OCD Police!

KitEKats4Eva!

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Well, the other night I was straightening the fridge magnets, and Max wandered by and said, `OCD Police!'. I just about died laughing, but it's true. I have so many little things that irritate me if they're not just so.

For example, I like the toilet paper roll to be over, not under. I'll change it wherever I go - I can't help it!


I also have a thing about people lying or sitting on, or even touching a bed after it's made.

Do you guys have any little quirky things that you just HAVE to have the way you want them?
 

proudkittiemom

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my handwritting that is the most ocd thing i have...if i think it is the least bit sloppy no matter how much i wrote i will rip it up and re write it..and i cant write in pencils it has to pen..i cant even scratch out notes i will rip it up and rewrite it all over again
also another thing is my nails I ALWAYS file them and they have to be about the same length...and another thing when i am nervous or scared or anything I bite my nails ugh i hate it...my hair has to be perfect even in a messy bun lol there can be noooo bumps
 
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KitEKats4Eva!

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Woah I do that with notes too! If I'm leaving a three-word note for my boss and it doesn't look neat enough I'll do the whole thing over - and scratching out? Forget about it. That does NOT happen.

I always am so conscious of wasting paper though so I do try to get over it a bit
 

clairebear

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I like things to stay neat and clean. I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'm OCD, but I do appreciate neatness and cleanliness.
 

ping

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I actually do have OCD. Mine involves my alarm clock make sure its on and set (that can go on for 5-10 minutes), checking my stove to be sure its off, making sure all locks are locked, making sure door is closed (repeatedly) before I leave the house, making sure my cards are back in my wallet when I pull them out. Its a big cycle that just drives me nutty. I wish one day they would find a cure for it.
 

katiemae1277

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I wouldn't say that things have to be neat or clean
but they do have to be exactly as I've put them, I can spot a change a million miles away even though it may just look like a jumbled mess to everyone else
 

catcrazyperson

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yeah i do the bed thing!!!!!!! i cannot TOUCH the bed after it's made....it looks too nice. and yes, there must be NO bumps in my ponytail AT ALL, or i must start over. i use too many paper towels when cleaning something b/c/ once it gets the least bit dirty i must throw it away and get a new one.
aalso there's something about cracks on the road. i CANNOT step on them...odd, i know.
im sure there must be more...
my dad is OCD. i think i have it some,too.
 
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KitEKats4Eva!

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Originally Posted by Ping

I actually do have OCD. Mine involves my alarm clock make sure its on and set (that can go on for 5-10 minutes), checking my stove to be sure its off, making sure all locks are locked, making sure door is closed (repeatedly) before I leave the house, making sure my cards are back in my wallet when I pull them out. Its a big cycle that just drives me nutty. I wish one day they would find a cure for it.
Actually, I wondered if that would come up when I started this thread. I also have an element of genuine OCD. I have Bipolar Disorder and it's commonly understood that there is quite an element of OCD within that disorder.

I have to touch the entire surface of any light switch or door knob that I walk past - but only if I'm actually opening the door or switching the light on or off. It used to be whenever I walked past them, but I've trained myself out of that.

Do you take any medications? There's no `cure' as such, but it is treatable.
 

ping

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Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

Actually, I wondered if that would come up when I started this thread. I also have an element of genuine OCD. I have Bipolar Disorder and it's commonly understood that there is quite an element of OCD within that disorder.

I have to touch the entire surface of any light switch or door knob that I walk past - but only if I'm actually opening the door or switching the light on or off. It used to be whenever I walked past them, but I've trained myself out of that.

Do you take any medications? There's no `cure' as such, but it is treatable.
Oh I know there is no cure but I wish there was. I have had OCD since I was 16. Came on after a particularly traumatizing event for me. I am supposed to take meds. but currently no because even on meds. I never really had any relief so now I just try to deal with it the best I can.
 

zissou'smom

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Please, none of you, come to my apartment. Really.

I do have some very odd habits, but cleanliness isn't one of them, and touching a bed after its made certainly wouldn't ever be a problem.

Anyway, I absolutely cannot leave a microwave if someone has stopped it early and it says anything but the time. Like, if I were at dinner at someone else's house, I'd have to get up and fix it. Doesn't really interfere with my life though. I've also started to have to check my door and make sure it's locked more times than are really necessary... but anyway, its definitely not OCD, just your average eccentricities.
 
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KitEKats4Eva!

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Originally Posted by Ping

Oh I know there is no cure but I wish there was. I have had OCD since I was 16. Came on after a particularly traumatizing event for me. I am supposed to take meds. but currently no because even on meds. I never really had any relief so now I just try to deal with it the best I can.
That's interesting. If it was trauma-induced illness is there some kind of counselling or treatment you can get? It's really very debilitating and I would seek out some other options, because you don't deserve to have to live your life that way because of something that happened to you when you were younger.
 
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KitEKats4Eva!

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Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Anyway, I absolutely cannot leave a microwave if someone has stopped it early and it says anything but the time. Like, if I were at dinner at someone else's house, I'd have to get up and fix it.


