Obsessive Compulsive?

Sooo, who on this forum, in the uni world, is NOT? I am. I’m glad for the opportunities to channel that. I have to do things to the max - always have. I was trained to be that way, and most people in my profession have been also.

i’m OCD for perfection in some things, like if i’m drawing, or writing lyriscs. Plus with fiddling with things, ive done it a bunch of times where ive accidently knocked a the shaving holder for a wall mounted pencil sharpener off the wall, leaving shavings everwhere, and having the teacher have to tell me NOT to pick them up lol. But to later when no ones looking to pick them all up.

For some things, I like to be perfect, like when I’m writing music or poems.
Other things that aren’t as important to me, I can be sloppy with.
Like with unicycling, if I land a trick, I won’t do it again no matter how sketch it was.

I’m not a neat freak, or obsessive hand washer, etc - far from it. I do like order. I also like surprises, and chance encounters, taking a detour, trying new things, new food, new countries, new languages (much of that is a major part of my life.)

Maybe OCD is not the correct term. I’m not a psychologist. Whatever the term is to having the drive and determination to follow through with attaining a goal, or attempting to be the best that you can be at anything I decide to take on.

If I take on a task, it may take some time, and thinking on my part, because I know that when I start I can NOT do that lightly.

If I take something on, I most likely have to do it to excess, rather than dabbling in a sport, for example. My motto (and many of my friends – who tend to be much younger than I am, in general) is something similar to “if it is worth doing; it is worth doing to excess”, whether that is a reno project, new sport or activity…or partying. (My wife will not let me take on ANY new sports, especially when I mentioned rock climbing.) I have to see that activity (building project, sport, etc) through to the end, and with an almost blind dedication to the task.

Good? Bad? OCD? I don’t know.

I don’t know if I’m obsessive compulsive about uni but I’m definitely obsessed. I’m now practicing freemounts, idling and jump mounts compulsively in my basement. I expect I’ll be doing this all winter. Been doing it the last few evenings. I lightly twisted my ankle about 2 weeks ago and couldn’t freemount since then. Now I’m obsessed with hitting my mounts 100% of the time. Maybe the obsessive compulsive part is that more often than not, I am choosing not to go out socially anywhere because I’d rather stay home and practice stuff. My girlfriend gets ticked off because I often prefer to ride than do anything else. Maybe DSM-V will have a unicycle disorder classification!

I suggest that you watch yourself in the mirror while repeating that aloud several times.

I amuses me when people say things like “Oh, I’m OCD about __________.” That’s not how OCD works. :slight_smile:

To answer your first question, I don’t have OCD.

To be officially classed as having OCD it has to seriously affect your life in a negative way. We’re talking spending more than an hour a day performing activities purely to satisfy your compulsions.

Obsessions

  1. Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
  2. The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
  3. The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
  4. The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality.

Compulsions

  1. Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
  2. The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not actually connected to the issue, or they are excessive.

You don’t have OCD. You aren’t OCD “about” things. You know JUST wanting something to be in order or wanting to make something perfect is not always OCD. That’s…wanting it to be in order or be perfect.

The last posts are getting “clinical” or searching for a proper definition.

I wasn’t headed in that direction; I was speaking in the current jargon. So from a somewhat flippant comment, we come to a seemingly serious attempt to define OCD all of a sudden.

Rather than a clinical sense the intent was to ask if people that post on this forum are obsessed with uni. It seems to be a large part of many posters’ lives. I believe it is for me, even though I’m a relative new comer.

My estimation of many of the posts here, and the fact that users spend a great deal of time posting or participating in uni, most likely have that, in a non-clinical sense.