# Laughing with OCD



## Southern by choice (Dec 15, 2015)

There was a conversation on Mike CHS journal about being OCD 
I thought other OCDers might like this!


----------



## Hens and Roos (Dec 15, 2015)

too funny thanks for the laugh this morning!  Will show to my DH and kids tonight.


----------



## samssimonsays (Dec 15, 2015)

This video is awesome, I will say it again LOL!!!


----------



## LukeMeister (Dec 15, 2015)

Southern by choice said:


> There was a conversation on Mike CHS journal about being OCD
> I thought other OCDers might like this!


LOL I love that song! XD


----------



## samssimonsays (Dec 15, 2015)

My name is Sam and I too have OCD  

I have taken the pen and pad at the drs office and straightened them to each other before... Store shelves are a constant nightmare for me... My mom used to have to leave me at home when I was a toddler and young child because while in the check out line I would rearrange everything tallest to shortest.... I would freak out if we left before I was done I guess...  I was so young I do not recall these events BUT it was definitely a foreshadow of what was to come Now even if things aren't perfectly perfect it is an organised method to my madness.


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 15, 2015)

There are many things I can laugh about _now_... 
I was raised with the "white glove" inspection so my room as a child was meticulous. My closet- completely color coordinated as well as long sleeve, short sleeve, and fabric. Did that by age 7. 

Like @Samantha drawz  my food cannot touch...  that is so gross. I prefer separate dishes for everything- my family just shakes their head.

30 years ago my then therapsist (i loved him- he was great) had a client before me that would always turn the couch cushion upright (the back seat cushion) and they would LEAVE IT THAT WAY! 
 
So one day I complained... I got tired of fixing it everytime I came in as well as other items in the room not properly placed. My therapist laughed and told me the person had been in a terrible accident and used the cushion like that for their back. I didn't like it but the compassion in me forgave it.  I would place things properly in the office BUT I did have enough restraint to leave the Dr.'s person items alone. He knew it was great restraint I was showing. 

My turning point though was after I had kids- I had every toy in its place - al trucks placed according to size... when my then 3 year old took everything off the shelves ( he was a neat-nik) and rearranged it all. 
 I was freaking out on the inside... but then I noticed he was putting them back up- according to PURPOSE! He also use to clean the front door window constantly.... that is when I thought - genetic markers are one thing but I don't really want my kids being OCD. 

I still have lots of "quirks" and when someone needs to know if something is level or a color is exact they all call on mom. 

I no longer mow the grass 3 times to make sure every blade is exactly the same and I even use words like "it's good enough".

I still never use the same cleaning cloth twice... a new cloth for every time I wipe something down. Lots of bleach too. 

I miss my OCD sometimes because everything was just "right" but life is short and I don't miss the mini- blackouts that would occur from when I was at my worst.

Being "normal" is exhausting... being OCD was natural. LOL


----------



## Hens and Roos (Dec 15, 2015)

I think we all have OCD 

My DH prefers to eat his food, one food group at a time on his plate if given the chance.  I do tease him and tell him he best put some of everything on his plate before his kids eat it all!

My youngest DS, doesn't like his fingers sticky and will wash them several times during a meal....yet will be outside playing with sticks and mud minutes later with no issues...go figure!

DH will tease me because when we are working on something or even in our shop, I am sweeping up the area all the time- drives me nuts when the kids pull the hay out of the container to feed and it's all over the shop floor . 

It drives DD nuts if someone puts the 2 different size spoons we have away mixed together, when putting dishes away and yep you guessed it DH will do so on her


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 15, 2015)

LOL- One of my favorite things when my kids were toddlers is to go to other people's houses and organized their closets, bathrooms, kids rooms.

I did not get invited for "play dates" to often however because I would end up cleaning floors and scouring everything- I figured they were just overwhelmed mom's that got behind... and I would help... but I was really driving them nuts- so they just came to my house. 

I miss how everything was so clean....  maybe I did the wrong thing... a little OCD around here could do wonders! 

You know those "counters" they put across the road to count cars for when they need to know traffic usage? I CAN do it now, but I cringe... in my "bad" days I would drive 20 miles out of the way if I had to but would NOT drive over them. 

Hard living in an old house that needs a redo... now you know why I want to move.


----------



## Mike CHS (Dec 15, 2015)

Speaking from personal experience I can tell you that a little (or more) OCD can be a marvelous thing when renovating a house.  The contractor we use for some of the things I can't or don't want to do has been impressed that every time he makes a pile of rock from excavating or a pile of debris from contruction they are usually gone by the next time he comes for a job.


