do I have a sort of "anti-OCD?"

Factual Questions
1

I know that many people with OCD have a hard time dealing with change. A friend of mine’s father is so bad that he’ll allow a broken appliance to sit in its spot for years, and only then replace it under much anxiety.

I seem to have a sort of “anti-OCD” - I can’t stand routine or constancy. As a kid, I had to rearrange my room every few months, or the consistency would drive me nuts. Any deviation from daily routines - like a school assembly, fire drill, or substiute teacher - would fill me with an almost indescribable euphoria. Even negative deviations - like getting sick or missing the bus and having to walk to school - were preferable to the daily routine.

I was totally cool in college - the combination of an ever-changing course schedule and working part time jobs with inconsistent schedules alleviated this “routine madness.”

Now, I’m in the adult world, which is notorious for its eternally consistent “daily grind” - and it’s driving me nuts. After working my first post-graduate job for two years, I was on the verge of literal madness from the daily/weekly routine alone - I came down with horrible depression and anxiety, all due to the repetetive daily grind. I’d have to force myself to deviate in my daily schedule in order for it to be tolerable - and even then, after two years, I just had to leave the job because the thought of doing the same thing for years and years was enough to all but paralyze me with anxiety. It carried over to my home life - little things like the fact that my wife and I did our weekly grocery shopping every sunday afternoon would start to drive me bonkers, so I’d have to deviate that as well.

I understand that people naturally fall into routines, but it seems to drive me crazy. What’s the deal? Is this a real, legitimately recognized phenomenon? I can deal with it, but I’m worried about the whole career angle, because you really have to stay at a job for years and years and years in order to be successful and advance in the ranks, but that thought sounds absolutely horrifying to me.

I’m not sure if this matters, but I do have ADD, which means I can be impulsive and get bored and restless very easily, so I think that might have an affect on this.

2

Is OCD really the proper term for that? I thought OCD means you do stuff repetitively, like washing your hands over and over.

My grandfather is sort of a packrat. About a year ago our family talked him into letting us clean his house. Among other things (like ancient newspaper), we found a burned out lightbulb from 1987 that he put a label on (1987, Bad). :smiley:

3

No. OCD is not about routine, or order. It’s obsessing with something to the point that you’re completely oblivious to anything else. The compulsive part comes in when you start an action-compulsions to try and deal with the obsession.

It has nothing to do with wanting a routine, or consistancy.

4

Why is this in GD? I meant to post it in General Questions. Would a mod please move it?

5

In light of the rather angry protestations that “OCD is not about order” (i blame the media - I just tonight watched “as good as it gets”, where Jack Nicholson’s OCD-afflicted character must always eat the same thing in the same booth at the same restaurant with the same waitress), I’ll refine the question - “is what I described some sort of defined, common disorder?”

6

No.

7

Uh…

8

OCD can manifest itself in any number of ways. Rituals, irrational attachments to things, hoarding, or extreme difficulty in discarding unneeded things are common, but not exclusive by any means.

Blalron, I’d bet that your grandfather has OCD.

Freejooky, I think a lot of things could cause the symptoms you describe. You’re not gonna get a diagnosis on the internet; you need to talk to a doctor.

9

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To General Questions.

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