Saturday, November 15, 2008

OCD and me

Recently, I've been accused of having an obsessive compulsive disorder. I never thought I had OCD, but after two people in one week suggesting it, I'm rethinking the possibility.
I do like having things tidy. I also do not enjoy living in, or cleaning up other people's messes. However, I do not shower several times a day, wash and rewash my hands, or any other repetitive behavior. I have, as does everyone, certain pet peeves. If you live, or ever have lived with other people, they've done something at one point to annoy you. I have issues with my kitchen being dirty. I don't like dishes left in the sink unless I leave them there (which my mother will tell you that I do all the time). If dishes must be left in the sink, I need them to be rinsed out, or at least having water left in them so that the old food doesn't crust over. I like the counters and stove wiped down and free of grease and crumbs. I like the floor swept and also free of crumbs and visible stains. Is that OCD? Or is it just clean? Would you eat in a restaurant with crumbs and crusty food on the tables and cooking surfaces? How would the health department rate a commercial kitchen that looked like that?
In my bathroom, I like my surfaces wiped down. I like them free or hair, dust, toothpaste, soap scum, and other substances. Surely that's not too much to ask. After all, how is one expected to bathe in dirt? Roger says that my need to have separate cleaning cloths for the tub and sink in OCD. I say no since you put your booty, feet, and other body parts in the tub. The sink occasionally touches my toothbrush if I happen to drop it (Which Roger says he's never done. Am I alone in having dropped my toothbrush in the sink?). Thus I'd rather not clean the sink that touches my toothbrush with the same cloth I use to clean the tub which touches my feet and booty. I just think that's gross.
Perhaps my issue is simply with things that go in my mouth- food, my toothbrush, dishes, etc. I don't like having dirty things in or near my mouth. Does that qualify as OCD? I think it's just quirkiness. It's just the joy of me.
My boss said that's why I'm sick now (I have a cold). Apparently I'm not dirty enough to build up antibodies. I didn't put enough things in my mouth growing up.
My parents kept me too clean and now I keep myself this way.
I can take junk- piles of papers, objects, stuff all over. I cannot take gooey, sticky, crusty, smelly dirt. There is a difference. Mess is not necessarily dirt, but dirt is certainly a mess. Where is the line drawn between OCD and cleanliness? I think I err on the side of clean, not compulsive.

2 comments:

Phay said...

i also use separate cloths for the tub and sink for the same reason you do...however, i also think i have OCD tendencies but mine lay in the realm of how things are ordered...for example, when i get ready in the morning i have to do things in the same order or i forget something (usually my belt) and i feel out of whack for the rest of the day...it also happens when i'm hanging pictures but the funny part about that is i go through this whole rigorous routine of measuring left to right, top to bottom of the wall and the picture to find the perfect center and the damn thing still ends up slightly off center, but i can't do it any other way

OCD manifests itself in different ways and cases range from very mild to severe...if you find your need for certain things to be a certain way interfering with the regular flow of your life, then i would think about seeking help...the day i drive home in the middle of the day to put on my belt or spend an entire day hanging one picture, i'll get help too..otherwise i say we embrace our quirks and to hell with the people who think it weird :)

Michelle said...

Thank you for feeling my pain Phay! I'm not to the point where my behavior interferes with anything other than people's opinions of me (and perhaps my relationships with my roommates)yet. I agree that if it begins to inhibit me in any way, I'll need to get help. I knew it wasn't just me!