You Down with OCD? (yeah you know me)*


Tap (right). Tap (left).

Wait. Did I tap left? Tap (left). That was too hard. Need to tap right again. Tap (right).

OK, better.

—————————

Did I shut off the light?

Walk back to room. Light is off.

Turn it on. Turn it off.

Am I ok with that? No? On. Off.

Walk away.

Wait. Need to check that it is definitely off.

Go back and check.

————————

Need to count. Start at zero. Get to twenty and wonder if I thought of the number 17. Start back over at zero.

———————–

This was my teen life. I’m not sure what brought it on, or what made it go away.

But, it did go away.

I think.

There are times, though, when I wonder if I have just suppressed it. Like tonight, when I walked into the kids’ room and saw stuff everywhere. The rationale side of me said, “go to bed; they can clean it up in the morning”. The other side said, “we need to do it now, now, now, now, now, now”. So we did it now.

And, then I felt better.

*in spite of the cutesy title, I’m not sure if my behavior qualifies as OCD; I do know it was something I couldn’t really control.

Comments

  1. Alpha DogMa says

    I’m complusive about checking the doors and the lights and appliances. I blame my mother who made me a latch key kid at age 9 and stressed certain stay-safe rituals. Yeah, I blame my mom. It is AAAAAALLLLL about her, its got nothing to do with me.

  2. I have some “issues” like that once in a while. I prefer to call it neurotic… or charming.

  3. I think just about everyone goes through a phase of this, or many of them… and if a touch of anxiety gets a room cleaned, then bring it on.

    At the very least, I use that “everyone does it” mentality to not feel quite so insane, myself…

  4. Ashley Ladd says

    OCD doesn’t sound like fun. My 13 year old has ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder).

  5. I went through this compulsive tapping thing when I was in my teens. That was a good time.

  6. To this day I have to announce “THE DOOR IS LOCKED!” when I go out through the front door. Then I started using a straightening iron and really ‘effed myself up. More than once I went back home to make sure I didn’t burn the house down just so I could tame my cowlicks.

    I say that we have it mild. Functioning OCD is what I call it. I heard about people that have to walk down the stairs a certain way or shower until they bleed, so it could be worse.

  7. And don’t you remember our family road trips? We’d get ten minutes away and then suddenly appear back in the driveway because Daddy had to check the front door/the bulkhead door/the coffee maker. Good times. I watch Lucas line up his cars in perfect roads and think, Oh, no…

  8. hi, my name is rebecca and i have OCD 🙂

    yep, understand it completely! not as bad as it once was…but definitely still there!

  9. You say OCD like that’s a Bad Thing.

  10. SuburbanCorrespondent says

    It was rational to “do it now” because that way you didn’t have to face it in the morning!

  11. theotherbear says

    I do the tapping things still. Wish I could grow out of it!

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