molly.com
Tuesday 8 April 2008
My Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
You know you have one. Or twenty.
Admit it.
Unless you live in a rural area, never travel, see few people, and even then . . . many humans have signs of OCD.
Some years ago at SXSW a fantastic group of friends had lunch at P.F. Chang’s and talked about our unique Obsessive Compulsive Disorders.
It was such a funny and enlightening conversation, I’d like to jump-start it here.
Mine? Pillowcase openings must point to the left; I can’t leave an empty cardboard toilet paper roll on whatever that thing is (the roll?) that we put it on. I have to either replace it or leave it empty.
Other than that I’ve only a few inconsistent quirks.
How about you?
Filed under: humor, pop culture, society, creativity, molly asks you
Posted by: Molly | 6:50 pm |
April 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Seating at regular lunch/dinners. That is *my* seat, that is *your* seat, and *her* seat and we *have* to sit there. Else things are just not right.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
(1) I have to have all my bookmarks in some sort of order under a certain category.
(2) Books have to be stacked neat and tidy on my book case and in order
(3) Loo roll..ditto
April 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I have a pair of light switches at the bottom of the stairs in my house. They must both be switched the same way, and if they’re not, I’ll happily walk to the top of the stairs to the other switch to fix it.
I’m sure there are more, but they have temporarily escaped me.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Whenever I go grocery shopping, I have to have things grouped properly on the little conveyer belt thing when I check out. All produce must be together. All boxed dry goods like crackers and cereal have to be together. All the meats must be together. All the dairy products must be together. You get the picture. I think this is generally a good practice anyway for some reason. Sadly, the bagger can never seem to keep it in the right groupings
April 8th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I am OCD about spelling. You spelled “P.F. Chang’s” wrong.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
All my dollar bills must be arranged the same. This doesn’t usually present a challenge - my having so few of them…
When I get ready to ride a motorcycle, I *have* to put the left glove on before the right one. I actually stop, and restart getting ready if I inadvertently pick up the wrong one! It’s all part of my “entering the place I need to be” when I go out on a motorcycle. I do this with all my bikes, including the Vespa!
Aside of that? I can’t think of anything. Oh - I won’t go an sort the switches out, but I do prefer it if the switches line up.
One of the cats (Oscar) won’t touch his bowl of milk if any other cat has drank from it. Which isn’t usually a problem because Horatio inhales it… So there’s nothing left for Oscar to drink, anyway. (He always gets another bowl!)
Carolyn Ann
April 8th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Oh - I just walked past a hole in the wall, and realized that another “fetish” of mine is that whenever I have to cut a hole in a wall - the sides have to be straight, and the corners at right angles. It doesn’t matter for repairing, but I like the hole to look “professional”. (I’m an electrician, by trade.)
Cables have to be hidden as much as possible, too. I guess there’s no hope for me.
Carolyn Ann
April 8th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I just thought it was helping the next person in line by replacing an empty toilet roll now I know OCD made me do it…..
April 8th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I remember this lunch, Molly! I’m pretty sure I said that my OCD had to do with the size and placement of application windows on my computers… even down to how wide the columns are in the file explorer windows. And yep, I’m still that way!
April 8th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Ask any athlete for theirs. No greater fodder for OCD than that (ever watch Chuck Knoblauch at bat? 3 minute ritual between pitches).
Mine: wore a turtleneck under my uniform no matter how hot it was. That, and an optimized arrangement of dirty dishes in a dishwasher.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
When I make a sandwich, the pieces of bread have to had been beside each other in the loaf, and I have to match the edges exactly.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Ah, I remember that very meal! That would be when Dunstan was telling us all the precise pattern he follows when drying after a bath/shower … and I have to say I have a similar thing in that I *always* follow the same pattern.
For me, the OCD thing has to be arranging money. I used to work in the secure room of a bank (where instead of individual tills, the cashiers on the counter would send money/requests to the secure room via air tube conveyor - remember those?). To ensure that money could easily be counted/checked, the notes were always stored facing the same way. Now, as a result of years of that training, if I get money from an ATM or anywhere else, I *have to* sort all the notes so that they are in denomination order and all facing the same way. I’m aware that if someone gives me money for something that could be misconstrued as “You don’t trust me, do you? You’re checking it’s all there, aren’t you?”.
