I was commuting on the T (the Boston subway; green line, which is mostly above ground) this morning and as I clicked the “stop request” button (panel?)*, the woman in front of me sort of sighed and then started shuffling to the front of the train. We exited together, but she stayed next to the track, seemingly intent on catching the next train in the same direction. I walked away but kept looking back, and she wasn’t going anywhere, wasn’t smoking, didn’t go grab a paper, and didn’t do anything that might have prompted her to get off the train only to get back on again. Maybe she was waiting for someone, but I didn’t stick around to see.
Anyway, I got to thinking about it, and while this is probably not the case, maybe she has some sort of obsessive compulsive disorder whereby she must get off the train if someone clicks the “stop request” button. I think that one would really suck, and if you had to go a long way on the T, it would take half the day, sitting around and waiting for the next train every time some bozo hit the stop request button.
There are probably a zillion worse OCD habits that would really suck (just having it would be difficult enough, I’m sure), and I started wondering what they might be. Ideas?
-Tofer
I normally don’t have to hit the button during rush hour, but on Monday the T driver just blasted past my stop and I had to get off at the next one and come back the other way. I learned my lesson.
I have OCD. Trichtillomania. I pull out my hair. Thankfully I have A LOT of hair, so you can’t tell. Some people pull it out until they have giant bald patches. That wouldn’t be fun.
The whole washing-your-hands-until-they-bleed thing sounds pretty awful.
As an aside, I was on the Green Line today myself, and I feel your pain. There’s something about that particular line that attracts the Boston area nutjobs. I always pack my portable CD player when I know I’m taking the Green Line, and more often than not, I’ve wound up having to use it.
I have some weird OCD habits that are very inconvenient. One is going to pee. When I go to bed, I go pee, get into bed, blow my nose and then get up and pee again because of the pressure put on my bladder. I then proceed to get up anywhere from 2-5 more times before falling asleep. I try to train myself out of this by waiting longer before I go, but it just means it takes longer for me to fall asleep. This is mixed up with some psychosomaticism, so I genuinely think I need to pee (but it is such an inconsequencial amount that I should not feel it and just not notice until my bladder fills up fully in a few hours). I do have this habit during the day, but I can prolong going for a few hours.
I have a bad habit of having to make sure things are turned off or shut. This leads to me having to stare at the deadbolt on the door or push on the refrigerator door, which leads to people looking at me funny.
I also compulsively scratch my face. If I have a bump or the start of a pimple, I need to pick at it until it bleeds, and it takes forever to heal because I pick the scabs. It looks pretty bad, and I hate doing it, but I can’t stop.
My reading speed has gone down a bit because I have patterns when I read anything. I have to find a line that ends with three words of differing lengths that are only one letter apart (as in, three, four and five letter words in a row), preferably without punctuation at the end, or three words of the same length. It seems inconsequential, but it is really annoying and slows me down so much. have similar patterns when listening to music.
Heh, I’ll third the comment about the Green Line. I’ve only been in Boston twice but the only time I was on the Green Line there was one person who started a conversation with me and wouldn’t stop.
I didn’t know the T didn’t stop at every stop automatically, like the NYC subway. Good to know.
There’s a tough one where people believe they have hit someone when they go over a bump in the road, and have to go back and check. It really does take them hours to get somewhere because they are constantly going back to assure themselves. Eventually they find an alternative to driving or just stop going anywhere.
Ah, been there, done that, have meds now. Pulling out hair, scratching until I bled and then picking at the scabs. I still get urges, but now I keep my nails short and wear hats most of the time.
It did suck. I went to the same woman to have my hair cut because I hated to see a stylist freak out when they saw my scalp. Also, I got blood under my finger nails and there would be hair everywhere. Very, very gross.