Counting Syllables

[JOYCICLE 654]

I think that it's a little bit of a quick relief from the worries that we have about other , obviously more important things. If we're worrying about how many syllables someone just said, then we cannot think on the things that are really important and for many of us  those 'important ' things are not even important but we're fixated on them. A little break from the ugly stuff. 

[1977philah 0]

I am amazed!!!! I have EXACT same itsnotweirdright!!!!  I have to stop on my pinky and thumb.     5 is the only way.   

I do on my toes only I flick them and have to end the same.   I'm a weirdo

[Hillary_17 0]

I've been doing this for only about 8 months now but I'm doing it at a calculated 4800 times per day. All of the dots on the 'i' and 'j' and cross on the 't' that you might go back and fill in after writing cursive and capital 'I' will be lined up with the syllables in the phrase or sentence. For example: I ate a baked pie and just looked at a lamp. There isn't an equal amount of syllables to the number of marks (as shown above), so I have to fill it in with punctuation like speech marks and full stops so that it balances out. For example: "I ate a baked pie and just looked at a lamp." That would be equal. I'm more drawn to phrases which include words with more marks than syllables so that it might even out. I have all these little rules and challenges in my head like trying to find the longest one syllable word constantly. I repeat phrases in my head which I know are equal like 'I don't care' or 'I know it'. I'm going to a therapist but I'm having a hard time figuring out whether this is OCD or just a habit. Which one? 

[Mark G 1177]

It all depends on the belief you have if you do not count these syllables.  What is your driver, what immediate thought appears if you say "i'm not going to count today" 

[Butterfly88 1]

On 4/27/2016 at 7:46 PM, Mark G said:

It all depends on the belief you have if you do not count these syllables.  What is your driver, what immediate thought appears if you say "i'm not going to count today" 

My thoughts exactly.  Do you fear something bad will happen if you don't count the syllables?  If so, then it probably is OCD.

[JOYCICLE 654]

I do not fear anything bad will happen if I don't count. I rarely, almost never count these days. When I was younger and did it frequently I just knew it had to go to 5 .  I would wait until the next few words were uttered by the other person, the tv, the radio, whatever it was and when I got to a new 5, 25, 45 whatever it was, I would quit with a big sigh .

[cleves 1]

I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. I am 22 now, and I have a memory of starting to do this again after a brief break when I was 8, so it's been going on since at least age 7 if not earlier. I do it constantly all day every day with nearly everything I hear, and break them down into 3, 4 and sometimes 5. I add periods or apostrophes to try to make it even, and therefore multiples of 12 are my 'perfect numbers'. I don't think anyone bad will happen if I stop, it's just something my brain does in the background at all times unstoppably. I've never met anyone else who did this, thank god it's not just me. 

[jonathan123 2364]

Hi. Cleves. Welcome to AC. .

No it's not just you, and it's not uncommon. When I was a kid it was important to me that I not step on cracks in the pavement, so I would walk out in the road to avoid. I grew out of it but it was a problem. We get thoughts stuck in our mind like a record playing over and over.

I don't think anyone bad will happen if I stop

That's good, because this problem is often associated with impending doom if you do stop. I think this just a compulsion, but if it worries you it can lead to anxiety. SO!!!  You count numbers! Then go on but ACCEPT that you do it. If you make an issue of anything it turns into a major problem. It won't harm you to count. Most of us have some habit or minor compulsion. I have.  It's the worry about counting that can cause more harm than the counting, if you let it.     Good luck.     Jon.

[Mellie 1]

Wow I didn't realize how many people are like me :):):)

I always kept this to myself until I told my boyfriend two nights ago and he's been amazing, asking a lot of questions and is genuinely interested in how I separate words, syllables and letters using facial features. It needs to fit into an 8 pattern so: 2 eyebrows, 2 eyes, one nose, one mouth and 2 ears. Words like you're, don't and can't are awesome because I can change them to make them fit into my 8. If it doesn't fit I'll add a comma or period. 

This doesn't affect my life in a negative way, not at all. It's just something I do and could never figure out why when no one else seemed to do the same lol.

So happy I decided to tell someone, research it and find this page!!! :):)

[JOYCICLE 654]

Glad you're here, too , Mellie !  I had the same sort of reaction . Even though I had been on an ' anxiety ' page for a long while before someone brought up counting sylllables.  I was like WHAT?  You do ?    But apparently it's just not that' weird' after all, which is good to know !

 

[EthanAuringer 0]

No way!! Other people do this? I don't count on my fingers but I count syllables with my teeth. On the first syllable I touch my left bottom molers to my left top molers on the second syllable I do it on the right side and on the third I do both of them at the same time.

