarm clocks in case the first one didn't go off. That's probably crazy but its saved me a few times.


 Ive had to do that alot, I would subconsiously wake up and shut off my alarm clock and wake up hours later pissed that my alarm didnt go off. Then im told after i wake up that everyone heard it go off. So i set 1 across the room with one beside my bed just in case. 
I live in the country so i pretty much never lock my doors, i only lock my car but i dont really care if its unlocked theres no one around to steal anything. If im in the city i always check my car twice though.


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## bfly87 (Jul 13, 2011)

just before bed time i need to check all the lights and plugs about ten times, same with the front door and oven i have to check it myself or i think boyfriends not done it and i start panicking.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

pita said:


> The more you give in to the desire to check things, the worse it will get.
> 
> My mom is a door-checker. She finds that it helps to be in the present moment and to tell herself, "I am locking this door. Now the door is locked."
> 
> Also, a therapist can help a lot with OCD.


This is what I do. For my doors, at the worst, I just check once if I am not paying attention at the time I leave the house.


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## Fantas Eyes (Mar 23, 2011)

I have to make sure I have enough money before I go to the cash register to make a purchase. When I leave my house I know I have 7 dollars and when I buy something that's 3 dollars I still have to check to make sure I have 3 dollars.


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I'm in the middle of nowhere and we don't lock our doors. In fact we generally leave the keys in the car in case someone has to move it and the habit sticks so even while in town I leave my keys in the car. One day we came out of a restaurant to find our ups packages had been delivered to our car. Such is life in a small town.

However I do this all the time with animal cages. Sometimes I spend days worrying if I actually locked all the rabbit cages or they might escape before I drive back to my mom's house to check them again. I have to force myself not to get on the phone and bother her because she said if she has to put in effort to take care of the rabbits I would not be allowed to keep them and I have nowhere else for them to go. Last weekend we went somewhere and the entire several hour drive home I felt sick because I wasn't sure if I closed the door to the bird room and the cat was out. She could get on Kaze's cage, knock it down, and let him escape to get eaten. Occasionally I drive my husband nuts asking him if the dogs' crates were locked, the stall doors to where the rabbits are were closed, the cat is locked up away from the birds, etc.... When I put horses up in their stalls I walk down the aisle tapping the door latches one way and then walk back down the aisle tapping them the other way to make sure every door is latched. I have good reasons for everything though. Animals could die if I mess up and we did have to put a horse down because my mom failed to lock his stall door and he got loose to eat himself sick on grain. I'm not sure if it would actually fall under OCD since I have a good reason for triple checking and sometimes unlatching and relatching cages and doors. If I can't vividly picture myself in my head locking a door or cage I spend the entire time I'm gone fighting panic and wanting to call someone to go check for me.


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## 266x (Jun 30, 2011)

I've only recently started doing this. I lock it, then I forget if I locked it or not so I go back to make sure it's locked. I'm kinda scared I hope it's not OCD....


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## mysterioussoul (Jul 17, 2010)

oh, i would check if my tv and the stove is off before i leave the house and at night before i go to bed. i'm OCD about it too. i'd stand there and count a number of times.

i'll check the doors and check the door of my car everytime i press the alarm just to make sure it works.


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## FallenofTrack (Jul 23, 2010)

I used to constantly check to see if I had locked the door to my apartment and also if I had the things I needed in my pocket book before leaving to go somewhere. It would get to the point where I would end up leaving something that I needed behind, because I was fixated on checking things like the door or my pocketbook or whatever.


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## riverrunner (Jul 14, 2011)

I think that may be a common occurrence, but I'd talk to a doctor if you have other concerns that are interfering with your life.


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## Phoenix Rising (Jul 7, 2011)

I used to do that all the time too! Always at night--I was so scared someone was going to break in I would keep getting out of bed to go check all the doors and re-lock them all. It only lasted a few months though, thankfully.


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## Bacon (Jul 4, 2010)

Yes i get this OCD thing about making sure doors are locked and everything is closed and turned off. just makes me more cautious lol.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

266x said:


> I've only recently started doing this. I lock it, then I forget if I locked it or not so I go back to make sure it's locked. I'm kinda scared I hope it's not OCD....


It may or may not be - the next time you lock your door, make sure you are focusing on locking the door - then you know you will have locked the door the first time and then you can walk away without checking.



mysterioussoul said:


> oh, i would check if my tv and the stove is off before i leave the house and at night before i go to bed. i'm OCD about it too. i'd stand there and count a number of times.
> 
> i'll check the doors and check the door of my car everytime i press the alarm just to make sure it works.


I would only worry about the stove if I actually used it. Otherwise - I just make sure my space heater is unplugged in the winter, and sometimes the box fans turned off in the summer before leaving.


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## dutchguy (Jun 8, 2009)

I'm always paranoid that I left my computer unlocked and that my family sees my browser histrory full of social anxiety related stuff.


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## gulgul51 (Dec 28, 2014)

*God..*

i was sure i was fcking retarded.... i go in my room , close the lights , lock the door , block the handle with a char, spin the key 3 times , go to bed... then I KNOW THAT THE DOOR IS LOCKED and i am forced to go up and try to open it only to find out that as i know it is locked - and take out the key , put in , spin open and lock again , move the chair and vice versa atleast 5 times before i can calmly go to sleep - i believe it is the same disorder just in an "enhanced" form... i'm most likely going to ask my mom to take me to some sort of treatment after i red what u guys said and understood i am not a stupid kid with retarded rituals , rather than a normal kid with OCD...


