Do I have OCD?

In My Humble Opinion
1

My wife was talking to a friend the other day and mentioned that I was OCD. I didn’t take offense to the comment, but it started me thinking. Am I OCD? I thought by definition someone with OCD did certain behaviors compulsively. Behaviors that most other people don’t do AND, just as importantly, those behaviors cause problems in their life.

When I asked my wife why she thought I was OCD she came up with a few examples. I walk around the house turning off lights in rooms that aren’t being used (I hate to waste money). I have a very specific routine in the morning while getting ready to face the world. And perhaps her best example is that I like to arrange my paper money in my wallet in order of denomination and all facing the same direction. As fas as I know, I have always done this because it makes it easier to retrieve money without unnecessary fumbling to find the right bills. So while I habitually do all of these things, I don’t think any of them mean I am OCD.

What say you? Do these apparently weird behaviors rise to the level of OCD, or am I borderline OCD, or is my wife mislabeling my behavior for dramatic effect when talking to her friends?

BTW, I have never seen anyone about my “problems” because I don’t view them as problems at all.

2

I am not a shrinkologist, but think that someone who notices a light is on in an empty room and turns if off is engaging in normal behavior (maybe I’m prejudiced because I’ll do this on occasion).

On the other hand, someone who has a set routine of patrolling the house several times a day to make sure there are no lights on in unused rooms, becomes uneasy if they miss a tour and bugs the hell out of other occupants (including someone who left the living room for a couple of minutes to use the bathroom and comes back to a darkened room) - that sounds like OCD.

3

Your wife if referring to the the type of OCD people like to joke about. But it’s not really OCD.

REAL OCD, causes stress and anxiety as well as emotional problems.

Also, if I understand correctly, they repeat certain actions over and over again. Like locking and unlocking doors.

4

You don’t have OCD. Or CDO. You’re just a creature of habit, and the habits you describe are good ones.

5

Switching of the lights in unused rooms is the most normal thing for me I already learned as a child. Heck, you save money and energy, and that’s a good thing.

6

As I understand it, OCD behaviour consists of doing things over and over again to make sure they are done right.

For example, an OCD person flicks a light switch, and the lights go out. But he isn’t certain that the switch is really all the way off. so he turns the lights back on and off again, just to make sure. And then to make really really sure he does it again and again. And then only after doing it many times can he be confident that it’s done properly. He may even need to do it a fixed number of times, such as always 10 times, never 9 and never 11.

If you’re not doing that, you’re not OCD.

7

Read any of Machinaforce’s threads to see what real OCD is like! :mad:

8

To meet the criteria OCD, you must be disturbed by your behavior or your life must be significantly disrupted by it.

So if you freak out when the lights aren’t turned off or the money isn’t arranged the right way, then you might have OCD. If iyou spend hours getting your money arranged the “right” way and you’re unable to stay employed because of it, then you might have OCD.

It is possible you are on the OCD spectrum. You’re just on the side that’s functional and non-disordered.

When I was depressed years ago, a psychiatrist I saw for medical treatment diagnosed me with OCD because I had incessant looping thoughts (which I still have when I get anxious). But I objected to this diagnosis because the thoughts were devoid of content and didn’t make me particularly anxious (apart from the anxiety caused by not being able to think clearly). I fired that psychiatrist because I thought he sucked as a diagnostician.

I came to realize he wasn’t totally off his rocker. The repeating thoughts I experienced were often accompanied by slowness that looked pretty dang similar to obsessional slowness. I still don’t think I have OCD, but I am OK with the idea that I’m vulnerable to developing it, especially since I do have Tourette’s, which is commonly associated with OCD.

9

This is so obvious that I’m surprised anyone thinks anything is unusual about it. Do most people just cram it in at random and spend 20 minutes sorting through it every time that they want to buy something?

10

That’s exactly what I used to do back when I was still using cash. Except it all got stuffed in my front pocket. Lol

11

I do all 3 of the OP’s behaviors, and I’m about the least OCD person around. I once used a $10 bill in place of a $1 bill in a bunch of ones, so learned to keep my wallet cash in order to avoid that ever happening again. I turn out lights because somebody has to eventually, and why pay for the electricity? And without a set morning routine, I’d be too groggy to make it out the door without forgetting something I need for the day.

Likely, the wife just means that you’re picky about more behaviors than she is.