I’m sure my wife would be able to reel off a whole list of things that I’m not aware of but would perhaps come under that banner of ‘almost OCD’
April 9th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Packets (like crisps) must always be opened upside down and empty bags rolled and tied in knots.
Always have to have something green on (if you can’t see it, it’s probably my underwear!).
Can’t use any chipped crockery. Shudder.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:23 am
My pens HAVE to have their caps - otherwise I chuck them. Same with the tube of toothpaste and pretty much anything else that comes in a set or with multiple pieces. It just doesn’t feel right.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Noooo how can you not see.
The openings of pillow cases must be facing their respective side of the bed*.
Other than that the remotes for the telly et al should be lined up when they are put down.
All of my games are crouped by platform ( ps2 xbox etc) then age of platform from left to right ( xbox games before xbox 360 games). The if possible have a game and it’s sequels grouped together. For example the last two games in the xbox group are Halo and Halo 2 and then the first game in the Xbox 360 group is Halo 3.
CD’s MUST be put back in their cases after being taken out of the stereo. I have taken to leaving the empty case of the current CD in front of the stereo to encourage this practice in my housemates. Every time they take a CD out and just leave it on top of the stereo I feel like spreading jam in their bed.
*only applies to double beds, for single beds it faces the wall, if the single bed isn’t against a wall then the world ends.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Ah yes, toilet roll, that reminds me of one of mine:
Toilet roll always has to go over the top. Always over. Never under.
And yes, I will change it around in any toilet I visit, even a public one.
I’m sure I have many others, although I can’t remember them off the top of my head.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Ooh, I do the light switch thing too, my dear husband thinks I’m mad but he humours me…
Empty loo-rolls bug me too, as do open photocopier lids (although this I owe to constant badgering at high school by a guy who would insist that leaving them half open damaged the suspension system of the lid and gathered dust and dirt on the screen..)
Cups and glasses have to be filled to what I deem “full”, there’s no precise measurement to it but if it isn’t full, it bugs me… Pens without lids or left clicked open are annoying but only sometimes. Woe is me, and my OCDs.
April 9th, 2008 at 2:49 am
Oh, where to start.. once at a convention me and a friend were responsible for the laptop and projector. While my friend was busy with the laptop, i noticed the projector was not aligned to the table that was supporting it. I proceded to slightly moving the projector, therefore misaligning the projector with the projection area. Other than that, the duvet/blanket ALWAYS has to be aligned to the bed it is on…
I believe my OCD habits get worse when i am in the programming ‘zone’. In fact i suspect that whatever makes me a good programmer is the same that is responsible for my OCD tendencies. Has anyone else noticed this? Is there any relevant research?
April 9th, 2008 at 4:38 am
So many people seem to have a thing with toilet rolls. With me, it is:
1. The roll must go under (sorry FatBusinessman and others), because if it goes over, it’s difficult to see how much is left on the roll. 2. I always replace a roll if I reach cardboard, even if I don’t require more paper. 3. The paper must be torn straight, along the perforations. If I find a jagged edge, I have to remove the torn sheet and leave a straight edge for the next person.
I used to nag ex-girlfriend about that last one, and she always teased me about it.
I also have the “light switches on the staircase must all go same way” compulsion. I wash-up pots and pans as soon as the food leaves them, even if it means my dinner going cold. I shower in exactly the same way every day. 2 blank lines go between every block of server-side code. All HTML code produced by my web team must be nested neatly.
April 9th, 2008 at 6:18 am
I have OCD _and_ ADD, so while I get obsessive about many things I am also easily… Hey, anyone wanna go ride bikes?
April 9th, 2008 at 7:08 am
What? No obsessions about discovering someone else’s obsessions and then, occasionally and with discretion, re-arranging those things?
April 9th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Very good, Matthew, very good … heard /that/ one before
April 9th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Only thing I can really think of off the top of my head is light-switches. If it’s bright enough to see your hand they should be turned off and the blinds/shutters opened.