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## Ntln (Apr 27, 2012)

I wouldn't say it's ocd, considering it's one thing and it's not really a huge hindrance to your everyday life. Maybe very mild ocd. Or maybe a bit of general anxiety manifesting itself. At any rate, I think a lot of people have anxieties like this. Like whenever I used the stove, I have to always double (or triple) check whether I turned it off. I think it's because I left it on for several hours by accident when I was about 14.

I guess you could try getting in the habit of telling yourself you locked the door as you do it. You're probably forgetting because it's so routine that you don't really think about it when you do it, so it doesn't really register in your memory. Reminding yourself you locked it can help. I don't know about the not trusting others to lock the door part, though then again, that might also be anxiety.


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## ToBeAnnounced (Sep 1, 2014)

I have to open and close my browser and check my history several times in a row before I go to sleep. -_- It's a bit strange, but it doesn't really negatively affect my life in any way, so I'm not gonna worry about it.


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## mjkittredge (Sep 8, 2012)

I do this with the refrigerator door. It's an older model that doesn't swing shut on it's own like the one at my previous place did. So I'm constantly having to remind myself to push it shut firmly, so my food won't all spoil and run up a 500 electricity bill.

I'll be out the door leaving and then stop and say to myself "Did I close the fridge all the way? Then go back in and check it again.


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## Quatermass (Oct 6, 2013)

I think this is pretty common behaviour for people with anxiety disorders. I do it myself to some degree. It's about seeking reassurance and avoiding uncertainty. It's not necessarily OCD though.

OCD can be a very debilitating disorder, and if your behaviour stays on this level, I doubt you would qualify for a diagnosis. By your description, it sounds more like you have some traits of OCD rather than a full blown disorder.

Edit: I was responding to the OP and didn't realize the thread was this old...oh well!


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## Joe (May 18, 2010)

i also do this yet manage to forget completely obvious mistakes every now and then


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## Gus954 (Jul 25, 2013)

Yeah i do this every time i leave the house. I get worried someone might break in and steal my bike


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## HenceNoStepsTaken (Oct 2, 2014)

I have to check if my alarm clock like 15 times. When shopping, I have to check if I have the cards in my wallet before i go to a cashier, even if I ritually checked it at home already. When I cycle to work, I must check if I have the keys in my pocket every few minutes aand I have to check if there is anything good in the fridge, even though I just checked that there was not 15 minutes ago. I think it's not OCD, but annoying it is.


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## BelieveInFreedom (Jun 29, 2013)

I used to be paranoid, people would break into my house. And I even slept on my upstairs landing for three-months with a golf-club, lmao! :lol

I used to check the doors at-least ten-times before I'd sleep, and eventually ended-up with one of my door-handles loose, because I pulled it so hard, when checking..


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

the Prince of nowhere said:


> Thanks for the answers guys.
> but does OCD have something to do with a lack of trust in others and yourself? just curious.


No. It doesn't work that way, you shouldn't attribute it to any kind of purpose or rationality, think of it as something 'misfiring' in the brain.

It isn't a case of - you repeat the action, which means you don't trust yourself to do it properly, which means you need to work on trusting yourself more, its more - you repeat the action because something in your brain is hardwired to force you to check repeatedly.

i.e. don't look for an underlying psychological reason for it, of all the mental issues one can have OCD is one of the clear biological ones.

It is def OCD of course, and at this level it is quite common. If you want to treat it (or at least not to make it worse) you need to forcibly *limit the checking behaviour*. i.e. battle mentally against performing the checking ritual, don't waste energy checking.

Learn to identify the feeling of the 'impulse' of ocd (it has a very specific kind of feel to it) then try your best not to do what it tells you to do.


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## TheEchoingGreen (Dec 24, 2014)

HenceNoStepsTaken said:


> I have to check if my alarm clock like 15 times. When shopping, I have to check if I have the cards in my wallet before i go to a cashier, even if I ritually checked it at home already.


This so much. I have to check my phone alarm too many times to count to be comfortable. It's definitely the worst with that. Same with locks as well. I'll check them multiple times throughout the night. It's a pain in the *** haha.


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## TabbyTab (Oct 27, 2013)

I do this every time I leave the kitchen, close my bedroom door, and walk upstairs. I also move objects on my table or where ever constantly till they feel right though that has thankfully died down a bit.


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## Nothing123 (Oct 3, 2014)

lol i used to do this every morn as i left the house for school. I would spend 10 mins just locking and relocking the frontdoor. What a nightmare haha. I still have some OCD but its like 1/4 strength over me now hah


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## Nothing123 (Oct 3, 2014)

HenceNoStepsTaken said:


> I have to check if my alarm clock like 15 times. When shopping, I have to check if I have the cards in my wallet before i go to a cashier, even if I ritually checked it at home already. When I cycle to work, I must check if I have the keys in my pocket every few minutes aand I have to check if there is anything good in the fridge, even though I just checked that there was not 15 minutes ago. I think it's not OCD, but annoying it is.


I have to give you 15 kisess every single day, but thats cos i want to ^^ haha <3 xx


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## HenceNoStepsTaken (Oct 2, 2014)

Bunnymoo7 said:


> I have to give you 15 kisess every single day, but thats cos i want to ^^ haha <3 xx


Haha thats so sweet. I will gladly accept them. :boogie


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## Anjelliex (Dec 7, 2014)

Yeah I'm always worried if I've locked the door or not, and keep checking if I've actually done it right. I also do this with my rabbits cage. xD 
When I'm out and about I'm constantly checking my pockets to see if things are still in there, and I check the contents of my bag every 30 mins or so roughly? It's getting a teeeeeny bit better mind you. When I used to hang out with people, I could tell it was really annoying for them xD They'd be all like "Ugh, just meet us over there when you're done"


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