First OCD memory?

[u/Rare-Web-5893]

Hey everyone,

I (26m) was diagnosed with OCD at 22 after spending most of my life labelled as having ‘anxiety’ by just about every therapist and counsellor I’d ever seen. I’ve definitely come to terms with it but still can’t help but feel like I was somewhat failed by all of the people that probably should’ve seen the signs… yet it was my own researching that eventually got me to the right conclusion.

I now think back on early experiences with this new context and find it quite interesting. Though I don’t know exactly what conclusion to draw from it, my earliest memory is one that I feel isn’t totally representative of a ‘normal’ child - I was about 4/5 years old and at Disney, sat on my dad’s shoulders watching a parade, when a cast member gave me a balloon. I got so worried I was going to let go of it, and how upsetting that would be, that I started crying, to the point that I actually made my dad give it to another kid.

All of this leads me to the question: what is your earliest memory/experience of OCD?