My major things are hyperactivity and ADD. Sometimes I get migraines after classes because I’m focusing so hard on staying to the topic
April 9th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Like Dave, above, I have some particularities when grocery shopping. I really owe this to my grandparents, who taught me to grocery shop at a young age (properly, since my mother has no sense of organization - I get this from my father’s side). Everything must be sorted by destination when it’s packed. This starts at the cart level - things go into the cart in order, then onto the converyor, then into bags according to where they will end up in the house (fridge/freezer/cupboard). I prefer to pack my own groceries because store staff never do it right.
Other things:
- books, cd’s etc. must be sorted, usually by genre, then alphabetically. That’s normal though, right? The genre part is more important than alphabetical.
- my car must be parked straight. I’ve even gone back to my car after walking away and realizing it was really crooked
- I generally like sorting things in logical order. Clothes in the closet are sorted by type (jackets, blouses, short sleeves/long sleeves, short skirts/longer skirts) and then by colour. Food in the cupboard is sorted by type (soup cans, vegetable cans, other cans etc.). Money in the wallet, sorted by denomination.
- Recycleables CAN NOT go into the garbage. I’ll even carry around an empty drink bottle rather than throw it in the trash.
I’m also obsessive about keeping files oraganized on my computer and any server areas I’m responsible for. The guy before me was terrible - old files lying around, duplicate files everywhere. I’m still cleaning up after him!
I can go on here. Suffice it to say, I can really identify with Monica on Friends.
I tend to classify this more as perfectionism/obsessiveness than OCD because there’s nothing really compulsive or repetitive about it.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:31 am
That’s funny. I’m picky about the pillowcase openings pointing to the outside of the bed. I hate it when I get my arm stuck in one while I’m sleeping.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:48 am
In regards to bedding, I HAVE to have my sheets, down comforter, blankets - tucked in at the bottom the bed, can’t sleep if they’re “floating around” and I usually lose the battle of the covers to my husband when they aren’t tucked in.
This, of course, probably goes hand-in-hand with the fact that he can only sleep with a fan on in the room (his OCD) and I don’t like drafts, thus needing the covers to stay put.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:48 am
[…] There is a fantastic conversation going on over at Molly.com about OCD. She’s highlighted a few of her obsessive compulsive tendencies and asked others to do the same. The responses are great. Oddly enough, toilet paper rolls seem to be a popular subject. […]
April 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I’d like to state for the record that I am not Ellen K’s husband.
April 9th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Oh I’m an OCD basket case, Molly. I even superstitiously touch my head with my right hand occasionally and say touch wood if I have a bad thought - sounds funny I know. Underneath, I agree, everyone has a little of it kicking around. The trick is to rationalise and keep it under control.
I have a friend with severe OCD who can’t control himself at all. He turned 16 in 1983 and since then has had 2 years in society, the rest in prison. He’s an interesting study in OCD. He gets obsessed with robbing somewhere - Banks and Chemists for money and drugs - but can’t close off the loop in his head telling him to do it. Yet essentially he’s a selfish but otherwise harmless person (if that makes sense). He’s never been caught but always comes forward and confesses a number of serious crimes (again OCD), as he’s quite a christian on some level.
Also, another old friend lost his gay boyfriend to severe OCD (suicide) after years of wearing rubber gloves everywhere, washing dishes and surfaces fanatically all day and ritualising everything. Its really a very sad disease if uncontrolled and lots of people are out there.
I think we’ve all got it in us to some degree but we need to stay on top of mild obsessive behaviour like our own and that short hop into actual madness.
How does the saying go “walk a mile in their shoes”…
April 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Sometimes I get what I recognize as “Monk moments” (you all know the show, right?
) where I HAVE to align the papers on the counter at the bank, or touch up the kitchen counter that I just washed completely, just one more time, or… well, you get the picture. 
April 9th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Oooh… it’s satisfying just to read this & find oneself.
Price tags must come off everything, even packages soon to be unwrapped/recycled/pitched. Pencils with minimal erasers require new stick-on erasers even when not it use. In the dishwasher, mug handles face the same direction and get tucked inside their own row. My toothbrush gets dried on a washcloth before being put away; water must be completely squeezed out of the kitchen sink sponge. The list is endless and the other people, sigh, don’t generally comply.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I make websites which validate. Does that count?
April 11th, 2008 at 6:42 am
(Hi Molly, sad for not commenting here as much as I used to, but life got me)
Oh, I’ve fought my way out of a lot of them.
