Obsessive/Compulsive? Come share!

Now I've added some new OCD's to my already respectable collection.

Since some of yours have rubbed off on me, let me add some more of mine to yours:

1. When I'm drinking a Coke, the tab needs to be lined up with the ridge on the top of the can.

2. When I get a fill-up at the gas station, I reset the trip odometer.

3. Shoelaces need to be as even as possible so that they are even once tied. Period.

4. If I fold a paper document, the crease cannot divide a line of printing.

5. Nothing should stick out of my wallet once it's folded and ready to go in my back pocket. And the more neatly everything's arranged, the happier I'll be.

6. I play "fate basketball"--if I'm, say, about to attend an important job interview, I'll crumple a piece of paper and say, "Okay, if I make this, I get the job." Then I shoot. If I miss, I'll crumple another piece of paper and say, "Okay, that was a practice shot. This is the real shot."

7. Before I go to bed, everything in the house needs to be OFF and all the doors need to be closed. The g/f insists that a TV in the room needs to be ON and the door to the bedroom OPEN. This drives me insane, of course, but we do it her way because, hey, we know who wears the pants in this family.

8. Like lobeck, I have a thing with numbers. Don't get me started about 14 or 28. Like John, I have a thing about accurate clocks.

9. When the laundry is ready, all the clothes have to be hung on hangers "facing the same way," with the top buttons buttoned up and everything even on its hanger. If folded, laundry needs to be evenly folded (squares need to be square, tri-folds need to be in even segments).

10. If I'm out with someone and suddenly can't remember where, say, my pocket knife or portable CD is in the house, I will actually drive back to the house and look until I find it. I am convinced, of course, that it was stolen if I can't recall where I left it.


Snowflakegirl, I would LOVE to hear about your mother's OCD's!

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2) I have to read just about everything, cover to cover. If I pick up a TV Guide, I have to read all of the articles, even the ones I'm not interested in. Even my wife's Self magazine gets read cover to cover. I've learned more about breast cancer than I ever wanted to know with this month's issue
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OK -- here's a perfect example!

I read that and felt compelled to answer it immediately although I really wanted to finish reading this thread first. In other words, I JUMP on things, then go back and ask myself why I didn't wait.

Reading material when picked up must be looked through (this includes flyers from supermarkets).

If I don't adhere to a certain routine I get agitated. My workout takes place at the same time every day, even though I have changed schedules from time to time, it isn't easy to do.

I studied Psychology and know way too much about OCD. The only good news is that most of us have some form of it, some more debilitating than others.

Thank you John for this thread. Fascinating stuff.

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Originally posted by kuifje75
I was surprised to read that somebody else actually read magazines, books (well some books!) and newspapers from back to front. I thought I was the only one to do that!

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I know a LOT of people that read mags from the back to the front.

Most of the things that people listed on here aren't really OCD as much as "quirks".

Well, true. OCD/quirks/superstitions/whatever - they're all funny, and we all have 'em.

I have OCD & it's so bad that I take medication for it so that I can function without freaking out about stupid shit. I still have my little quirks, like things have to be in a specific order, or done a certain way, or whatnot (too many to list), but with my meds, at least it doesn't rule my life (and annoy everyone around me!) :)

My family has a long history of OCD, and I married into a family that is somehow actually WORSE. I'm about the most normal of the bunch, but I still have my little hang ups.

1. The lip balm and the water by the bed at night! (John, I solve the "open glass" problem by using a bottle with a cap.
2. I have to read while I'm eating (I prefer a book, but when all else fails, there's the back of the vitamins). I am mostly able to control it at dinner to please my husband, but he usually catches me reading the ingredients on the back of the salad dressing.
3. Second hand stores make me physically ill. Washing my hands is not enough, I have to take a full shower and wash my hair twice. I try to avoid them

My family much more interesting. My sister is the classic wash hand, relock doors OCD. My mother-in-law...too much to list. One of my favorites is how she used to beat her kids for walking through her perfect vacuum lines. Cucko!

1) Ok, I'll be honest. If I use a public toilet, I always have to line the seats with toilet paper.

2) I'm with GlennaJo, I won't touch a toilet door handle too. Not after I knew that it's the place in the entire toliet with the most germs. I make someone else open the door :lol

3) I try to see what are my chances of something happening. Like, if I can finish reading this book before anybody calls or sms me, I will win the lottery/meet a cute guy/ Get a gorgeous dress at 90% discount.

4) I review arguments and come up with witty one liners I should have said. Then regret I wasn't witty enough at that time to say it.

5) I always pick up pieces of paper I see on the floor and throw it away. Anywhere. Public places even.

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Originally posted by raindance


I'm with GlennaJo, I won't touch a toilet door handle too. Not after I knew that it's the place in the entire toliet with the most germs. I make someone else open the door :lol

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Do you do the "karate kick" to flush it? That's what I do. :)

:lol, ok, now I won't touch the flush handles as well!

Spegs ~ I have a cousin that also has OCD, like a million times worse than me ~ he is CONSTANTLY checking the stove to make sure it's not on, checks the locks on his doors and windows umpteen times before he goes to bed, if he wakes up in the night, he checks everything AGAIN, and he is obsessive about washing his hands & germs in general (I mean to the EXTREME, like a germaphobe). He takes medication for it too, & it helps, but he is still really bad off ~ he can't even keep a job because of it. It's really sad. :sad