[EthanAuringer 0]

Oh yea and if I hear a contraction like you're or don't I always take the full syllable value so I would pretend the word word was do not instead of don't or you are instead of you're.

[seven sirens 0]

Hey guys, super late here but I feel like I've just found my long lost family! 

I've done this sort of thing for as long as I remember, spelling words in my mind and on my fingers, counting letters, syllables etc. I'm 22 now and am noticing it more than ever! It's nice to know other people are going through the same thing. I wouldn't say it's annoying or a real problem in my life, just something I've always been curious about. I relay phrases/sentences in my head from TV or from hearing people talk and break the words up in syllables for example the phrase 'we're working more and eating less' can be broken up as 'we are' 'work ing more' 'and eat ing less' or 'we are work' 'ing more and' 'eat ing less'. I'll break it up every way possible and then move on to the next phrase I hear! It never ends haha. 

[jonathan123 2364]

Now Joy, that is a most interesting statement and one I had not thought of and it makes sense. Trying to make some sense of what's going on around us. In other words trying to bring order into chaos. It may be OCD but at least, when explained that way, it gives it meaning.

OK, so counting syllables and words is OCD. So what? You could count all day but PROVIDED YOU DIDN'T WORRY OVER IT would it matter? I could wash my hands every ten minutes and not worry. It's the worry that causes the problem not the washing. Checking switches and locked doors is the same. It's all part of a pattern.  Ok, so count syllables, you might get a degree in English!!!.

[jonathan123 2364]

Joy, your last post has disappeared. What's happening?

Welcome seven sirens. I'm glad you have found this site so useful. Keep posting as I am sure you could help many.

[ashmacbell 0]

I've also had this problem ever since I was in 6th grade. Whenever someone is talking to me, I'll sometimes think about something they said and count it in syllables. They always have to be odd numbers and if they aren't I also fit them to be that way. I tried to stop doing this by stopping myself but it never worked. At some points I couldn't focus during movies because I was counting everything they said. Now after 6 years I'm still doing it, although I can't figure out how to stop, it's something I do without thinking

[SlowMotion 0]

Hey everyone.  As I'm reading, we've all come here searching for some information about ourselves.   I've recently been putting in quite a bit of time in really understanding my personality, which brings me here tonight.  And this board greeted me with warmth and laughter in a moment of vulnerability.  

I had went through the ringer when it came to drugs and alcohol as a child, so I saw a lot of therapists.  I'll never forget this question from a test I had to take.  I was about 13. The question read, "do you count syllables".  My introspective nature scoffed at the idea of being reprimanded for a thought, I found to be completely normal.  

Whomever made the connection with smoking and counting on your fingers changed my life tonight.  Brilliant insight for my path as well. 

Glad that there are some other curious and peculiar minds alike.  Stay strong my friends! 

[FallsDragon 0]

I created an account just to post on this – I've had this obsession with separating syllables into fours with the heels and toes of my feet for four or five months now. I haven't told a single soul, but it's starting to get crazy. When a song is playing in the car and I'm looking out the window I have to count the syllables of the signs outside and the lyrics at the same time or it drives me crazy. I've never been diagnosed with anything, and this might just be a bad habit but I've had similar things like it before, like I used to wiggle my hips to a certain pattern and not be able to use a spoon without touching it to my neck (weird, but I was super little.)

Does anyone else have a similar experience? Should I talk to someone about it or just wait for it to go away?

[Zhanyl 0]

Hello everyone,

I'm so happy to find you. I am from Kyrgyz Republic, but now I live in Prague. I count the syllables and letters of words on my fingers from 6-7 years when just beginning to learn numbers. There are softening letters in Russian, and if I don't like the construction of the word, I add this softening letter to fill the hand. For example the word: Enter. I just add softening letter to every letter and there is a full hand. if the whole hand is not full, I feel uncomfortable. When I came to Prague, I became very squeamish. I can cry if someone leaves the dishes overnight.

I always thought it was an internal habit of mine and I shouldn't tell anyone. I am 17 y.o. and I still count. I just found out about OCD and I'm scared. 

[Melissa1719 0]

@JOYCICLE yes yes yes! Always has to end on a full hand! I've done this for as long as I remember - so glad I decided to do some research into this I thought it was just me. I've tried to explain it to a few people but it's hard to make sense with it and I usually just get a blank look. It drives me crazy at times especially when I have to do the same sentence multiple times sometimes the same sometimes finding different ways! So glad I'm not alone and I've been able to rant to people who actually get it!

