OCD
I'm pretty sure I have some form of OCD. Maybe not the full-blown type, but still. There are just some things that bug me. Not pet peeves, really, just stuff that I have to have a particular way or risk losing my mind.
Orientation of paper money. Whenever I get paper bills from a cashier or bank teller, for some reason it just bugs me if all the bills aren't facing the same way. I'll have to stop and take the time to make sure they're all facing the same direction, and all right side up. I can't let them be upside-down, or back-to-back — all the Presidents need to be facing forward.
Stacked notepads. On my desk at work, I have two square Post-it notepads, in different colors. One is sitting on the other, at an angle. A 45 degree angle, that is. If you looked at it from above, it would make a perfect 8-point star. If I accidentally bump them while reaching for something, or if someone else stops by my desk while I'm away and moves them, I have to adjust them so they line up again either in the 8-point star or so they're a perfect square, one on top the other. They can't just be tossed about willy-nilly.
Jewelry at odd angles. Now, while I hesitate to call it “jewelry,” I suppose that's what it is. I typically wear two pieces of what you could conceivably call “jewelry:” a silver-ish ring on my right hand with some sort of tribal markings, and a beaded necklace — I've got a few, so I just pick whichever one looks like it clashes the least with whatever else I'm wearing that day. My ring fits snugly enough that it doesn't really rotate much (my finger has fattened up just enough since I got the ring in high school). If I notice that my ring has twisted on my finger and the patterns aren't in the right positions on my finger, I'll stop and twist it back into place — basically just involves using my middle and pinkie fingers to adjust the ring. The same goes for my necklace — if I notice that the clasp on the back has slid sideways around my neck, I have to pull it back to dead-center, which I determine by just finding my spine and making sure the clasp is sitting there.
I know I've done more, but these were the more common ones. At one point at the house I lived in during my senior year of college, I'd lined up the cereal boxes in the pantry in order of descending height and thickness. My CDs and DVDs are all oriented as vertically as possible in their cases (so that the title is sitting perfectly for when you open the case).
Anyone else do these, or am I just way out there?
Tom said,
September 17, 2007, 6:59 pm
At least you don't have the type of OCD where you turn lights on and off ten times before you leave a room. I have a friend like that.
I actually have every compulsion you list above - even in the “bonus points” section. I'm sure I have dozens of others if you ask my wife. So you're not crazy! (Or, at least, you have company.)
sarah said,
September 18, 2007, 10:36 am
Oh interesting one Tom!
Well I have ring, it is engraved and it I take it off to wash my hands but the engraving has to be the same side up that I always wear it, and if it moves around I turn the engraving to the same place. And also ditto I have a necklace that if the clasp shows I have to move it to the back of my neck.
If I am ironing I have to separate all the load into personal piles for each member of the house, but maybe that's because it makes it easier to put away..not sure but my hubby laughs at that.
I am very tidy, and work especially my draw with all my stationery in, I have little pots separating all the items.
Not sure if it just we like a tidy life, or comfort that things should be a certain way and it just makes us fell well comforted by these little habbits, I suppose it's a form of control.
But as your other poster suggested at least neither of us do things like wash our hands 15 times a day. mmh saying that when I am cooking I do wash my hands far too much! ooh nooo now you have got me thinking :0(
Dan said,
September 20, 2007, 5:03 pm
Tom, I pretty much have the same kind of OCD that you have. We all have OCD to some extent.
For me, it's the little things too. I like to keep my papers neatly stacked. I usually keep my room very tidy and organized. And yes, at times I will turn my ring so the engraving is facing up front.
I like to keep my hands clean too. If I have to get my hands dirty for some reason, then that's absolutely fine.. just as long as I can wash them afterward.
MrOats said,
October 4, 2007, 8:42 pm
I have a similar dollar bill “thing”. If I have a wad of money… I really do want all the bills to be placed faced up and placed in order of value. (Highest bill, ex: $20, goes in back of wad. Lowest bill, ex: $5, goes in front.)
And food… I only eat one food group at a time. Never, ever, do I “mix”. No “A bite of corn after a bite of chicken” for me. It's “Eat ALL of the corn first, THEN it's okay to eat chicken”. And I don't drink until after I finish the meal completely.
I don't wear a ring, but if I did, of course I would keep it face up. ;)