# Do I have OCD? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241 "2019-12-22T16:55:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/21 "2019-12-23T15:45:41Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 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? In order? Mostly, though I’m not… OCD about it. All facing the same way? Nope. Isn’t having so much cash that it takes you 20 minutes to sort through it a First World Problem? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/22 "2019-12-23T18:28:18Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I walk around the house turning off lights in rooms that aren’t being used (I hate to waste money). Years ago when I moved in with my gf we were discussing how to split up the utility bills. Starting with the electric bill, she suggested seeing how much I caused the monthly bill to increase. The thing is, I’m a light-turner-offer like the OP. My gf is the polar opposite, she turns on a light and that light stays on. So, we looked at the electric bill each month and it turns out it came down a bit. Next we did the same with the gas bill. Again, I’m cost conscious, so when I leave the house to go to work I turn the heat down. She had always left it where it was. Again, we saw a small but definite monthly decrease in the gas bill. Now I discover I’m OCD.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/23 "2019-12-23T18:36:44Z")
Having OCD has acquired a weird status of sorts, it seems. People like to claim having the disorder because it’s convenient to explain some of their behaviors. Most people don’t even use the term correctly, saying “I’m OCD” rather than “I have OCD”. The [DSM-IV](https://behavenet.com/diagnostic-criteria-3003-obsessive-compulsive-disorder) addresses specific symptoms of the disorder, none of which seem to apply to the OP, nor to 99% of the people who claim to suffer from it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/24 "2019-12-23T18:49:21Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > 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. I doubt it. I’m going on a decades old first year psychology course here, so this is **not** expert advice. The professor said that OCD has two components, the obsession and the compulsion. The compulsion is the behavior that we can _observe_. The obsession is something you are trying not to think about, and you don’t do that when performing compulsive rituals. The obsession and compulsion might not have any obvious link to each other. For instance, we saw a video of a young father who would “shake his leg” vigorously to avoid getting worried about not making enough money to support his newborn child. That obviously would not solve the problem, but it’s a better “strategy” than (for instance) drinking heavily to blot out the worry. An observer may have noticed the leg-shaking, and may have thought it was odd, but would not have known the obsession behind it. (The class also featured some much more involved compulsions.) You mentioned something that could appear to be a “compulsion” to an observer but there doesn’t seem to be any obsession at all. Furthermore these behaviors (I would not actually call them compulsions or rituals) are harmless. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/25 "2019-12-23T18:51:25Z")
You don’t sound OCD. Maybe someone’s PAW? Or just FMC? People say I’m TFN, and I sometimes have to agree. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/26 "2019-12-24T19:49:29Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 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? I’ll put the bigger bills in the back, but I don’t really worry about perfect sorting. It’s mostly just small bills -\> larger bills -\> largest bill (in the back). And the way it is facing will only be flipped if I had to move the bill for other reasons. Also, I may cram it in or just slip the change in my pocket if there is anyone waiting behind me, and then not remember to take the time to re-sort it before I use it again. And, these days, I only get out what I need, and thus usually only have either a small number of large bills, or small bills from change. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/27 "2019-12-24T22:20:49Z")
Thanks, everyone. Whew! I don’t need to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist (yet). I have a few other “quirks”, but they aren’t repetitive and don’t really impact my life. I like things in their place, so I can find them later. It helps since my memory is not what it used to be. My wife often doesn’t put things back which drives me crazy, but I don’t have to make sure everything is in its place before I can leave the house. I just make a mental note when I leave so that I remember to put it away when I get back. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/28 "2019-12-24T22:24:25Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Help! ETA: And, OP, what’s this thing with you and dolphins? 🙂 Senegoid, I used to train dolphins, orcas and sea lions when I was in college and I got the nickname “dolphinboy” because I would spend so much time working with, hanging out with, and swimming with the bottlenose dolphins… ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/29 "2019-12-24T23:24:44Z")
Maybe you are a Perfect Person. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gp-tsVtKr-4/hqdefault.jpg "Lough Your Way : Perfect People") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp-tsVtKr-4) ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/30 "2019-12-24T23:49:13Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You don’t have OCD. Or CDO. You’re just a creature of habit, and the habits you describe are good ones. By CDO you mean Collateralized Debt Obligation, right? If not, WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK YOU MEANT?!!? WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S CUTE TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE GUESS WHAT YOU MEAN. JESUS FUCKCUNTS. WHATY the FUCK?!??!?!??! ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/31 "2019-12-25T07:20:07Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > By CDO you mean Collateralized Debt Obligation, right? [snip]! I was going a bit crazy when I wrote this post. I do really, _really_ dislike it when people just throw up initials and expect that everybody knows what it means. But I needn’t have emphasized it so. Sorry for the crazed, all-caps, profanity spewing. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/32 "2019-12-25T09:32:26Z")
