Who Here Has OCD Tendencies or Related Tendencies?

L

lorajc

Cathlete
I don't know if this has been done before, but I thought it would be interesting. I know it's kind of a personal subject, but we're all friends here! I was reading a thread the other day and a lot of the responses were relatively the same and made me start wondering about this.

I, myself, am a recovering addict (clean 18 years) and I also have a lot of OCD tendencies in various areas of my life. I have to work very hard at keeping a lot of things in my life "balanced", as I have very addictive tendencies towards food, exercise, shopping and other things. I work hard at trying to stay balanced, but sometimes I do get a bit carried away with things I'm passionate about (to put it mildly). However, the upside of my personality is that this makes me a very driven person and I put most of my energy into exercise (and my job because it is a necessary evil).

I hope nobody gets offended by this, but I just thought it would be fun.
 
very interesting, indeed! I'm there with you. I'm a type A personality and have OCD tendencies by nature. I put a lot of it into my exercise as well. I also put it into keeping a very neat & organized house. I'm very anal about that - my personal space that is. Those are my two main areas really.


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"

Debbie
 
I am exactly like you lorajac. Way to go! 18 years! I will have a year &1/2 August 13.
I can be a poster child for OCD. I am just "starting" to learn how to balance. But I definatley relate to being "driven". The good thing is I'm focusing that on taking care of myself. Not destroying myself.LOL.
If I find something I like, or like to do, forget it. I have to stop myself sometimes from getting out of control. Thank God we have ways to do that.;-)
I was just thinking about this. It's so funny you posted it. Well as they say, "people like US" think alike!:7

Kali

www.PictureTrail.com/kkali
 
Oh boy. Yes, I have definite OCD tendencies. I have to do everything the same way all the time, even things like the order I do things in the shower. It has to be hair wash, condition, body, face, teeth. If I deviate from that, either I forget to do something, or I feel all out of sorts.

I am also very "driven" (okay, some say crazy:p ), which is a definite asset when it comes to exercise, and I'm exceedingly organized. Like you, Debbie, my house is my sanctuary and I'm pretty anal about it too. Clutter makes me very stressed and anxious. I throw things out a lot.
 
Oh yeah, I definitely have certain things that have to be exactly right or I'll go nuts. Not so much about exercise, which is the outlet for my stress, but mostly with my house. Everything has to be in it's proper place. I can't leave for work until the bed is made just so--if it's not I'd think about it all day. I can't even leave the BF's house without making HIS bed. He says leave it alone & I say I just can't.

When I was married I could even tell if my husband came home unexpectedly during the day & left again. I would just walk in the door & immediately know someone was in the house b/c one thing or another might be slightly out of place.

But I consider it type A, not OCD. ;-)
 
Me too Shelley! I get like a freak when my house is cluttered or things are not where they are supposed to be. x( (now imagine me living w/ a 6 & 7 year old!) And if my routine changes, I'm off for the whole day. I'm told it's all a control issue. Whatever it is, I have it.:7
Kali

www.PictureTrail.com/kkali x(
 
this must be some sort of ocd but not your typical I guess. Im not a neat freak or anything but I get paranoid about leaving things on like the iron, coffee maker or dryer. Sometimes even when am 99% sure I turned off the iron, I will go back in or turn around and drive back and check. My bf thinks im a freak but im worried that my cat wil tug on the cord and it will fall on him and start a fire or something. I guess the first step is to admit you have a problem. I hope Im not the only one.....
 
I'm the same way about clutter, toys, etc. After the kids go to bed I'll run through the house and put everything back. I've learned to let their playroom go to some degree. I definitely have to have the beds made everyday. Sometimes with the kids activities there's not time in the morning, but when we come home I'll make them. I hate getting into an unmade bed at night.

I don't know if that's OCD or not. Like Laura said maybe just type A.

Now my husband will come in from work and wipe the counters down even if I have just done that. He's got a think for windex and counters! ;-) In fact, he probably cleans the kitchen better than me.

Dallas
 
I have an issue with being on time. If I'm running a little late I go nuts! I can't even think straight. I'll drive like a maniac to be on time. Even if it's meeting a friend for lunch and it really wouldn’t matter if I were ten minutes late.

So, I looked up the exact definition to see if I have type A personality of a form of OCD.

Main Entry: obsessive–compulsive disorder
Function: noun
: a psychoneurotic disorder in which the patient is beset with obsessions or compulsions or both and suffers extreme anxiety or depression through failure to think the obsessive thoughts or perform the compelling acts —abbreviation OCD; called also obsessive-compulsive neurosis, obsessive-compulsive reaction
 
(this must be some sort of ocd but not your typical I guess. Im not a neat freak or anything but I get paranoid about leaving things on like the iron, coffee maker or dryer. Sometimes even when am 99% sure I turned off the iron, I will go back in or turn around and drive back and check. My bf thinks im a freak but im worried that my cat wil tug on the cord and it will fall on him and start a fire or something. I guess the first step is to admit you have a problem. I hope Im not the only one.....)