12

I see this kind of behavior listed as OCD or jokes made about how somebody has OCD if they like things neat and it really bugs me. Somebody who stacks their magazines by size or likes them fanned out perfectly does not have OCD. Somebody who cannot leave the house until they are perfect even if it makes them late for work does. I would say that I have OCD tendencies because I like even numbers so it seems “right” to purchase an even number of items when I go grocery shopping. However, the fact that I can go into a store and buy 3 items and not obsess over it even though my mind tells me that two or four items would be better, means that I don’t suffer from the disease. If you are running late and cannot grab your wallet and go unless you check that the bills are organized correctly, then you have a problem. If you prefer to have them organized in a certain way and this is part of your daily routine but could be skipped in an emergency, then I would say that you don’t have OCD.

13

IMO your wife defines OCD much too broadly.

You could make this case: To the desultory, anybody who isn’t desultory would be OCD.

Another good example; At work we have an incorrigible breakroom slob. Said slob calls anybody he sees cleaning up his mess, or just cleaning in general, “Hazel” or “Suzy Homemaker”.

14

I engage in all the same behaviors your wife is calling OCD because it’s logical and smart and simplifies my life. I’m wondering what percentage of people don’t have morning routines?

15

You are not OCD. You may ***have ***OCD, but you are not OCD, any more than you might be diabetes or gout.

(Sorry, but I am obsessive about usage and such.)

16

My daughter’s a psychotherapist and tells me that she finds this common usage of “OCD” to mean, “more particular about things than I am” to be troubling, as real OCD is an actual mental disorder which causes a great deal of suffering.

My friend has some symptoms of real OCD. For example, if her toothbrush falls to floor she has to throw it away. My brother-in-law also does: he’s a hoarder, and even though he inherited a lot of money, enough to buy a new house, he never will because he can’t deal with all the junk he has accumulated (filling every room of the run down house he owns).

I turn out lights in rooms I’m not in. Because it’s wasteful, and waste is wrong. There’s a blue mug I like to drink my tea from, but I can drink from other mugs. I’m particular but I don’t have OCD.

17

Sounds like Jaycat is OCD. :wink:

No, a person that is occasionally hyper or unfocused doesn’t have ADHD. A person that is organized or routine oriented doesn’t have OCD. Those are surface level caricatures of serious disorders. To qualify as a disorder behaviors are severe and often somewhat debilitating to living everyday life.

18

Help! I must be OCD too! I sort bills in my wallet. I hope Medicare will cover the palliative care as the end stage draws near!

But wait! It gets worse. Here’s my OCD: When I put on my shoes, I absolutely MUST put on the left shoe first. If, on occasion, I put on the right shoe first, it just feels … wrong. Once I have both shoes on, I can tie them in either order, but the left shoe has to go on my foot first.

Oh please, Doctor Dope, tell me there’s hope for me!

Okay, here’s how I got my OCD diagnosis: Many years ago (circa 2003 or so), when I was dealing with a worse-than-usual bout of depression and anxiety, a certain doctor suggested I get myself on Disability, and he referred me to a shrinkist. Shrinkist asked me a lot of questions, including:

Well, I couldn’t lie to him. I just had to tell him the truth. (That’s OCD behavior right there, right?) Yes, I often start the day by making a list of things I want to get done that day (knowing full well, of course, that I usually won’t). And I make shopping lists too.

BOOM! Diagnosis OCD!

Funny, I never really felt debilitated just because I make shopping lists or to-do list. I’m pretty sure he was just doing that to make a stronger case to get me on Disability. (How I put on my shoes never came up.)

I got my Disability. Thanks, Doc!

ETA: And, OP, what’s this thing with you and dolphins? :slight_smile:

19

I don’t care much about the number of bulbs being used in my home, which has been ablaze with electric Christmas decorations for a couple of weeks now, but I am a cash guy and the bills in my wallet are neatly folded. A German tourist taught me how to keep my banknotes when I worked as a bellboy during the summer vacation in high school and I’ve observed this procedure since. Keeping things in order saves time and prevents blunders.

20

In pop psychology terms, I think “anal retentive” is a more suitable scale. And even then quite low on the scale.

If you repeatedly took out all the bills from you wallet, sorted them, and put them back then that’s getting into OCD territory.

Just keeping things “right” is more like AR. Since most people have certain things they like to be done a certain way, there’s not really any reason for anyone to get bothered by this.