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Does anyone have any weird OCD-type habits? I don't think I'm truly OCD, but I have some tendency towards it in a few ways. Some are just normal, IMO, like it bothers me if I see a picture hanging crooked on a wall, and I'll fix it if I can. It wouldn't drive me nuts if for some reason I couldn't make it hang straight, but I just think that crooked pictures on walls look messy.
A tendency that I've had for a long time that I wonder if it is weird is the following: With my cash, I have to have it bank-faced and in order from largest bills to smallest. That seems sort of OCD to me, but it is also neat and convenient. And maybe most people do bank-face their cash? Or not? Anyway, I think that a lot of people have small OCD-ish tendencies, and I was just wondering about what ones people here on C-D have.
I think everyone has OCD-like tendencies...they just want certain things in a certain way. Anyone with actual OCD will read this and roll their eyes, because someone with full-on OCD can't just walk away from things without correcting them.
I also put cash in order of denomination, straighten pictures, won't wash socks unless both are in the same load of laundry, will rewrite the entire grocery list is I have misspelled something on it, had to wash both pieces of an outfit in the same load of laundry (when the kids were little), have to have to tp hanging over the top on the roll, etc...
Will I cease to function if these things aren't done? No. Do I do these things automatically because it makes me feel more organized in life? Yes.
I do not consider myself on the OCD spectrum at all because my habits do not run my life.
With my cash I'm the same way, although I do not take the time to arrange it back neatly at check-out. It gets crammed into my purse, then I re-arrange it all later, also in largest to small. However, at the cash register at work I have the bills face left (maybe because I'm left-handed?). I think it may "bug" the co-workers, but I'm the one who closes the till end of day, so they don't say anything.
The paper-size recycle boxes at work... I can't make myself "throw" paper in there. I stack them all neatly because the box will hold more that way. If I catch some throwing paper in mine, I take it out and place it neatly.
But I am by far NOT a neat-nik, not even close. My house looks very lived in, although storage areas are organized and often labeled. I like to FIND things as easy as possible.
Yeah, I'd change the title to "OCD-ish," because I don't think I am truly OCD or that any of the things mentioned are either, but it seems that I can't change it now. But I do want to hear about people's quirks when it comes to little things that they like or "need" to do a certain way.
Haha what a fun question! OCD-ish I don't know, but phobias definitely yes. I won't walk under a bird. My dad got crapped on by a seagull at the beach when I was a kid. I've always been afraid of walking under them ever since. If they're on a light pole over the sidewalk, I'll walk out in the street to not walk under it. (I'm also a Hitchcock fan, which didn't help this situation )
I kind of avoid walking on cracks, "break my mother's back". My mom isn't even alive anymore. And of course, I don't walk around staring at the ground. But if I do happen to be looking down and there's a crack in the sidewalk, I'll step over it.
I'm also afraid of drains in pools, which is a big deal because I'm a swimmer. The huge square drains in olympic sized pools (big enough to fit a body through, heh) I won't swim over.
And, because I've seen too many horror movies in my time, I can't have any limbs hanging over the side of the bed at night. Mind you, I have never seen a horror movie where someone was grabbed by their overhanging limb, so why I think something bad will happen is completely ridiculous. But I just can't do it regardless.
I'm sure there are more they just aren't coming to me at the moment.
It's those colored tubular plastic hangers everyone owns. I have a lot of them and have bought them in different colors over the years. When I hang my clothes out of the dryer I like to match the color of the clothing to the color of the hanger. Pink shirt - pink hanger. Blue shirt - blue hanger. If I run out of the right color hanger I don't care and will use another color, but the goal is to get them all to match. Just a little OCD-like amusement for laundry day.
It's those colored tubular plastic hangers everyone owns. I have a lot of them and have bought them in different colors over the years. When I hang my clothes out of the dryer I like to match the color of the clothing to the color of the hanger. Pink shirt - pink hanger. Blue shirt - blue hanger. If I run out of the right color hanger I don't care and will use another color, but the goal is to get them all to match. Just a little OCD-like amusement for laundry day.
Every time I take something out of my bag, especially at the cash register, I have to give a backward glance to see if I dropped anything. Sometimes I forget, and that makes me kind of anxious, for a little while.
OK, I am what I'd call borderline OCD. What I mean by that is that the OCD tendencies do not USUALLY control my life, but if I get very stressed out, I become OC enough to be disruptive - it's my way of trying to feel like I'm in control. I've been disturbed enough by this in the past to go get meds for OCD while going through a tough time. The meds were very effective and if I ever need them again, I will not hesitate to take them again.
But thankfully I don't get very stressed out very often, so I've only needed them a couple of times in 52 years. Generally, I really LIKE my OCD tendencies because I like the "edge" it gives me. Wow, I can get things done. I am relentless when it comes to a project. I am a dream employee in many ways because I absolutely will not stop working on something till it's done. I also tend to be well organized and my house is always neat and clean (not bragging - this is just a manifestation of OCD tendencies).
The way my OCD comes out under stress is weird. I can't stop reading. Anything with words on it disrupts whatever I am doing, but I can't finish a page in a book, because there are just SO....MANY...WORDS...
When I realized I had a serious problem was the day I walked into the grocery store and couldn't get down the first aisle because it was like I was sucked in by all the words...the labels, the ingredients, the sale signs...Oh my gosh...
The next day I made an appointment with my doctor!
But under normal circumstances (99 percent of the time), the way it shows up is this:
Straightening pictures and furniture - I HAVE to straighten it. My friends know this about me and actually call me to come help them hang anything!
Projects - I will work till I am dead beat. Example - when I move, every box is unpacked within five days. Everything is in it's place in less than a week, and the house is cleaned from top to bottom. Considering we generally move into homes that are around 2500 square feet, this is a pretty big job. I have to be literally exhausted to stop. Last night I was up till midnight finishing putting up Christmas decorations and putting all the empty boxes back in the attic. And then of course, I had to sweep and clean up all the glitter!
My spices have to be in alphabetical order. Oh, and they're all transferred to matching jars as soon as I buy a spice - and of course the labels all match too.
I straighten cans and boxes in the grocery store. I can manage not to do this most of the time, but invariably by the time I've left, I've straightened up several items, and I wanted to straighten all of them! LOL
I do laundry immediately. I mean as soon as there's a small load. And it gets put up immediately too.
Clothes are hung in organized groupings in my closet - pants, skirts, jackets, sweaters, sleeveless tops, blouses, etc - all in their own groups. My dad is worse - his have to also hang in a color coordinated way.
I think I got this OCD tendency from my dad, who I think got it from his mother by the way. So...not sure if it's actually genetic - maybe even in it's full blown effect, it's just a way I was raised. I don't know!
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But I do want to hear about people's quirks when it comes to little things that they like or "need" to do a certain way.
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