For instance, I would be very keen on having the car parked exactly at the right angle. Now I know it’s hopeless and leave it as it is the second time so I go backwards-forwards-backwards and I’m done.
My girl used to nag me because I spent a long time parking. Now she nags me because the car is at very odd angles with the street. He he.
Another one: I used to check if the door was correctly locked once or twice before departing. Now I put my 3.5-year-old daughter on the car, and then go.
Which means now I leave the door open.
So, in a way having a lot of OCD’s is sometimes better than fighting them, isn’t it?
(now, thinking seriously I must have a huge list of them - making lists for everything being the first
)
April 11th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
All sock must be the same colour and style, so any 2 random socks will make a perfect pair!
April 12th, 2008 at 3:26 am
@Ben dude you need treatment for that.
I’m too busy for an OCD.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Mine usually revolve around the computer - at the end of the day ALL files on the desktop need to be put away into their respective folders, no email can be unread, todo list must be read through (again, for the eighth time) and all updates performed. Then I check the email again before shutting down.
Cd in car must be on track 1 when I shut the car down, all music and movies in order by name, all books by genre and then author. This is a fun post, Molly!
April 12th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
ooh, I forgot one!
Every time I get on a plane I have to pat the outside right panel by the door three times. In a rush I occasionally forget and discomfort ensues.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Volume controls must always be set to even numbers for some odd reason. I didn’t even notice I did that until someone else pointed it out.
April 14th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
“Volume controls must always be set to even numbers for some odd reason. I didn’t even notice I did that until someone else pointed it out.” -Christine
Same here. I’ve actually gotten very good at it on my television. You can only go up by 2 or more when using the remote, so I can’t correct an odd volume in one tap. So, I hold it and go up or down a good ways till It stops on an even number, then tap my way back where I wanted to be.
I even do it on all my Macs, which don’t have # volumes. Always an even number of filled in dots, and volume changes are always by 2.
This is fun.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:32 am
i have to have the eggs in the same orderrr or they stress meee!!!!!!!!!!!
April 15th, 2008 at 2:32 am
cv b35 b36 wasttteee
April 16th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Eh. Not sure how much of any of this is actually OCD. I imagine OCD is no fun at all.
My laptop goes into its bag one way, and one way only. I always use “,”,‘ and ’ instead of ” and ‘, despite the awkward keystrokes required. Keys and wallet in the left pocket, money and iPhone in the right. Receipts and uselessly small change in the back right pocket. Plates on the draining board in order of size. Spoons and forks drain together, knives and teaspoons drain together. CDs in alphabetical order by artist, compilations separately, ordered alphabetically by title.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Oops, my prime and double prime got changed to quotes.
Oops, someone got to “real OCD is nasty” before me.
Oops, I forgot I do the even volume thing on my Mac too.
I’m also a bit insane about indenting source code just how I like it.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Haha… this is a funny post, Mols. And yes, I’ve got a few myself (messy and ADD as I am!)…
Sandwich bread MUST come from two slices next to each other AND all mayonnaise, peanut butter, butter, whatever MUST be spread evenly and all the way to the edges of each piece.
Toilet paper bugs me too. Empty rolls are replaced, but more importantly, the paper must come over the top. Yes, I’ll change other people’s.
Pictures must be hung straight or I can’t relax. And yes, I’ll straighten them at people’s houses I barely know. I TRY to be polite and discreet, but I figure it’s a service.
If someone’s tag is sticking out of their clothes. I provide them a service as well. I fix it. Doesn’t matter if I know them or have been introduces. My ex-husband used to call that a ‘boundary violation’ but I figure if some chick got all dressed up in a sexy dress for an event, and her tag is sticking out of her low-backed dress. She’d be mortified if she know. And to be honest, most people DO thank me. LOL (Maybe they secretely hate me though — who knows!)
Groceries must be organized in the cart. Like a puzzle. They can’t be thrown in on top of each other.
And money. It MUST be in denominational order with all faces forward. I’m pretty sure they don’t let you spend it otherwise.
Wow, who knew I had such a list!
