STERKWORKS | Ex-Mormon Lesbian Surviving Utah

This blog post is dedicated to all of my online and offline friends who are in varying stages of going crazy, thinking they are going crazy, getting over being crazy, or are crazy and are just fine with it.

Some clues that you might have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

• You check the baby’s room for the cat, even though you only have one cat and you can see it in the hall. You close the baby’s door. Repeat twelve times.
• Your organized your cans of Campbell’s soup alphabetically.
• You check the stove to make sure it is turned off. You make sure all the burners are turned off. Repeat seven times. Not satisfied, you go turn off the electrical breaker to the kitchen. Then you go check the oven and burners again. Seven times. Each. Repeat.
• Therapist tells you to write down every obsessive thought you have. You do nothing else all day. You are obsessed with writing down obsessive thoughts.
• You know that if the Jazz player doesn’t get the free throw, a family member will die.
• You know that if you don’t make it to the office door before it closes, a family member will die.
• You feel every wrinkle in your socks. You take one step, then pull up your sock. You step with the other foot, then pull up that sock. Eventually, you walk bent over holding onto your socks so you can pull them up with each step.
• If any taste bud stands up above the rest, you can feel it, and must cut it off. Yes, it hurts. But at least it will be gone.
• You can only change channels going up, not down. If you are on channel 4 and want to go to 2, you must go UP through all 130 channels to get to channel 2.
• When you see something fly off the back of a semi truck on the freeway, you know it is a severed head. You obsess all day that you should have alerted authorities or at least gone back to check it out.

These are just a few examples. And yes, it has been five years since I saw a therapist, but I still take meds to control the OCD. I also created some great rules for myself that work. 100% of the time. However, I do allow myself ONE of the above actions to continue. There must be a little give and take. It works for me. Can you guess which OCD oddity I still allow myself?

Filed under: Health, Life Lessons