Compulsions

[Raphaeline]

Re: Compulsions

Nah. I see a lot of habits but not a lot of what I would consider compulsions.

Everything I can think of is more of a habit than a compulsion... I would think I'd be bad about them, but I guess I'm not.

[Dumuzi]

Re: Compulsions

Before I drink from a Pepsi bottle, I have to check for cockroaches inside of it. This only applies to glass bottles and not those plastic ones where you have to twist the thingy to drink. This also doesn't apply to cans.

[PharaohKatt]

Re: Compulsions

A habit is an established custom, or automatic reaction to a situation, such as clutter. I don't consider tidying a compulsion because once everything is tidy, you are free to do other things. It also has a very clear motivation - mess. It makes perfect sense, and that's where I draw the line.

A compulsion is very different in that there is no need for reason. Compulsions have no motive, or the motive is irrational, and often involve repetitive actions, sometimes against the performer's will.

See, I think tidying can be a compulsion, depending on the situation. Its one of the possible side-effects of OCD after all. Is the area actually messy, or is it just not in The Exact Way that you want I to be? And are you able, if it's actually tidy, to just leave it be for the moment, or are you unable to do anything else until it has been sorted?

For example, with my sorting thing, it doesn't matter if the area is clean or not, it's not done in The Right Way. And with the example with the game shop, I had to literally be dragged away, and spent the rest of the day twitchy and wanting to tear my skin off with my fingernails because I couldn't sort.

I think it really depends on the motivations and the results, not so much on the specific thing.

[OpenHands]

Re: Compulsions

I'm another who doesn't like my food to touch, but I've gotten better about that over the years. I have a tendency to eat one type of food on my plate at a time though, which my spouse finds incredibly weird.

My big thing? Shoes on the bed. Gah! It's...it's like profaning sacred space with filth and yuck. I can't stand it. >.<