# Something about randomness and o.c.d. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019 "2014-05-22T18:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019/1 "2014-05-22T18:29:42Z")
I recently started playing a couple of games of suduko before I go to bed at night. I often get sleepy and feel like quitting the game and going to bed. For some reason because the games are randomly assembled I feel a strange compulsion that I have to finish the game no matter how tired I am. I get this overwhelming feeling that something was randomly created and may never be created again and I just wasted it. I realize it is irrational but it still bothers me. As a kid I had one of those kaleidascopes I think they are called where they produce random patterns each time you shake them up. I had the same feeling then if I didn’t take the time to appreciate the new design even though it bored me stiff. I have a feeling, at least I hope that this is not a unique feeling I get. Does anyone else relate to a feeling of obligation to something randomly produced. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019/2 "2014-05-22T18:47:34Z")
Yes, very much so. But I’ve never experienced a sense of anxiety about it. For instance, cloud formations or the pattern fish or birds make in their travel. Even a stone that has been upturned by a spade. Or a dead leaf. I think, “No one has ever seen this exact same thing before and its a gift to my senses.” And I have a sense of appreciation for that. My husband described a similar thing back in the day when he worked a construction crew and they’d dig deeply into the earth and uncover a rock. He’d wonder if anyone had ever seen it before him and how old it might be. Seeing the commonplace with new eyes. You may be talking about OCD. I don’t know. If it’s disrupting your life in unpleasant ways it may be. Or you may be talking about what I think of as a facet of spirituality - the way we fit into the time and space of our existence and how we feel about it. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019/3 "2014-05-22T19:14:33Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Yes, very much so. But I’ve never experienced a sense of anxiety about it. For instance, cloud formations or the pattern fish or birds make in their travel. > > Even a stone that has been upturned by a spade. Or a dead leaf. I think, “No one has ever seen this exact same thing before and its a gift to my senses.” And I have a sense of appreciation for that. > > My husband described a similar thing back in the day when he worked a construction crew and they’d dig deeply into the earth and uncover a rock. He’d wonder if anyone had ever seen it before him and how old it might be. Seeing the commonplace with new eyes. > > You may be talking about OCD. I don’t know. If it’s disrupting your life in unpleasant ways it may be. > > Or you may be talking about what I think of as a facet of spirituality - the way we fit into the time and space of our existence and how we feel about it. Exactly, I experience all the things you described. It has no real bearing on my life beyond a slight sense of uneasiness if I don’t somehow recognise it. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019/4 "2014-05-23T00:50:17Z")
We must be the only people here today paying attention. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019/5 "2014-05-23T05:39:48Z")
My shrink told me everyone has OCD to some degree but it’s not a problem unless it disrupts your daily life in a serious way. Troublesome OCD has negative consequences if the behavior isn’t followed through. Like fear you will die, or someone you know will. Or your spouse will be in a car accident or have a heart attack. Or you’ll flunk out of school or get fired. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-about-randomness-and-o-c-d/689019/6 "2014-05-23T14:51:53Z")
It sounds a little OC. But it’s only a disorder if it has a significant negative impact on you.