I nibble and shred my lips and inner cheeks. I go through phases where it makes me absolutely miserable and I can’t stop, to phases where it is less frequent. It seems obvious that it’s a response to stress, but I haven’t identified any particular trigger or found any way to derail it.
See, this is what really annoys me. I am not OCD (okay, I do pick and pull hair a little bit but I can stop). I am tidy. Seriously, I make sure that everything in my house gets put away once a day and I have a pretty minimalist decorating scheme.
That’s it.
But because I like things <just so> I am OCD. That is an insult to people who really have a problem.
BWAH.
When walking around or driving, I much prefer to make a loop back to my point of origin, as opposed to retracing or crossing my path.
Example 1–I drive to work on one route and drive home on a completely different one, retracing only my driveway and the driveway of my workplace.
Example 2–My daily morning walk is two miles around my neighborhood streets. I have devised three different two-mile routes that do not retrace or cross–the only point of convergence is my front door. I alway walk facing traffic, so walking up Pond Road does not retrace walking down Pond Road. In my little universe.
It doesn’t really spoil my day or make me anxious if I can’t loop, or have to cross or retrace. I am simply more satisfied when I can make it so.
I read that book also!
Another example, while watching TV back before DVRs I found myself planning exactly what I was going to do during the next commercial break.
Yes.
I’m better than I was as a kid. I think the meds I take for depression and anxiety help happen to help.