OMG ME TOO!!!
 

ping

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Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

That's interesting. If it was trauma-induced illness is there some kind of counselling or treatment you can get? It's really very debilitating and I would seek out some other options, because you don't deserve to have to live your life that way because of something that happened to you when you were younger.
I've dealt with it for almost 11 yrs now. I have been to counseling off and on for 5 yrs. Does me know good. I can not really open up and talk to a therapist because of things in my past. So going to them is really a waste of time and money. Plus like I said meds. just don't give me relief. I have tried several different meds. then started Prozac worked for just a short while then it quit working no matter the dosage.
 

graciecat

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I've had OCD since I was a little girl.
If I listed everything that I HAVE to do it would take me hours and hours.

Just a few.

I have to clean my house from top to bottom every single day.
I always have to start in the same room doing everything the same way every single time, then on to the next room doing it all over again.

I have to check all door locks and windows three times before I go to bed at night.
I have to touch every light switch three times before I go into a room and when I'm leaving the room.
I count every step I take...I can tell you how many steps there are on any staircase that I've ever climbed.
I know how many steps it is from my front porch to the garage.

All the clothes have to be hung up by color and kind.
Outfits must be hung together...tops control what color spot they are hung in.
Underwear and bras are worn in a certain order.

Books, CD's, Video's, DVD, canned goods all in alphabetical order...but by size smallest to biggest.

No light goes on in my house before 4PM in the Winter time or 9 PM in the summer time.

I could go on, but I'm sure you're tired of reading by now
 
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KitEKats4Eva!

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Not at all - I see a lot of myself in you.

I have to make sure my books are all arranged first by genre, and then alphabetically by author. My clothes - the same. Summer and winter, and then dresses, skirts, pants, long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved, and then smaller items like vests and strapless tops. My tops are grouped by fabric - i.e. woollens or wool mixes, then cotton etc. I fall down a bit when it comes to the dresses/skirts/pants because the lengths vary and so I'm always debating what will go where.

I also makes lists about everything. Before I embark on any task it has to have a list first.
 

zissou'smom

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Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

I have to make sure my books are all arranged first by genre, and then alphabetically by author.
Hmmm, that's my job. 30+ hrs a week, making sure more than 50,000 titles are arranged first by genre, then topic, then subcategory, then alphabetical by subject or author. Well, there's some other stuff to my job as well, but mainly it's that. My books at home are, well, a mess... mostly arranged by size disregarding all else. Pl. Just so you know, you could be getting paid for that!
 

lunasmom

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I Don't know if I would go as far as saying I'm OCD, but I am overly organized.

When we moved in to this house, one afternoon I took all the books off the book shelf and categorized them (by classics, general, sci-fi, stephen king, true crime) and alphabetized them by category.

Umm...time, I freak out if I'm not on time or at least 5 minutes early. I'm better then I was 7 years ago (I had a lot of friends who like to be "fashionably" late), but I will still sometimes go into a panic mode.

I can't stand the over decorating we have. There are candles EVERYWHERE here...I like things a little less empty personally. A nice centerpiece here and there, but we have candles EVERYWHERE. I actually told people this year "no more candles for birthdays or Christmas....we're not burning them fast enough".

I can't stand if the bathroom light is left on. Any other room I don't care, I just don't like the bathroom light being left on.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by Ping

I actually do have OCD. Mine involves my alarm clock make sure its on and set (that can go on for 5-10 minutes), checking my stove to be sure its off, making sure all locks are locked, making sure door is closed (repeatedly) before I leave the house, making sure my cards are back in my wallet when I pull them out. Its a big cycle that just drives me nutty. I wish one day they would find a cure for it.
I do A LOT of the things you do! Checking the alarm clock even though I know my DH's goes of 10 minutes after mine and he won't let me oversleep, checking the stove, microwave, smoke detectors, outlets, fish tank, furnace covers (I've had that fall off once because we'd been messing with it), door locks, windows, air filter, cat food, litter, and water, etc. It takes me forever to leave the house or get to bed sometime. Oh, I do some to most of those things repeatedly all the time too. Then there is making sure the girls get the appropriate number of kisses and hugs....

Things I've gotten better about are checking my zippers and buttons and making sure things are in my purse. What I find odd, is as OCD as I get about the things I mentioned, I am not OCD about my house as far as having things in certain places, etc.

I've thought about speaking to my DR about it, but not had the guts. The thing is, I'm typically 20-30 minutes late to work every day. I partly blame it on pure laziness, as I used just get up earlier and not be late. But the rest of that is another story. I guess I either better stay in this position where I've not been reprimanded at work for it (part of the rest of the story) or I better get the guts to talk to someone and learn to manage it better. I am trying!
 

trouts mom

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Originally Posted by Graciecat

I've had OCD since I was a little girl.
If I listed everything that I HAVE to do it would take me hours and hours.

Just a few.

I have to clean my house from top to bottom every single day.
I always have to start in the same room doing everything the same way every single time, then on to the next room doing it all over again.

I have to check all door locks and windows three times before I go to bed at night.
I have to touch every light switch three times before I go into a room and when I'm leaving the room.
I count every step I take...I can tell you how many steps there are on any staircase that I've ever climbed.
I know how many steps it is from my front porch to the garage.

All the clothes have to be hung up by color and kind.
Outfits must be hung together...tops control what color spot they are hung in.
Underwear and bras are worn in a certain order.

Books, CD's, Video's, DVD, canned goods all in alphabetical order...but by size smallest to biggest.

No light goes on in my house before 4PM in the Winter time or 9 PM in the summer time.

I could go on, but I'm sure you're tired of reading by now
Wow, that must take up alot of your day? Alot of the things you mention I do too..the clothes, the alphabetical order...
 
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