# Calling All OCD Suffers...



## ent_ink (Mar 30, 2009)

I happened to have this conversation with a friend of mine today, What is you ‘thing’? By that I mean what’s your one bizarre eccentricity that seems insane or weird to all who see it.

For some its that they have to put their clothes on in a certain order, others have an item they cannot bear others touching. For me its time. I MUST have all my clocks and watches set to the second or it bugs the shit out of me, I’ve been known to tear clocks of walls and set them right if I watch them for too long. Its insane but yet it bugs the shit out of me to know the time is wrong.

My own explanation is that time is the only way I can measure and define things. Without time I can’t bring any order to my life, it can actually be quite disturbing for me. I can end up feeling lost.

So what are your ‘things’? Or do I need to see a world class psychiatrist?


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## Shoestring (Mar 30, 2009)

*Mine are:*
*1.) Flipping light switches off and on many times before it feels "just" right!*
*2.) Tapping my wallet to my nose before I put it away after having it out!*
*3.) Making sure that "ALL" picture-frames/maps, signs are "EXACT" straight on walls!*
*4.) Having "NO" dust on the TV screen/PC screen!*
*5.) Rinsing the dishes many, many, many times before placing them away to dry!*
*6.) Zipping up and down my coat or jacket zippers several times before "finally" leaving them alone!*
*7.) Placing "any" items away straight as can be on shelves, cabinets, drawers, etc!*

*Too many other little ticks to possibly name them all!!! lol!*

*My "OCD" started at about the age 15 too. I have been on "Paxil", "Buspar", "Valium", "Librium", "Kalonapin" and lots of other drugs to quiet these ticks to "NO" avail!!!*


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## ent_ink (Mar 30, 2009)

I have a friend who must always have everything he owns touching the wall. His room is a void in the centre and lined up against the walls is everything he owns.


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## Shoestring (Mar 30, 2009)

*I'm a bit that way, but in a more of a "orderly" type way.*
*(I actually like how having my "OCD" makes me such a neat person)! ha ha!*
*My new "home base" looks just like Martha Stewart did the decorating!!! lol!*

*I "HAVE" to vacuum every day too as well as wash "ALL" the dishes as they get dirty, so I never ever have more than one or two dishes in the sink dirty at one time or out on the counters........*
*I "HAVE" to dust all the time too as well as hang all my clothes at all times to boot! *
*(You'd think that having ridden freight trains for 19 years solid, that I'd be a terribly messy person), but I "HAVE" to keep everything tidy!!! ha ha!*

*Doctors say it's a "stress" related thing having this "OCD".......??? (I never really thought that I was effected by stress, but I know of no other thing that could be causing it either though)???!*
*Even now with typing, (I "HAVE" to be absolutely perfect in the way I type each and every letter)! Also I type each letter really hard, just as I do when I'm writting a letter on paper, (I write really, really hard on the paper and it takes me like forever to write a half-page letter too)!!!*

*Anyway, in public, people really dont notice these things I dont think??? (I keep it as non-visible as I can while I'm in the publics eye). I think I do, anyway???*
*It gets really bad when my pain medications are working good! If I feel bad physically, I dont do these ticks as often, just because they take up so, so, so, so much energy!!! lol! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! ha ha!*



ent_ink said:


> I have a friend who must always have everything he owns touching the wall. His room is a void in the centre and lined up against the walls is everything he owns.


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## ent_ink (Mar 31, 2009)

With my typing I type hard as well, though that comes more from my learning to type on an old manual typewriter where if you didn’t slam the keys down you got a shitty letter. I suffer from the problem of I start neat when writing a letter but as I get really into it I start scribbling and writing faster until it becomes unreadable. In the end I write proper draft letters and copy them nicely for the ones I send away to people.

For my house though I hate small things, I put several inside big containers, lots of small things feels like clutter and I want tidiness.

I have to confess though I didn’t think tidiness came easily to someone who has travelled for that amount of time without a permanent residence or a set routine everyday that they can build on. Though I am told be several people the best way to deal with it is to make small little routines that help a part of each day seem the same no matter where you are.


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## Ravie (Apr 1, 2009)

-count the ticks from a ticking clock in sets of 2, 5, or 10.(cant sleep in rooms with ticking clocks because i'm awake trying to count the ticks haha)

-counting foot steps in sets of 2, 5, or 10.

-light my lighter twice most of the time before using it.

-I like even numbers or numbers that multiply into even numbers.

-before bed i have to change positions at least two times.

-I like semitry(sp?). Especially when it comes to the rare times i wear make-up. i freak the fuck out if it's not even.

-check my cell phone twice an hour unless oherwise distracted.

-wake up twice a night and count each time i wake up.

soooo irritating.


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## IBRRHOBO (Apr 1, 2009)

Ask Shoe what happened when I assessed the construction flaws in his apartment! Bahahah! 

I guess finding logic/pattern in chaos is mine. I did intelligence for a long time in the service, so I don't know if it's organic or environmental.


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## Shoestring (Apr 1, 2009)

*In your case "IBRRHOBO" it's both environmental "AND" organic. *
*Ha ha! Environ"MENTAL"! LOL!!!*

*You just had to remind me about them flaws!!! Ha! (I "HAD" forgotten about them until I read this)! DANG!!!*


*Oh yeah, "Ravie"..................(I like "EVEN" numbers too)! Things have to add up even or come out even (numberwise)!!!*





IBRRHOBO said:


> Ask Shoe what happened when I assessed the construction flaws in his apartment! Bahahah!
> 
> I guess finding logic/pattern in chaos is mine. I did intelligence for a long time in the service, so I don't know if it's organic or environmental.


