OCD+Atari Collecting=a personal curse

[Zeus]

I've actually been told that I have exhibited signs of OCD by my counsellor in the past. I have certain freaky irrational fears that bother me to varying degrees. For instance, when I am closing up the office, I check a number of things over and over. Sometimes I check the same thing 5 times before I feel comfortable leaving. It is as if my eyes see that the task is done but my brain doesn't believe it.

 

Another o-c subject i have regards AIDS. I think I was severely affected by the AIDS panic when it first broke out in the 80's. When I was a kid, I was afraid of catching AIDS from the door handles in malls. Even now I am sometimes overcome by irrational AIDS thoughts, such as fear of coming into contact with infected surfaces when I have a wound, accidentally stepping on a used needle, or what-have-you. Once I gave a cigarette to a really sick looking homeless person and I obsessed so much over it I went for a blood test, just to quiet the fear.

 

This all sounds idiotic to a completely normal person, but these irrational thoughts and the compulsions they generate feel very real when the strike. Luckily for the most part, I haven't let them take over my life.

[pinball22]

I am horribly compelled to record all sorts of details surrounding my transactions. I record how much I spent on a loose cartridge, who I bought it from, and the date. This is bothersome because sometimes I forget to write down this data. For some reason I then believe my collecting to then be CORRUPT.

 

To some extent that's just being a collector, and to some extent that's certainly OCD.

I'd recommend seeing a behavior therapist -- I've been seeing one for my OCD and it's been very helpful.

[ZylonBane]

As I've aged, I've found that laziness makes a great curative to all sorts of compulsions, be they obsessive or otherwise.