April 17th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Pffft… Mols, another thing. I hate typos. You need one of those features here where I can edit my own post for a certain period of time. introduces=introduced and “She’d be mortified if she KNEW.”
Must. Fix. All. Typos.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:25 pm
In order to promote even wear across all of my shirts, underwear, and dress socks, said items are sorted by the date that they were last cleaned and put back. Thus, rarely worn items will “bubble up” to the top of the queue without me having to make a conscious effort to hunt them down.
I once sorted my ramen noodle packets by the colors of visible light, i.e. ROY-G-BIV. My dress shirts were also sorted by this method until I implemented the “last laundered” method described above.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:47 am
When replacing light switch plates, I align the flathead screwdriver notches.
I’m drawing a blank after that, but there are so many!
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
ironically my name is molly and I have obsessive compulsive disorder! lol.
my habits are sooo weird!
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
oh i hate odd numbers so i cant eat or anything in odd numbers, i count stairs, i count everything…. everything must be straight, and i check to see if i zipped my pants up like 5000 times
April 24th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Wow … what a fun conversation to explore … I’ve only recently been allowing others to *know* about my OCDs.
1) Candy/cereal bar wrappers - must be torn the exact same way and then carefully extended on the ends when opening … if I’m enjoying a chocolate bar and it is scored (marked in “pieces”) then it has to be broken on said scores otherwise it bothers me - like something has gone wrong in the universe.
2) Pumping fuel - once the auto-shutoff has completed I round up to a number that ends as divisible by 5cents. It’s like heaven if I actually hit a whole dollar with no change!!
3) Mirrors/Windows - when cleaning, start from upper left corner go horizontally first then finish with vertical wipes starting again from upper left corner.
I am sure there are several more “habits” that I do somewhat OCDingly … but those are the most obvious that I could think of off the top of my head.
April 26th, 2008 at 4:57 am
1. Travelling to work or anywhere for that matter, i plan the route and must stick with it, will not change, thats too scary
2. No one packs the dishwasher properly, why am i the only one.
3. left sock, left shoe, right sock, right shoe, it’s easy, life will finish if you don’t you know,
4. disinfectant and bleach are common everyday household cleaning products, why am i the only one that will use them daily.
That should be enough for one day, i now have to go and count to myself
April 28th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
We are currently working on a website for the OCD foundation of Chicago. This new website will provide many online resources for the online community. Its URL is www.ocdchicago.com.
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I align paper to whatever geometry is suggested by the table it is on, and ovals do suggest geometry. Most oval tables align most usefully if set wider from left to right than sitting at the end of one, therefore paper, which doesn’t often get used in landscape which feels intuitively wrong to me anyway, simply has no comfortable place on an oval table top.
Gad! … save me from the table
May 6th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Ok, I am the only weird one here. I utilize a transitional object in the form of a blanket (currently a pillowcase) of which I routinely roll the corners of and place up into my nasal cavity. I also use an iron to “warm” the ends to achieve a desired smell that heightens the “experience.” I also tend to analyze how everyone must know that I have this secret behavior and that my ultimate undoing shall arrive at anytime, for acting so strangely. I have done this all of my life and have had ritualistic ceremonies attempting to destroy previous “blankets.” I have managed to keep this behavior a secret from the military for over ten years and have attended college for over six years. I know that I do not want to act out this behavior, it disgusts me, and yet I am helpless against it.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I sort my M&Ms by color on opening the package; eat the blue ones first in a single handful just to get rid of them (there should NOT be blue M&Ms!); then I eat the largest group (dark brown) first and proceed down by largest group through the colors. (I eat the colors other than blue by singleton.)
Toilet roll? Over the top (was raised in a house of under the roll, as soon as I emancipated, I changed my life.. er… my toilet rolls).
Shirts all must hang in the closet with the button sides facing the same way. I fold my underwear in the drawer and the colors are piled separately from the whites.
(However, my husband says I’m too disorganized and sloppy to be OCD… {wink})
El
May 15th, 2008 at 12:59 am
No one notices what I do or when and most of the time I dont even notice. BUT, the big one is touching the tips or between fingers. Randomly I will scratch in between two fingers and then i have to do it to every other gap on my hand, but I also have to do it at the same time as I do with the other hand. Same goes for just tapping the tips. Always has to add up to 4 times, or at least a multiple of 4. Same goes for when I place my hand on something. Each finger has to tap at least 4 or 8, etc times.
