I rant you risten

Thursday, April 07, 2005

OCD.. OCD.. OCD.. OCD.. OCD..

Everyone has them; I’ve got a few. They don’t really take over my life, but they are more like little quirks in my life… I checked out the obsessive-compulsive disorder foundation and got this from their site, ” In OCD, it is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go. People with OCD often say the symptoms feel like a case of mental hiccups that won't go away. OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. It is not your fault or the result of a "weak" or unstable personality.” The website states that an OCD can range from a little background noise to something taking over your life… I just thought I’d dissect the few common ones that I’ve noticed in myself and the people around me… Now I wont go so far as to calling them obsessive compulsive because they don’t slow me down and occupy my time, but they are the little quirks that really make me the neurotic person that I am… I’m not a doctor and if you’re a doctor or studying to be one forgive me because I’m going to call them OCDs (just like the way it sounds)…

The biggest OCD I have is locking things and double-checking if I’ve locked them… This usually happens with my car, apartment, etc… I’d drive to where I’m supposed to be… get out of the car, lock it (doesn’t matter if it’s by remote or actually locking the car through the door) and then walk off to wherever I’m going… about 10 seconds into the walk, I’d stop and then ask myself (did I just lock the car?), then I’d frantically run back, lock it twice (y’know, to make certain no one can get in) and then go back to what I’m doing… Sometimes I’d get as far as three city blocks before I start doubting myself, then I try to calm myself, and then I’d doubt myself again until I’d run back to the car… Friends that actually know this silly habit of mine, do their best to remember if I’ve locked or not (even if they reassure me, I have a way of making them doubt themselves, and then there I am, running back to the car). I need to lock the car and make sure it’s locked… I like to hear the locking confirmation sound when you press that button on your key.. beep beep.. yep it’s locked.. waitaminute… beep beep.. ok now I know it’s locked… waitaminute.. beep beep… aaahhh… one more time?

Other people have other OCDs… There’s the placement issue, in which everything needs to be organized… if you’re having dinner and you separate the salt and peppershakers from each other, my friend gets annoyed and has to bring them back together… I’d move the shakers away from each other, and you can see her notice them… she then waits a bit, tries to not let it bother her and then while you’re not looking, finally loses it and moves them back together… I like to run these little experiments on my friends, it makes waiting for your lunch so much more enjoyable…

I have another friend who needs to have the remote controls to his TV, Stereo, DVD, and whatever else all lined up side by side all facing the TV at all times, and they have to be in descending order in terms of size of the remote control… if he notices the remotes apart from each other, he will move them around… Imagine playing winning 11, bitch slapping Classic Argentina with your Classic Holland team, and the guy has to pause the game in the middle of an attack to line up the remote controls on his coffee table… DOH-NUT!

Another thing I do is hang-ups over washing my hands. I need to keep my hands clean throughout the day… My girl (who has many many mental hiccups - kidding) also has a washing OCD… she actually has a method in which she washes her hands and follows a routine. She only washes her hands that specific way and does not like smelling anything other than soap on her hands… me I just like to make sure they’re clean and I don’t trust anything except soap.. It’s not so much as washing my hands, but I just need to see soap there attempting to kick bacteria’s ass…

Airports are another place where people do this self-doubting thing as well… People will check their backpack 20 times to make sure the ticket; passport and travel documents are all safe and present… I mean you just checked 2 minutes ago, why do you need to check again…

How about people that need to lay on the side of the bed closest to the door to feel safe and have a good nights sleep… me I don’t care, I can sleep anywhere on the bed as long as it’s on the bed.. But there are people that need to sleep closest to the door, y’know in case of a fire or something like that, the flip side to this thought is that what if a mass murderer walked into the room, you’d be the first one he/she sees, now do you feel safe about sleeping closest to the door?
So these are some of the OCDs that I’ve dug up… I know there are more around, and many people have them, it’s totally natural… you should not be ashamed of the fact that you’re a neurotic person with a thing for spraying the entire bathroom with bleach before you take a bath. Expose your quirks to the world, let us laugh and ridicule at your expense, give me something to read…

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude, I think your car is unlocked! I just saw someone run away really fast from your car...

BB said...

My OCDs are pretty common - playing with hair, especially when Im trying to concentrate, whilst reading, studying or watching a film... this annoys my family alot...

the other one is popping spots...i can't bare seeing a puss-filled spot on anyone else's face let alone my own. Bacteria filled bags of puss are just screaming at you to squeeze out the dirt so why do u insist on displaying a white-head on ur face. This OCD gets so bad that sometimes I can't bare looking someone in the face if the spots are too conspicuous. If I do look, i'm just thinking about the pleasure i'd gain in attacking the goddamn spot with a jack-hammer and popping it into oblivion. I also truly believe 90% people who have spots don't wash their face properly. I can accept teenagers with spotty faces, but anyone over the age of 20 who has spots seriously needs to change his skin-cleansing routine or see a dermitologist. If not for their sake, then to satisfy my OCD.

interesting topic

Mo said...

I find that Maradona and DiStefano are the best attacking pairing in the game. I don't care if he's got Cruyff (or Kluyff as the game would have it, and its not just Winning 11.. does ANYONE in the world have the names rights to any dutch national sides?!), Van Basten, Rijkaard and Neeskins.. classic argentina will always always always run your defense ragged and manage to contain your offense.

How about that classic germany side? Solid all around and hard to break down, even if it is a bit lightweight up front (relative to all the other classic teams of course). I hate playing with classic brazil.. pretty football, but the defense.. "mish5aal"..

I think I went a bit off-topic there, sorry about that. Winning 11 gets the juices flowing, you know?

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Obsessive compulsive disorder is not the same as obsessive compulsive traits, although the latter my predispose to the former.
It’s basically a combination of obsessions and compulsions although the ideas can persist on their own.
The most common compulsions are: check and recheck cleanliness and sexual. So congratulations, you have the commonest form. But these are traits, the disorder its self would mean that your obsessions and compulsions are gravely interfering with your life. If not, then don’t sweat it! You’re sane.

Anonymous said...

:)
i have this habit where i can't stand the sight of any open drawers, cupboards, closet doors etc..

from that u'd think i'm the organized type.. sadly i'm NOT!

i never actually picked a side to sleep on, but now i know that i'm one of those ppl that have to be closest to the door!

Q said...

bahrainirants, this is off topic, but check out this excellent article about Senderos, and remember what I said earlier about him!

btw, check our scores with him in the team....last 10 games..pure magic when he's in!

Anonymous said...

Log on to http://ocdconsult.com