Ugh, hate how I look at things and they aren’t up to my standards.

[Foggiehead]

I’m not sure if there are people like myself who have OCD and have to have things done in a specific way. I have to make sure that everything I look at has to be straight i.e. a pencil or pen on a desk, I have to make sure my clothes are hanging in a specific way in my closet. It is nerve wrecking and it seems that I make my life over complicated. Does anyone here have the same problems as I do?

[ChristianWolff]

Foggiehead, Indeed dealing with those OCD issues are difficult. Neat & tidy, Cleanliness are significant ones for me, but the lifelong perfectionist issue is music. I simple cannot tolerate sloppy instrument performances, erratic rhythms, off-key instruments and vocals, and poor harmonies. Those things still drive me up the wall. Consequently I am quite discriminating when choosing music to listen to.

[Foggiehead in reply to ChristianWolff]

That’s interesting that this form of OCD affects your way of listening or playing a musical instrument. For myself, bills have to be paid on time and if they aren’t then the anxiety kicks in, everything has to be hung a certain way in my closet and I can spot which article of clothing is hung the wrong way instantly, and everything must be straight, lined up correctly, and organized.

[Foggiehead in reply to ChristianWolff]

I’m assuming that you are a music teacher and the OCD has an affect on your teaching method.

[ChristianWolff in reply to Foggiehead]

Teaching, no. Used to play and perform. Most of all I loved singing. I also have the same issues with closet organization and financial management,

[Foggiehead in reply to ChristianWolff]

The closet organization can make me go insane. I have tried many different ways to make my closet look better, but every time I change the way it’s organized my OCD spikes.

[MothFir]

I haven't struggled with that particular type of OCD very much, but I know many people have similar issues. It has a name -- here is an article about it:

treatmyocd.com/blog/just-ri...

[Foggiehead in reply to MothFir]

Thanks for the article and it seems I do have that variation of OCD. I never considered myself to be a perfectionist, but I was wrong.

[Rougefleur]

For sure what you describe are classic OCD compulsions. I have had them since childhood and for years as an adult, I have to straighten every picture I see hanging slightly askew, line up my pencils and pens in the same way every day, and organize the clothes in my closet according to color. The way I look at it after years of treatment for this disorder, these are not such terrible actions to make you feel more secure. If I am able, I avoid doing them. But if not, I refrain from judging myself for having compulsions that do not damage anyone else. But i do get thst they make your life feel overcomplicated. Still, these types of compulsions are quite common with OCD, and you do not need to " hate" the fact that you do them or yourself for a condition you did not cause. Try viewing them as not so important, but just a minor quirk that you are trying your best to curtail.