You're definately not the only one, carmenelectra. The stuff you wrote describes me to a T and my dad and a few siblings are the same way. It can be very exhausting at times!
 
Type A personality here with definite OCD traits. I work very hard on staying balanced and sometimes it is a struggle. DH wishes I could be more in the middle than all the way one way or the other (does that make sense?) I go overboard on things, yes, definitely exercise sometimes. I tend to be an all or nothing person. It takes a lot of work to stay on track. I am very goal oriented and driven. I, too, check things over and over but not to the degree that it interferes with my life.
 
I lean towards being OCD but only on certain things...like the orderliness of our home. I learned a long time ago that maintaining balance is extremely important in life. I am very conscious to not go overboard with anything.

- I keep my exercise to one time a day and don't go over an hour.
- I try to do my best at work but if I make a mistake, I remind myself I'm only human.
- I do not expect others to approach their work the same way I approach mine.
- I eat extremely clean during the week but let loose a little on the weekends.
- I clean my house very well but I'm telling you now you don't want to eat off my floors.

:)

P.S. OCD is classified as an anxiety disorder. It is a defense mechanism some people employ to try to control their life and stay in their comfort zone. The more out of control a person's life seems, the more the OCD tendencies will spike.

But, remember...control is an illusion.
 
when I think of textbook ocd i think of having to wash your hands 10 times in a row or like that one movie I saw where Nicholas Cage had open and shut the door so many times (and he'd count it out loud) before he could step into his living room.
 
i think I wrote the book on it. I am that way with exercise, eating, shopping. I have to have everything just right or it drives me nuts. I shriek when I see my DH lifting weights after a huge bowl of Wheaties and an english muffin. I alwways say "Wheres' th protein?" I am classic OCD>
 
I say we have a type A get together - only not at anyone's house so we don't mess anything up...LOL! We're all funny :)


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"

Debbie
 
My family just thinks I'm crazy...

I don't wash my hands 10 times in a row, or even ritualistically and I am extremely messy, but I do wash my hands very, very frequently, particularly when I return home from anywhere. I also do not like touching things that are communal like bottles of ketchup at resturants. At the resturant where I must get my own chips and salsa, I use paper towels when touching the ladles and then go wash my hands, rolling out paper towel before I start and then using it to never touch a surface as I leave, especially the door. When I see someone skip handwashing, I am mortified. The other evening at a resturant keptchup was not delivered and I was with the child who hates to ask. Rather than highlight my tendancies, I did not take a paper towel to the counter and took the bottle back to the table in my hand, plunked it down on the table and went and washed my hands again. I hate payphones, computer keyboards, the TV remote and even the use of my very own phone require washing after use. I also wash down those items, except the payphones, quite often thinking of how germy even my own family are. I am "high strung", which could be Type A if you are allowed to be messy and disorganized as a general rule. :) What'dya think? Also, when I start anything, it is very difficult for me to stop until it's done so drawn out projects can mean long days, little sleep and obsessive thought.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
 
RE: My family just thinks I'm crazy...

The first time I saw my granddaughter very nicely spreading the toilet paper along a communal toilet and then watched her use her foot to flush the toilet I thought...man, what has my daughter done to her?! Then I realized that my daughter probably inherited some OCD tendencies from me. This made me realize how far I had come from when I was younger.

I stared my OCD stuff in the eye and conquered it! I hope she does the same. It can be very exhausting :-(
 
RE: My family just thinks I'm crazy...

I used to have serious OCD when I was a kid (around 11 years old). I managed to "kick the habit" on my own (I was never diagnosed with it because it was not as well known back then), but I still have problems with it sometimes. I am the same way with appliances being turned off, and my worst is probably with the doors being locked. I have found myself checking our back door 2 or 3 times in a matter of minutes to make sure it's locked before I go to bed or leave for work. I have gotten up out of bed at night to check it.
Luckily though it doesn't take over my life anymore. When I was a kid it used to take me HOURS to go to bed because I had a whole "routine" of turning lights on and off a certain number of times, checking things and moving things, etc. As an 11 year old it was a very scary thing for both me and my family. Now if an urge comes on to do something OCD like I just tell myself that I don't need to do it in order to function and that life will go on regardless of whether or not I do it and the urge subsides. I kind of have to rationalize with myself.

Katie
 
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