I also will either step in between tiles/slate pieces or on the corners/edges while i walk. I’m not freakish though where I have to walk back if I miss one or anything.
OH BIG ONE, when I leave my house I always lock my front door, but when I start pulling out of the driveway I guess I dont remember or something. It will irritate me so badly that I will drive back down the street to check(assuming I am still close).
That’s just the beginning. Like I said, somehow no one notices these and soemtimes I dont even realize it.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I definitely agree that every one has their little quirks. Don’t think it’s actually OCD though unless it disrupts the person’s ability to function in life.
Here’s my quirks:
M&Ms must be eaten two at a time, same color, one on either side of my mouth. If I have an odd number of one color, the last one gets bitten in half and each half get sent to either side of my mouth. Brown goes first because it’s the color I like least. Green last, because it’s the color I like most.
If volume controls have numbers, the setting must be divisible by either 2 or 5.
HTML code must always be properly indented (CSS too). Thank you Dreamweaver for your nifty “Apply Source Formatting” feature. When I used to code with a basic text editor, this was hell (for a while I refused to use WYSIWYG editors purely on principle). I’d spend more time going back and properly fixing the layout of the code than actually writing it.
If I’m going somewhere overnight, I usually have to check my bag at least 3 times to make sure I didn’t forget anything. And even then, during the trip, I’ll still think “Am I sure I took underwear???”
If I’m driving and I know where I’m going, I have to go the way I know, even if I have someone in the car that knows an easier or quicker route. This may actually stem from a friend of mine who would constantly correct me as I was driving. I think I started to ignore her just to spite her.
Now I do it with everyone.
I know there are more, I just can’t seem to recall what they are at the moment.
Oh, but I have no quirks about toilet paper. That can go any which way…
June 13th, 2008 at 10:59 am
ah ..
/all light switches that are in one outlet have to point toward the same direction.
/my hair always has to be perfectly groomed. [i always have to have a mirror and brush with me at all times — also might have body dysmorphic disorder]
/i have to know a day or so in advance if i am to go anywhere, so i can get all my clothes and everything ready and deal with problems -shirt i want to wear still in washer, etc.- AND i must know what time i have to be at the certain place [so i know what time to wake up or start getting ready or whatever] -like, if it’s a planned event, or whatever- .. if there’s no time, i make one up -even to go to the store the next day.
/if i am near a mirror and it isn’t perfectly clean, i have to clean it some how
/my bed has to be perfectly made at all times ..
/if i am working on CSS for anything, it has to be perfectly typed and indented
/my i-pod has to have ALL the album covers for each song, if it is availiable -i dont buy mp3s ;]-, but if i can’t find one, i just clamp my teeth togethher and ignore it. all the names have to be correct and grammar must be perfect, and only words that are SUPPOSED to be capitalized are capitalized, vice versa if the certain word isn’t .. the genres must be correct, also, of each artist. there must be NO duplicates on my i-pod, either, so i make sure to check if there are ..
/my nails must be perfectly straight -it’s not THAT big a deal if they aren’t, so if i notice they aren’t and there’s not a nail file or whatever availible, i just will take care of them when i get home- and cut as short as they can go -it feels .. wrong to me if they are long ..
/if i have a profile on something and it allows comments to be made, i always delete them when it looks .. unorganized .. if there are too many comments
/when i’m leaving a comment capitalization doesn’t bother me much, -it does when I’M posting a blog, though- but spelling and such does
/um, my computer files have to be all neat and such, but only on MY computer, or if i use a certain computer consistenly [even at school when it’s ALLOWED -psshh- to change the desktop and such]. but if it’s at SCHOOL then i just go about changing the appearance and desktop, then i leave it at that .. files would take too long. i try to have as FEW desktop icons i can manage, also. the fewer the better. same with files and add-on programs .. so my computer usually has TONS of room on it.
