Fun Times with OCD!

[Zoe Girl]

Okay I have to say there are some fun moments with OCD despite the label disorder. I spent some time observing from the outside a little on this vacation with my family and it was interesting. So add your own if you have such a person in your life, at least the fun ones

* while driving my 16 yo son said that we just passed 14 cows in the field and he felt more relaxed since it was even (when we passed the next field with about 100 he managed without counting)
* my parents spent a lot of time talking about filling up with gas and where to stop for the next fill up, apparently exit 75 was our first planned fill up location. So when I left their house to drive home today we had a long discussion about how I was going to stop in Kearney NE and that was perfect and where the gas station was because that one had a Subway in the back. They stopped short of ordering my sandwich but I KNEW they would call when I was within 30 minutes of Kearney and practically know the mile marker I was at. Soooo, then I missed a turn off before I even left Des Moines and ended up going south through Missouri and Kansas, so I just didn't answer my phone all day so we didn't have to go through change, I can't imagine the stress it would cause them (I was irritated at the slightly longer drive but it was ok)
* I watched my mom change the bowl for blueberries multiple times a day as she ate some and needed a smaller bowl and then added more and needed a larger bowl, I think about an hour of her day was simply adjusting bowl size to blueberry capacity.
* I didn't do this much this trip but when I get stressed I need to eat MM's in a sequence and pattern. Yeah. you line them up according to color and quality of MM stamp, well you get the idea. My dad is the one who supports this, his feeling is of course people eat that way!


Ahh, the quirks

[lhamo]

I used to do the M&M thing when I was a kid.

[iris lilies]

DH is slightly OCD and he counts stuff. All the time. But silently, of course, so that I don't know he's doing it. That is inherited. 3 of his 4 siblings are counters.His mother was a counter.My dad was a counter. I think it must be common.

[jennipurrr]

Hey, I do that with M&Ms...it seems entirely logical to me, ha.

There was a thread here some years ago about if you are a counter. At that time I had never put a name to it. I am definitely a counter but don't have anything that would qualify as clinical level OCD. I count steps every time I walk up them. I used to count the ceiling tiles when I was bored in school. I think my mind needs to be occupied with something most of the time.

[Zoe Girl]

Yes my dad is very 'functional' OCD, sometimes he is irritating but it works for him. I used to sit with the kids waiting for our food and we doubled numbers in our heads, 2 X 2, etc to the thousands. That was fun

[Float On]

How much will it bother you that I'm eating a little handful of M&M's without even looking at the color???