by Aztec 33 Replies latest jw friends
Pretty soon I am going to be counting things for no reason and triple checking my locks! :-0
I do that! LOL Before there was no reason...but now I'm a chemist and get good grades for counting and obsessing over accuracy and precision. If you can't get rid of it, use it.
My brother Tom is a cleaner...he's caught himself on his hands and knees straightening the tassles of a rug. Me? I wash my hands a lot when I'm nervous...I have to make my bed...have to...there's a few other ticks but none really get in the way...my mom is slightly OCD as well.
I hate bright light... bright artificial light. When somebody puts the light on, I scream at them to turn it off.
Remember that film called Gremlins ? Gizmo hated bright light. .... Come to think of it, wasn't that guy a bit old to own little pets like that ?
My father was diagnosed with OCD over 30 years ago. He had it bad. Would be standing in front of the stove checking to make sure it was off for -- I'm not kidding -- sometimes over an hour. Some people with OCD must "check" with someone else over little details. My father would "repeat" questions to my mother and family asking us such things as, "I didn't hit that car when I tapped my breaks, did I?" Sometimes we would have to repeat "no" up to fifty times before he would "get it."
Amazingly, when my father left the JWs many of his symptoms vanished. People who have serious cases of OCD are prone to stress and stress only makes their situation harder. The JWs are an extraordinarily stressful religion -- not a good mix with someone with OCD. (All the same, my father still has some elements of OCD....many people feel it is a genetic disorder which has the tendency to skip generations, much like twins. Neither I or my sister have symptoms of OCD)
Bradley
Aztec, and the rest of you OCD types,
There's treatment for that, you know. My wife - soon to be ex - has it too. I credit at least about 50% of our split on her OCD. It's not a harmless dysfunction, y'know.
frank tyrrell
I have a few OCD tendencies... and my has it a bit worse... but it doesn't negatively impact our lives. Yeah, I sort my money just like Az does... smaller bills in front, all facing the same way, serial numbers sorted.... (just kidding about the serial numbers). When I mow the yard it bugs the heck out of me if the lines aren't straight. I also vacuum but I don't care as much about those lines.
Anyone watch Monk on USA? That show is so hilarious! Tony Shalhoub plays a detective with major OCD.... my wife and I absolutely love it!
But to answer the question... I don't think my OCD tendencies are related to the WTS. I'm just neat and organized by nature.
Aztec -
Maybe mine would be complusions? or tendencies? I don't know...it's just what I do. Could be the Libra in me. Things must be in order and in balance.
I make sure money is all facing the same way and in a certain sequence (larger bills in the back, etc) That could come from my days as a cashier. The money has to be prepped a certain way to take to the bank for deposit. It's probably just a habit.
I fold towels. Rather, re-fold towels. I can't help myself, I tell ya...I can't help myself. I'll see a hand towel that has just been stuffed on the rack and I will take it down, re-fold it and place it back. Then I will straighten it to make sure it looks just right. Don't ask because I can't explain it.
Maybe I'm just ...quirky.
Lisa
I just need to say this....
A lot of people like to diagnose themselves as, well, whatever...OCD, clinical depression, ADD, PSTD....sorry, but not until a highly qualified professional has diagnosed you do you have a disorder imho.
EVERYONE has a touch of obsessive-compulsive tendencies. EVERYONE has a touch of depression, ADD, madness and nymphomania....
Aztec -- just by watching you I can say far and away that whatever "OCD" tendencies you have they are minimal. Like I said, my Dad had OCD for all my life so I think I can speak with a little experience here...again, jmho.
If someone DOES have a problem or condition it is treatable through therapy and medication. A lot of SSRI's and norepinephrine inhibitors are used to treat depression/OCD.
Bradley
PS -- There's a great movie to see about OCD...."As Good As It Gets"....
Orbit, thanks for the info. I don't mind admitting that I have some compulsions. The funny thing is that they are far less pronounced when I am not at work. I think the stress of my job brings out these tendencies. What I do for a living, picture framing, requires great attention to detail. I obsess over anything I am framing, even reopening a picture 5 or more time to get rid of any perceived imperfection. I'll get an inch away from the picture or mat and gently rub or scratch away any flaw. I've only been at my new job for a month but I already have customer's that ask for me, specifically, to frame their piece because they know how obsessed with perfection I am. What I worry about is driving my son insane. When he has homework I help him a bit too much because I drill him and I worry that I am going to turn him into one of those children who gets depressed if they don't get straight A's. Because I was an oldest child and elder's daughter I always strove to be perfect. Getting a B was enough to make me cry. By the time I was in Junior High I was concert master of the school orchestra (first chair, first violin to those who are unfamiliar with the terminology), and an editor on my school paper and taking all of the most difficult classes (College level math in Ninth grade). I think this may have lead to my little break down at nineteen. Unfortunatly, it lasted till my mid twenties.
Lisa, I think my tendency with my wallet is because I, also, was a cashier. At least I got something good from the job. ;-)
Dr, I love Monk! Too bad I don't have a television anymore. That was one of the few shows I really enjoyed.
Bradley, let's just say you are a calming influence on me. I am somewhat high strung most of the time. You kept my mind and hands far too busy to really let my compulsions come out. Don't you remember the way I ran back and forth up the stairs? I could hardly sit still. I am a bit hyper though...Don't worry because, I would never self diagnose either my son or myself. I am vehemently opposed to putting a child on psychotropic drugs. In fact, I'm pretty opposed to it for adults too, in most circumstances. I think OCD and ADD are far too frequently diagnosed incorrectly. I'm a firm believer in behavior modification.
~Aztec
Hi Aztec,
I don't think I've got OCD at all, but I do have some little 'obsessions' - I wash my hands a lot. That's my biggest one. But it's not an OCD thing - I just like clean hands I guess.
One thing that settled it in my mind that I'm not OCD in any way was a 20/20 installement a few months back. This one poor girl was a virtual prisoner in her own home because of OCD. She kept repeating certain steps in getting ready for school and simply could not come to grips with the reality that she had already done certain things. It was a pity seeing her and her parents struggle with it.
When I saw that, I knew my hand-washing was just an odd quirk or at most a bit of a phobia (plus, as a bonus, I seldom get sick, lol). It is the main reason though that I don't wear my wedding band...I've removed it and left it in the work restroom too many times.
