Obsessive Compulsive Disorder…sometimes seen as a bad thing. I know there are people who really suffer, and whose lives are greatly affected by OCD. I know several people who have spent years struggling to contain their impulses.
But I wonder…it’s not always in such an aggressive form is it? How obsessive do you have to be to be deemed obsessive? I know I have an obsessive personality, it’s why I react the way I do with TV shows and bands and certain people. It’s why I inevtiably end up stalking people and having restraining orders put out on me…or at least very affectionate men kissing me.
I’ve always had this thing with sidewalk cracks, which is where it all started.The cracks had to be equal underneath my feet. Whenever I walked, if I stood on a crack with my left foot, the next time I stood on a crack it had to be with my right foot. And so on and so on. And if I stood on a crack twice with my left foot, I had to balance it out with my right. I don’t think it’s ever prgoressed beyond that, nothing immediately comes to mind.
I am obsessive. I wouldn’t say I have OCD. Life continues as normal for me. I can live waiting an extra few days to see the newest episode of my favourite show. I can go maybe half an hour without thinking about those characters. I go into cleaning frenzies, where I do nothing more than wander around at work, cleaning everything excessively, ensuring it’s perfectly aligned and painstakingly tidy. Then there are times where I purposefully let everything become sloppy because I’m just too tired to care.
I wonder if it’s normal, to have little idiosyncracies which rule your life, but not to the point where it’s detrimental. None of these little things have ever bothered me. They may bother my friends and family, since everyone is already sick and tired of hearing me talk about my shows, but they haven’t left me yet!
OCD…is it always detrimental? Are there more sufferers than we currently know about? Or is it merely human habit which has become out of control in a small minority of the popualtion, similar to ADD?
Speaking of which..and I must get this..What’s up with the overdosing kids on ADD? Why aren’t we looking at our lifestyles and realising maybe we’re simply caging our children too much? There was a time and day when children played, exhausted themselves out in the wild, hitting things, running around, chasing dogs, fishing, playing, jumping, bouncing…now, they sit in front of a television or a computer, idly using their fingers to play games and not actually moving around. I have a strong belief doctors are merely misdiagnosing hyperactive children with ADD, because these children don’t get the opportunity to exert themselves. I remember watching maybe an hour or so of tv in the morning, then playing outside all day, and only coming back in when it was dark. I wasn’t disruptive, I was tired at the end of the day. Maybe if more parents turned off their TVs and shoved the kids out the door, they’d stop trying to medicate them with pills. Imagination is the key. Let kids use their imagination, allow it to grow and evolve and you’ll have well-balanced, creativeand healthy individuals.
