Would it be healthier-mentally- to twart these impluses?(possibly ocd)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I read a Terry Brooks book Running With the Demon a while back, and I’m thinking about buying the sequels. I can buy them in hardcover or paperpack, without a great difference in price. I have the first book in hardcover already, so I feel that I need to buy the others in HC too, or they won’t match. Just like I had to buy the 12th Anita Blake book in HC to match the others, but the 2nd Merry Gentry book in paperback to match the first one…And I’m really glad that the newer harry potter DVD is the same style casing as the older one…

This is pretty new, the need to have things match. It started within the last six or eight months, and I’ve noticed that it’s getting worse. Another example of this is over the summer I bought myself a hard binder and some loose leaf paper so I could write while away from my computer. For a while it was ok to write out some parts of stories and then type them, or just to type them. For the past couple of weeks it doesn’t feel ok to just type them on the computer.

Obsessive complusive behavior is common in my mom’s side of the family- she and Grampy have always been, some other relatives too. I haven’t, but I know it’s not uncommon to develop those tendencies as late as your mid-twenties. I’m not too terribly worried about it, yet, since it’s just these few little things, but can this sort of thing be “nipped in the bud” so to speak, before they get worse? Would be be better for me to go against these impluses instead of indulging in them? I wouldn’t be thrilled to order the books that don’t match, but I’d get over it. If I sit in front of the computer for a while, I probably could write something without a hand-written draft. So should I force myself to do these not-as-comfortable things? Or does something like this not have a snowball affect if indulged?

2

Hmm…well, I have nothing to base this on, because I have no experience with OCD and IANA mental health pro. But, my take on it is, I’d buy the books in hardcover if the difference in price is minimal, and not worry about it. (I loved the first 8 or 10 Anita Blake books, BTW.) Matching sets are always nicer, from an aesthetic perspective, and that has nothing to do with any disease.

If you’re a writer, I’d be leery of forcing yourself to write in a fashion you aren’t comfortable with. But, if this is a recent change, maybe you could go back to your old style without problems.

Hopefully, someone with experience will be along to give you more useful advice. But, I don’t see the things you mentioned as being necessarily symptomatic. They sound fairly trivial, to me. If you were suddenly compelled to reorganize the entire house to suit some new requirement, I’d be a little worried. But, the examples you cite seem like perfectly normal behavior, on their own.

3

It’s only OCD if you have tried to resist the impulses and found yourself unable to do so.

Wanting your bookcase to look nice hardly counts.

4

I have OCD, so I speak from experience. OCD isn’t a problem unless the compulsions consume more than two hours per day.

Get the damn hardback books. Write longhand if you feel you need to - everyone goes through phases.

Chill out and don’t worry about it - seriously. If you happen to notice in a couple of years that things have gotten extreme, then consider seeing a therapist.

Please feel free to email me regarding any specific questions you have.