My dad’s cousin was diagnosed with OCD more than 15 years ago. She would wash her hands until they were raw, among other compulsory behaviors. Prozac has done wonders for her, and she’s able to get out of the house within a reasonable time. I am quite annoyed by my sister-in-law’s assertion that she has OCD because she likes to have the table set just so. It’s not the same. And the OP may have some OCD tendencies, but until they start to interfere with daily life, they are just tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/33 "2019-12-25T17:01:57Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > By CDO you mean Collateralized Debt Obligation, right? If not, WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK YOU MEANT?!!? > > WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S CUTE TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE GUESS WHAT YOU MEAN. JESUS FUCKCUNTS. WHATY the FUCK?!??!?!??! > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I was going a bit crazy when I wrote this post. I do really, _really_ dislike it when people just throw up initials and expect that everybody knows what it means. But I needn’t have emphasized it so. > > Sorry for the crazed, all-caps, profanity spewing. Stereotypically, people with OCD feel compelled to put things in order, and OCD is not in alphabetical order. Hence CDO. (It’s a joke.) This thread has reminded me that it was my 6th grade teacher, Mr. Hollins, the first male teacher I ever had, who explained to us that he always put bills in his wallet in order, so when I started regularly using a wallet, years later, I did that too. WRT the OP, I also turn off lights whenever possible, and I have a semi-routine in the morning, but since I work from home it’s not particularly rigid. I also like to put dishes in the dishwasher in a specific arrangement, and will move things that other people have put in the “wrong” place. I don’t have OCD. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/34 "2019-12-30T20:29:46Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In pop psychology terms, I think “anal retentive” is a more suitable scale. Several jobs ago, I worked with a technical writer. I wrote some documentation, and sent it to her for proof reading. She sent it back with a whole bunch of what I considered petty corrections. I emailed her telling her “don’t be so anal retentive”. She emailed back “anal-retentive should always be hyphenated”. > [@dolphinboy](#): > > Thanks, everyone. Whew! I don’t need to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist (yet). I have a few other “quirks”, but they aren’t repetitive and don’t really impact my life. I like things in their place, so I can find them later. It helps since my memory is not what it used to be. My wife often doesn’t put things back which drives me crazy… That’s not being O.C.D. That’s being W.E.D. I am not naming any names, but someone that i have been living with for the last 37 years complains that I am not OCD enough. Because I don’t put \*\*my \*\*sunglasses back where \*\*she \*\*can find them. And her response to “why don’t you put **your** sunglasses where **you** can find them” is generally “because yours are easier to find”. So I keep my last pair in the glove box in my car. If she ever figures that out, I am doomed to snow blindness. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/35 "2019-12-30T21:03:51Z")
Turning off lights doesn’t really save money by the way (if you use LED bulbs, which is about all you can buy these days). Lets take an example. Lets say you turned off 5 lights every day that would have run for an hour, but didn’t. How much would you save? An average light bulb (60 watt equivalent) draws about 9 watts. So you saved 9x5 = 40 Whs every day. Yay! The average electricity prices in the US are about 11 cents per KWhour. So we have to divide our 40 by 1000 to get it into KWhs, then multiply by 11 cents to see how much money you saved. The answer is 0.44 cents. Thats right, not even half of a cent. So, about 13 cents per monthly bill. You can turn off lights if you want to, but don’t say it is to save money. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/36 "2019-12-30T21:13:42Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > By CDO you mean Collateralized Debt Obligation, right? If not, WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK YOU MEANT?!!? > > WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S CUTE TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE GUESS WHAT YOU MEAN. JESUS FUCKCUNTS. WHATY the FUCK?!??!?!??! CDO is like OCD but you can’t stand things that aren’t in alphabetical order. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/37 "2019-12-30T21:24:54Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Turning off lights doesn’t really save money by the way (if you use LED bulbs, which is about all you can buy these days). > > Lets take an example. Lets say you turned off 5 lights every day that would have run for an hour, but didn’t. How much would you save? > > \*\*An average light bulb (60 watt equivalent) draws about 9 watts. So you saved 9x5 = 40 Whs every day. Yay! > \*\* > The average electricity prices in the US are about 11 cents per KWhour. So we have to divide our 40 by 1000 to get it into KWhs, then multiply by 11 cents to see how much money you saved. The answer is 0.44 cents. Thats right, not even half of a cent. So, about 13 cents per monthly bill. > > You can turn off lights if you want to, but don’t say it is to save money. Something is off in your calculation, but I can’t quite figure out what. The bolded part is where I can’t follow. I’ve tried to make a similar calculation in my head when I first read the thread (although with halogen lamps I still use which draw more current than LEDs). So I’ll try again with your numbers: If you have 5 unused room with LEDs switched on which each draw 9W, by turning them off you’ll save the energy of 9 x 5 x 24 x 365 Wh = 394.2 kWh per year. With your 11 cents for a kWh, that makes $43.4 per year and $3.16 per month. Not a fortune, but for me money is tight, and it makes a difference. I also try to avoid wasting resources as best as possible, so that’s another motivation to switch the lights off. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/38 "2019-12-30T21:39:48Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Lets take an example. Lets say you turned off 5 lights every day **that would have run for an hour,** but didn’t. How much would you save? Too late to edit: My bad; I overread the bolded statement. With that caveat, your numbers are absolutely correct. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/39 "2019-12-31T00:45:07Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Stereotypically, people with OCD feel compelled to put things in order, and OCD is not in alphabetical order. Hence CDO. (It’s a joke.) That’s actually really funny, but I didn’t get it. Sorry for my rant. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241/40 "2019-12-31T11:16:40Z")
Do I have OCD? No you don’t. Check back in 3 minutes in case the answer has changed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-ocd/845241.md?page=3)