by Billygoat 52 Replies latest watchtower medical
- He organizes all the money in his wallet by serial number
o m g
my closet is color coded too...and cds and other music is alphabetically organized..but this is mostly for practical purposes rather than compulsive...i think i was on the way to becoming compulsive when i realised it and made a determined effort not to allow it to happen..seems to be working so far...my sympathies to those who are affected
Wombat and Jgnat:
that's what's funny about it, I have embraced my OCD and have no qualms about it. I'm also proud of saying I'm bipolar because I have taken control of my life, but my life is very interesting because of those things and my wife's never bored. She lives in a madhouse where from one minute to the next I can be seating down, quietly watching TV and the next I break out in a Broadway-like song and dance, only to sit down again as if nothing happened.
I do drive my wife bananas sometimes, but she has been more than patient and understanding. She's also the one who makes me take my meds. Last time I went to the shrink she asked what did he say and I answered: "He said I have a severe case of Wifefitis, in other words, you are the cause of my condition..." She smacked me upside the head...
The question is, daystar, can you walk past it without "fixing" it? If you can't, you're compulsive.
Good point, I guess. While I do have quirks that some people might consider OCD, it doesn't drive me nuts to the point that I have to drop everything to correct it.
Correct, daystar. The day the compulsion starts to interfere with your daily life, it becomes a disorder. As it is, my sister just looks at me weird when I polish her toaster.
Devices like... when walking into a room and turning the light on, the switch always has to be turned on and off an even number of times?
That's what my husband does. He always has to lock the car door four times. He can't do anything unless it is an even number of times.
Daystar, you are exactly right. Odd that you mention the light switch thing. When I was an elder, a young, mid 20's, couple with a small child came to us very concerned because the young woman had some very bizarre, almost disabling, OCD type obsessions that were getting worse and worse. The light switch was one of them. As I recall, she was up to 70 or 80 on/off cycles before she could stop. It saddens me to recall that all we did was to tell her to pray to 'hovah. She badly needed professional help.
Hi Andi,
There is definitely a difference between being meticulous and being obsessive compulsive. There are those of us that like things in a certain way. Perhaps a person folds the towels in a certain way or likes to hang their toilet paper in a certain direction. The difference is that those without OCD don't feel a compulsion to do things in a certain way.
Those with OCD are compelled to perform certain tasks or rituals to blunt the fears that are tormenting them. For example an OCD sufferer may fear that the house may burn down and his loved ones perish in a fire if he doesn't make sure that the ignitors on the stove are off. The OCD sufferer will then physically touch the burner controls to make sure that they are off. Even though he is certain that the knobs are turned off, he feels compelled to continue touching the knobs over and over again. It is like he is stuck in a loop and can't make the connection that the knobs are in the off position. So, the OCD sufferer performs this ritual to try to blunt the fear that the house will burn down if he does not perform this ritual.
Another example is that involving fear of contamination from germs. The OCD sufferer may have the compulsion to wash his hands over and over again to blunt the fear that germs are everywhere and that if he doesn't continue washing his hands he will come down with some terrible disease. Some of the rituals that the OCD sufferer may perform are checking (repeatedly), counting, praying (obsessively), arranging items in a particular order or sequence, touching objects over and over again, etc. These rituals are performed because the obsessive believes that the performing of these rituals will prevent his worst fears from coming true. They are stuck in a world of abnormal fear.
There are medications that can help the OCD sufferer, but the most effective method to help the OCD sufferer involves exposing the OCD victim to his fears. A therapist will expose the patient to his fears over and over again until the compulsion to perform a ritual to blunt their abnormal fears begins to abate. It is a process that takes a long time to overcome, but it is worth it when the obssessive gets relief from his abnormal fears.
Mr. Shakita
"I MUST have plastic clothes hangers in my closet. No metal at all"
I thought I was the only one! Short sleeved shirts in one area, long sleeved shirts in another, sweaters, jeans, coats, etc...
"as I was reading this post and eating a small dish of cashews I pick out all the split and broken pieces to eat first, leaving all the whole ones for...right now!! "
Again I thought I was the only one - I do this with a lot of things, chips, pretzels, etc... I will pick out the broken or smaller ones first leaving the whole and larger ones for last - I will also eat the edges of a sandwich or burger before the middle, saving the best for last.
So does this mean I am not as odd as I thought - or does it mean that everyone else is just as odd as I am?
So does this mean I am not as odd as I thought - or does it mean that everyone else is just as odd as I am?
LMAO!
Glad you're sticking around Dax.
In my little world I'm normal, everyone else is strange.
Dams
Wow I must have missed this discussion the first time around.
I think you all are very misinformed about OCD. It is a terribly confining disorder of anxiety, not the minor compulsion to organize your closets or drawers or fold your towels or even insist on doing some things a certain way.
I rather admire the many posters here who are doing so well to keep their lives organized and clean.
I think it is commendable.
I am somewhere in between Frannie and Ferret....my home,car, life LOOKS ORGANIZED AND LOVELY...but dont open a drawer or closet........you'll be sorry! (I'll be sorry)