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## dirty_rotten_squatter (Apr 1, 2009)

Let's see
counting every footstep
counting sides of thing..picture frames,letters,any objects with atleast one straight side
I only eat one side at a time and I cant have any different food touching another
wiping my feet outside of a door even if there isn't a rug
I count my breaths per minute when I'm bored
counting people around me...alot of counting, and it bugs the shit out of me but I can't stop.


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## sweet potatoe (Apr 1, 2009)

i have a few but one that pisses me off alot, is fuckn whenever iget a bowl, or a spoon or anythin like that its like i hafta grab a certain one sometimes, ergh


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## ent_ink (Apr 1, 2009)

I sometimes do the counting your breaths thing or I become really acutely aware of something in a room a small sound maybe a creak of pipes or something until finally all I can hear is the noise and it feels like its deafening me.

Oh and for someone like me who loves time I need silent clocks, I am known to talk clocks down off the wall and yank out the batteries because the ticking drives me nuts.


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## katiehabits (Apr 2, 2009)

i try not to step on cracks on the side walk or keep a steady stride.
i also pick at my self or others; poping zits, black heads and picking scabs.
trying to "fluff" or shake all the dandruff from my head.


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## wartomods (Apr 2, 2009)

i might have the opposite sybdrome of ocd


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## sweet potatoe (Apr 2, 2009)

wartomods said:


> i might have the opposite sybdrome of ocd



how so?


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## piratehobo (Apr 2, 2009)

I add letters in words (i.e. m+e= r cuz if you go up 5 letters from M you get R)
I'm constantly adding numbers in my head AND the most annoying one of all...
when i'm typing or thinking and come across a word like onion i get stuck on the "ng" sound and hafta come up w/ more words w/ "ng" sound in them until it get outta my system...ugh great...onion ung fungus...


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## Shoestring (Apr 2, 2009)

*Man! (Yes indeedy)!!!*
*Counting "EVERY" step on a staircase too!!! (Even when I already know exactly how many steps there are)!!! *
*"NOT" stepping on certain cracks or certain "lines" on the sidewalks too!!! Ha ha!!!*




katiehabits said:


> i try not to step on cracks on the side walk or keep a steady stride.


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## ent_ink (Apr 2, 2009)

Shoestring said:


> *Man! (Yes indeedy)!!!*
> *Counting "EVERY" step on a staircase too!!! (Even when I already know exactly how many steps there are)!!! *
> *"NOT" stepping on certain cracks or certain "lines" on the sidewalks too!!! Ha ha!!!*



Good god yes I do that to until I trip over my own feet trying not to break step. One that is purely a programmer thing, if my code is not indented properly it can drive me insane until I spent a stupid amount of time formatting it all so it looks nice, this indenting is helpful for debugging but that's a coincidental benefit.


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## wartomods (Apr 3, 2009)

sweet potatoe said:


> how so?



i have the inability of organizing things on free will and dont mind much stuff, letting stuff to be done


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## JahDucky (Apr 3, 2009)

I usually, feel free to prove me wrong, only turn counterclockwise in my sleep.
Click my fingernails together. I don't notice that I do it but it really irritates some people.

That's about all I can come up with.


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## RideMoreTrains (Apr 9, 2009)

my ocd can be really bad and i attribute it to a military father that was very orderly and paid great attention to detail. if you moved something an inch he would see it and know it. he also demanded a lot of things from us that i kept doing as an adult, and now if its not done i freak the fuck out. i have a very hard time living with other people because of it. shoestring you sound a lot like me. did you have a military father, or were you in the military yourself??? i am a total neat freak myself. notice how i complained about dirty jungles in one of your threads. 

when i travel i gotta pack everything a certain way and i know exactly where everything is kept, and when im not on the road my living quarters are kept VERY clean. my bed is made military style every morning no matter what. i can't stand it otherwise. i also can't have dust around or dirty dishes out. i seriously keep very few dishes because i wash everything right after. no need for more. i can't have clutter laying around either. everything i have is kept very organized, and is kept in a certain place. when people touch, or move things without asking i can get a little testy.


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## Ghostie (Apr 9, 2009)

While someone is talking or while I'm talking or reading, I will start counting out the number of letters that are in certain words or phrases. And then based on the total, I will divide it up, usually by 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, and then I will sound out the new words that are created. I also have the "picking" OCD, which means I pull out my hair obsessively as well as my nails and cuticles. I also have a fear of small pieces of paper and stickers because of how disorderly they are. Seriously. Post-it notes? No way.


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## Angela (Apr 10, 2009)

Well, I don't know if they'd really qualify as OCD since other folks notice them more than I do but I have a few. I use to have a problem with nail biting, where I'd bite my nails down to the cuticles but I managed to stop doing that but then started skin picking(popping of pimples or ingrown hairs). I also have a few other habits that other folks find really annoying, like toe crunching(don't ask) and a few other odd habits. All of them get much worse when I'm stressed and I'm not really very conscious of them most of the time unless someone points them out, although I am somewhat aware of them and can supress them for short periods but not longterm. In some ways their more like nervous tics than OCD, but all of these things seem to be related somehow.


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## skunkskunk (Apr 12, 2009)

i bite my fingers. like, the skin on my fingers even past my cuticles and down the sides of my thumbs.
they're completely scarred after 3 years.
it looks like i stuck my fingers into a pencil sharpener


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