/i don’t like other people taking pictures of me, because i think they do it incorrectly .. so, i avoid that as much as possible. i do love taking pictures of other things and myself, though. =]
/if i DO take a picture of myself, i have to look as nice as possible .. vice versa of other things
/my earbuds for my ipod have to be perfectly straight -i have a problem with chewing on them when i’m listening to music, and when i do it bends the wire :/, or else it bugs me to death. i have a chewing thing with pencils, also .. but the i usually lose each pencil i use at school day by day, so i don’t have a problem with them having to be in perfect shape.
/ditto on the toilet paper, but it’s not a huge thing with me ..
i’ll stop before i look TOO crazy ..
June 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I still have a few left, actually …
I always have to check if I have everything when I go to school. That’s not a problem, though, because I usually have about FOUR things in my book bag -again, the fewer, the better- … most of which aren’t school related. Actually, the only thing in my book bag at the moment for school is a book, and that’s only because I like to read, lol. ^-^
All the way through elementary school I used to ALWAYS have to have my books in my book-bag in a certain order, and that started as early as first grade or kindergarten, lol.
But since I picked up the habit of having only a few things in my book bag, order doesn’t bother me anymore.
When I was seven I used to have a TON of stuffed animals on my bed, so they ALL had to be in a certain order .. so I only took them off when I went to sleep, but when I put them on the floor, they also had to be grouped, too. >__
June 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I can’t seem to stop from listing them all ..
plus, I found it interesting to read everyone else’s little quirks, so I guess if anyone else likes reading little quirks or whatever like I do, this should be quite an experience. Plus, while I was reading everyone else’s comments, other things kept coming to my head ..
-I always have to have a fan on in the room I sleep in, but it does not have to point towards me, because sometimes I don’t feel like having wind blown on me.
-I ALWAYS have to have the door closed when I’m in a room in my house, even though it bugs me when my seventh period teacher leaves her door open before the bell rings .. except when I sleep, I only leave it open a crack. It feels weird if I can’t see light coming through the door, or hear sound clearly through the door or whatever, but this doesn’t mean I’m afraid of the dark. =]
-I have to type everything on my mind when I type, or else it bugs me and makes me feel anxious when I don’t “finish” something. -See what I mean?-
-Is it common courtesy to put the cap on the tooth paste, or is it OCD? Because it doesn’t KILL me when it’s not on the tooth paste, I just do it when it’s not on the tooth paste when I can .. I can’t decide if it’s a serious impulse or not .. >_
June 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
My sister has severe intractable OCD. When she gets up from her chair at church meetins or at a restaurant, she will “check” to make sure she didn’t leave anything. She’ll have purse and keys in hand and will look all around her chair and around the table to make sure she didn’t leave anything. It’s like she’s looking for the back of her earring or something else small and important. Other people in the restaurant will start looking under their chairs in their effort to help. They will say, “What are you missing? Can I help?” My sister picked up her empty dinner plate at the restaurant and looked underneath of it like something was stuck to the bottom of it. Then she looked around where the plate was and then placed it back onto the table. My sister said that she was “making sure that nothing was left underneath the plate”. It’s totally insane. She’s been on a myriad of medicines, but her OCD has gotten worse and worse as she ages. The family is trying to arrange sometime type of inpatient treatment for her since all other treatments have failed.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Has anyone heard about Deep Brain Stimulation for OCD? My sister may be a candidate for this type of neurosurgery. I do hope that something can be done about her severe, intractable OCD. She’s become disabled by her condition and it’s heartbreaking. It drives my family crazy having to witness her endless rituals and having to try to reason with her. You can’t reason with a crazy person!!!!!
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
While walking in a grocery store or other public area with aisles, if I pass an obese person I will hold my breath until I reach the end of the aisle.
If I am watching a movie or a television program where someone goes under water. I too hold my breath until that actor surfaces and takes a breath. This does not count for sporting events such as diving or swimming.
I sometime, while fumbling for my house or car key, pretend that I am in a spy movie and try to get the door unlocked before the bomb explodes.
My sister, If she touches raw wood (2X4, plywood), she has to lick the webbing between her thumb and index finger. That one is just plain weird.
While cutting the grass, my back and forth lines have to be straight. I really appreciate the greens keepers and landscapers at ball fields.
Vacuuming, the lines and “swoosh” have to be uniform.
I feel better now.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
my ocd is that i have to do sum specific things 3 times. and i hav to du these things 3 times or my something bad will happen to me.