I’m sitting here bored at work and realized that I just signed my name on a scrap piece of paper about a dozen times for no reason. In fact, I do this quite often. When I was younger I thought I had a pretty ugly signature, but I don’t ever remember making a conscious effort to make it more pleasing to the eye. But, I must admit, It is much nicer now. I’ve even been complimented on it a few times. And I’m a guy!!!
So, does anyone else do this? Would you consider this OCD?
IANAP.
Do you feel compelled to sign your name over and over again? That would be a symptom of OCD. Just doing it idly because you’re bored is not, AFAIK, a warning sign.
Here is the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale . This is a test most psychiatrists would probably use to help determine if you qualify for a diagnosis of OCD.
IANAP either,
But mental health professionals tell me that one important thing to watch for is if your habit of writing your name down keeps you from functioning normally. Can you still get work done? Can you interact with people normally?
I’m guessing not. This sounds like a garden-variety pastime or “tic”. As you say, you were bored. This is something you do, pretty much unconsciously, when nothing else is going on. OCD refers to things one does–usually consciously–even when occupied by something else. If, while interested in something else, your conscious mind became obsessed with the need to write your name, & you couldn’t or wouldn’t stop thinking about it, that would be OCD.
If I’m not mistaken, there has to be a corresponding obsession to go along with your compulsive behavior (hence the O in OCD). A person compelled to wash his hands ten times an hour, for example, would have to have an obsession with germs and cleanliness. So unless you have an obsession with your handwriting, or your overall appearance, I don’t think you have OCD.