OCD issue?

[Hailey 0]

I have never had any type of problem associated with this before. Now all of the sudden I find myself checking my alarm clock on an average of 20 times before i can go to sleep at night. Then again I will check it randomly in the middle of the night when I wake up. If I don't do this until i feel comfortable that it is set right I can't fall asleep and start to panic. Is this a trait of OCD or just some random problem that will go away ? This has been happening every night for the past year.

[JOYCICLE 654]

Hi Hailey, did you have an incident where the clock was wrong or power went off and caused you to oversleep on a very important day? maybe your boss or teacher yelled at you for oversleeping and now you're terrified of it happening again?

[Gilly 1086]

I believe anyone who suffers with anxiety like we do can develop OCD tendencies. Things we do to make us feel safe and secure. Maybe like joy said there was a time when the clock let you down? And maybe you haven't realised or it could be your focus is on time and how much you are able to sleep? I can tell you that if you don't suffer primarily from OCD and this is just something that has developed from anxiety it will pass when your anxiety has lessened.

[magickitty 0]

You're not alone. I check my alarm clock obsessively as well, even if I don't have to get up at a specific time (if I oversleep, I have trouble falling asleep that night). I don't check it as much as it sounds like you do, but I check around five times, and I have to shine a flashlight on it to make sure the switch is lined up properly.

I did oversleep more than a few times in the past and was late to work because of it. A couple times my clock didn't go off (or I hit the snooze enough times for it to quit and just didn't remember), but I usually just slept through the darned alarm. Of course, making sure the clock is set isn't going to help with that, but I can't help checking it.

[shaun 6]

This is not normal behaviour, it is classic obsessive compulsive behaviour. OCD sufferers have a troubling thought in their head, and they feel the compulsive need to repeatedly appease this thought with behaviour. Why do you feel the need to check the clock? Can you trace back to when this obsession with time started?

[lovelikewinter3 0]

It can definitely be an indicator of an OC behaviour. Especially if you feel the NEED to do it to avoid something from happening. I have a similar problem with this when it comes to what time it is (constantly need to check the time, even if I have nothing time-sensitive happening). I would definitely look into the source of this, as shaun mentioned, to see if you can trace where it originated in your psyche.

[Esperahol 0]

Well, the C in OCD stands for complusion. So if you find yourself totally unable to resist checking the clock or you find yourself waking up out a deadsleep or troubled sleep to check the clock or you find yourself unable to behave within your definition of normal behavior because of a desperate, driving need to check the clock despite knowing how illogical you may know yourself to be then yeah it's a pretty good chance you're at least mildly OCD. That said it is always best to get a professional opinion or two because self-diagnosis may in fact be masking a more serious condition. In fact this may be the symptom of something else entirely.

[Mikewv68 0]

Hi Hailey, I suffer from this same type of problem to.  This happens I believe with people who are extremely responsible and have been let down in the past by alarm clocks failing to alert which is scary!  Some jobs will write you up and could even fire you for being late!  Seems alot on the line for relying on an alarm clock to wake you up.  The only way I can fight this is to allow myself to slowly set and double check my alarm clock then force myself to leave it alone.  I also set the alarm clock on my phone especially since cell phones will stay on if the power goes out, plus you can leave your cell phone alarm set and schedule it to alarm even if your volume is all the way down.  Just know your not alone and many others suffer like you  I pray for you to be able to defeat this!  You might seel help from a counselor or psychologist.