----------



## Poka_Doodle (Dec 15, 2015)

I am in need of a bit more cheer today so I will watch it


----------



## Hens and Roos (Dec 15, 2015)

Mike CHS said:


> Speaking from personal experience I can tell you that a little (or more) OCD can be a marvelous thing when renovating a house.  The contractor we use for some of the things I can't or don't want to do has been impressed that every time he makes a pile of rock from excavating or a pile of debris from contruction they are usually gone by the next time he comes for a job.



we can relate...both DH and I are very much into keeping the yard picked up and clean!


----------



## Devonviolet (Dec 15, 2015)

Southern by choice said:


> There was a conversation on Mike CHS journal about being OCD
> I thought other OCDers might like this!


Rather than rewrite the book, I will post my comment from Mike CHS's thread:
*****
Hahaha!  That video hit all my pet peeves!!!  As he came around the corner I SO wanted to put that R, on the word ENTER,  where it belonged!

DH tells people I can walk into a room and tell that a picture frame is 1/16" low on the right side.  I can't help myself.  When I think no one is looking, I have to go straighten it! 

I try to hide it, but sometimes it jumps out for the world to see. 

I can totally identify with turning all the OSB so the writing all goes the right way! I think my perfectionism drives DH a bit looney when we are working on building projects.. He says he is a "Spatial" & I am a "Specific". But in the end it helps to keep buildings from looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.


----------



## samssimonsays (Dec 15, 2015)

I used to do the whole, 3 times to turn off the switch, three checks for doors being locked, I seem to do things in threes and if something is REALLY bothering me, I run my tongue over the fronts of my top teeth. If I am thinking and I catch myself like typing this comment I will rub my finger tip over the K key in a circle, three times... Totally just noticed that one. I like things straight and meticulous. I get ripped on at work all the time as my desk is usually very organized and every friday everything is picked up, put away or I have a difficult time over the weekend "knowing" what is waiting for me there. Colors and sizes, uses and shapes are all organized accordingly on my desk and my closet is color and sleeve length organized as well.   My goats have helped me a TON in learning to let go but it is still there. Before I would be so stressed and overwhelmed from not enough time in a day to get everything like sweeping, moping, counters, dishes, vacuuming and sleep that I would get run down. I have gotten better to where I "can" leave dishes in the sink over night if I am too exhausted at the end of the day. But, I usually do them then let them air dry to be put away the next day lol. It is always a battle for sure.


----------



## Latestarter (Dec 15, 2015)

spatial vs specific (or "special?" <snicker>)  Good comparison!


----------



## babsbag (Dec 17, 2015)

So if I am not OCD I am just not "normal" ?  I guess on BYH being a little OCD is "normal"?   Being married to the most non OCD person on the face of this planet has definitely squelched any possibility that I will ever be "normal"  

That video was hilarious.


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 17, 2015)

@babsbag  - no worries sweetie I KNOW YOU ARE NOT NORMAL!


----------



## norseofcourse (Dec 17, 2015)

Well, first off - it should be CDO, so the letters are in the proper order...





No one looking at my house or yard would think I have OCD, but it appears here and there.  I remember when I was little, I liked eating my foods one at a time - all the green beans, all the mashed potatoes, all the meat, etc... - then I noticed no one else did that and I thought I was getting funny looks, so I made myself switch around like they all did.

Sometimes when I'm shopping, I fix things that were put back in the wrong spot.  I try not to... people give you strange looks, or they think you work there so they start asking where things are!  lol.   I always thought my dream (and nightmare) job would be that person who goes through the store putting merchandise back where it belongs.

And I like untangling yarn     When I see someone knitting and they've got a big bunch of tangled yarn, my fingers almost itch!  I recently discovered there's a whole group of people on Ravelry just like that  

A friend of mine said she could identify with the OSB boards needing to have the words right side up.  The Tyvek housewrap has to be the same way!  And the slots in the screw heads on outlet and switchplate covers have to be exactly vertical.  I'm not quite that bad, but I did change out a switch in this house because it was 'up' when off, and 'down' when on - and that's just not right!


----------



## Latestarter (Dec 17, 2015)

Light switches in the wrong position would drive me bonkers! I wouldn't replace it though... just take off the switch plate and flip it right side up. Three way switches where you CAN'T get them all in the right place are a real nuisance! I don't know if any of you watch Big Bang Theory (hilarious!) where Sheldon and Amy got into an OCD fight. It was great!