[jonathan123 2364]

I'm so sorry that your posts have remained unanswered. This letter counting compulsion and numbers can be frightening and disconcerting. But it's classical OCD.  Therapy is often needed to recover from it and I suggest that would be a good idea if you have not already done so. Mild medication from your doctor can also help. But in itself it's not harmful to health, but can be very annoying when you don't seem to have any control over it. Have you seen your doctor.? It's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. It's all part of anxiety's little tricks.  Best wishes.

 

[SkurrBurr 1]

This is crazy. Ever since I was a kid I've done things similar to all of this. I remember doing this thing with my tongue when I was young where I had to touch my tongue to all 4 corners of the inside of my mouth in every possible combination of patterns. I've always sounded out words and counted syllables too. With me tho, it has to be in sets of 3, not 5. I also take it even further by sounding out each letter. Certain letters, such as vowels, I will put a ton of stress on them when sounding them out so that they actually make more than one sound. That way, I can make them fit into groups of 3. Think of how some people with certain accents will pronounce certain words or sounds with a lot of stress on them. For example, take the letter "A." When I put the stress on it, it actually has 3 different sounds that it makes when pronouncing it. Those 3 sounds are...

A= sounds like,  "aye"

E= sounds like "ee"

& Y= sounds like "yuh"

All together, when you pronounce the letter A with stress on it, it sounds like, "aye-ee-yuh."

I will literally take sentences and break them down not just in syllables, not just in letters, but in letters with all vowels stressed majorly like the example above including the letters "L, Y & W" and make them fit into groups of 3.

Also since I go in 3's, I'll take a word that has 4 syllables and pronounce it in my head while forcing it to be 3 syllables by simply grouping 2 of the syllables together to make it 3 syllables. On top of that, I have to do that with every possible combination of patterns, while leaving the "best" combination (or option) for last. For example the word "pepperoni" has 4 syllables, "pe-ppe-ro-ni." However, in my head I will say, "pe-ppero-ni." Then I'll say, "pe-pper-oni." Then the last (best) option that I say is, "pepper-o-ni." The reason it's the best option is because "pepper" is already an actual word on its own so it just makes sense to me to group those syllables together to make one. Even tho it's technically not one syllable, when I say it fast enough in my head, it turns into one. 

For those of you that are still with me and read all of that and can understand it then I applaud you. Welcome to my brain. 

[Ye Ole Trav 0]

I do this... The constant counting of syllables. In my brain, things fit very nicely if they are divisible by 3. 

 

You'll notice that section above actually does fit in 3s. I can't help it, it's weird. I really like a sentence or phrase in a song if the ending is at 12 syllables. That is satisfaction in my mind. Then I take it a step further. Like for example; If I can break things into groups of 6, I might have this; I went outside today. I don't love this phrase becuase I can't break it into threes becuase the middle 2 syllables are in a word. But maybe this would work better; Today I went outside. I like this better becuase I can separate into groups of 3. "Today I"    "went outside" 

 

Again, it's really strange and I can't get away from it, done it since I was a kid. I teach middle school math now, and there are so many great things I get to talk about here in this job. Like.... repeating decimals always go above a multiple of 9. Something about that satisfies my brain. So, .333333333333... you can start by putting 3 over 9 and reducing it down to 1 over 3. Or you could even go further with 33333/99999 and it all breaks down to 1/3. My god that is like candy for my mind. 

 

 

[Jaydec 0]

Wow!  I feel so happy... I’m not the only weirdo in the world!
At the age of 55 I have many years of syllable counting behind me as I think I started to do this at about 8 years old.  
I think some of these posts are quite old but it doesn’t matter to me!  I feel like I have joined an elite club! 
to read that other people count words and syllables on their fingers as I do is wonderful. I’ve tried to explain it to a few people that I’ve been close to in my life and they have been intrigued but slightly confused by what I tell them. 
Counting words and syllables on the 5 fingers of one hand so that it all balances nicely and ends up on my pinky has become an art form, using a system of repeating the sentence, words, syllables , letters or punctuation on rotation through my fingers if necessary, until I’m happy and content with the formation and pattern. 
I sometimes worry that I’m wasting time and energy in my life doing this but at the same time I get a sort of habitual comfort from the process. 
We are complicated creatures as humans and some of our behaviour is unusual but I’m very glad I’m not alone with this one! 
I’m  now going to research the subject a little deeper just out of interest.

happy counting fellow people! 

 

 

 
 

 

[Albertina Geller 3]

There are lots of people who count in OCD. Some count, numbers, alphabets in word, letters, tiles, steps walked etc. It common in people who have counting OCD and some people count because they think it will help to save their loved ones. You can read this articles on counting OCD to get a better understanding of it.

https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/counting-numbers-ocd/

https://evolvetreatment.com/blog/my-teen-is-counting-does-she-have-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/

https://peaceofmind.com/education/types-of-ocd/counting-checking/