----------



## Baymule (Dec 17, 2015)

I feel real sorry for ya'll.....I am a happy, relaxed, clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy person. I am a stickler in the kitchen though. I have a certain place for everything and I want it put back in that same spot. And it must be clean. My DH will get a certain coffee cup out of the dishwasher and wash it himself. Never mind that there are plenty of coffee cups, his OCD is that I should have THAT cup!

Our DSIL is real OCD. I think even diagnosed OCD. The poor man married our daughter, the slob from an OCD nightmare. Her car barely had room for her to sit in it. He cleaned it up while she was at work. That should have scared him off, but he stuck around. She has had to step up her game, and he has had to loosen up a little. They have worked it out.


----------



## Mike CHS (Dec 18, 2015)

I think Baymule just defined what "normal" really is and it appears from these threads that everyone has a touch of it.  My bride and I are far from wanting perfection in ALL things but we both have CERTAIN things that have to be done in only one way.


----------



## Baymule (Dec 18, 2015)

Ain't we all a bunch of weirdos in our own way??


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 18, 2015)

I can tell you @Baymule  - it is hard being the normal one on here.

I do love all you weirdos though!


----------



## Baymule (Dec 18, 2015)

Haha, I was accused of being the "normal" one by my 8 year old grand daughter. I showed her an old picture of me, my brother, sister and parents, taken in the 60's. My sister had a huge bouffant hairdo, rat-teased and poofed up, her face looked like a baby bird peeking out of it's nest. My brother had a flat-top, with the sides up-swept and heavily greased in place by some kind of wax product that came in a tin. I was just a little kid with shoulder length hair and bangs. My grand daughter studied the picture and couldn't believe that was her Aunt Kathy! She observed, "You are the only one that looks normal."


----------



## Devonviolet (Dec 18, 2015)

Hahahaha!!! Its is so funny, that y'all are talking about being normal.  Not to long ago my DD called & told me, that my DGS told her my DH & I were the only "normal" ones in the family.  Actually, that's not to far from the truth.   We have some certifiable/officially diagnosed crazies in our family. No names or where they fit in the family tree, but one talked about boats docking in their basement, on the river that flows under their house. Another saw creatures dancing on their own head. Another (bipolar, on strong meds) cut off a finger, on a tablesaw & shot themself in the stomach, just to see what it felt like.


----------



## Latestarter (Dec 19, 2015)

Pointing up ^ <GASP!> you're not joking, are you! Holy cow!


----------



## Devonviolet (Dec 19, 2015)

No, @Latestarter. These family members are totally for real. And only the most extreme members on our family tree. Bipolar & OCD abounds in our family. The first two I mentioned above, are diagnosed schitzophrenics.   And fortunately, for me, they aren't on my branch of the tree!!! And it appears the schitzophrenia didn't travel further on the tree.


----------



## frustratedearthmother (Dec 19, 2015)

@Devonviolet             I'm beginning to wonder if we're related!  I've got a few of those hiding out in my family tree also.    I keep apologizing to DH for the family that he married into, lol!


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 19, 2015)

Wow @Devonviolet  how sad. I have dealt with quite a few Bi-Polar's...  impossible! When they stay on their meds it's one thing but of course they never do.

I never went on any meds, even when I was having the mini-blackouts- it was a wake up call so to speak ... OCD is very managable if you do not have mental illness. There have been a few people I know that did have to go on meds and even with meds it is so sad... there again there is mental illness at the core for them. Sad lives with little joy.

When you have OCD and not just quirks ( most everybody has quirks) IF you learn to laugh at yourself and you take everything down to its core than you can manage it. 

At one time I would not leave the house til all the laundry was done and all filing was done, vacuuming done, dishes done... generally not a big deal because these things were ALWAYS done. When you can get to the core of it you can overcome it. Mine core was "if I am killed in an accident while I am out, I don't want to leave things undone for those left behind. No one should have to sort through paperwork etc."

LOL Now I think oh well I'll be dead- I won't care!

Routine was another biggy... same routine every morning before work... if something interrupted that like dishwasher failed, washer broke, dryer broke then the routine was thrown off... I cannot really describe the feelings of that. 

So now you see why I can laugh with OCD'ers and why I chose to deal with it and overcome. Not a good thing to take into marriage and have a family.


----------



## Devonviolet (Dec 19, 2015)

frustratedearthmother said:


> @Devonviolet             I'm beginning to wonder if we're related!  I've got a few of those hiding out in my family tree also.    I keep apologizing to DH for the family that he married into, lol!


LOL@frustratedearthmother. We may well be!   What's that they say about "6 degrees of separation"?
The thing about our family tree is that the fruit is pretty much spread evenly around.


----------

