OCD much?

[plonq]

atara has occasionally expressed the opinion that I suffer from a mild case of OCD. I cannot say one way or the other, but I found myself building another Tower of Hanoi out of my pocket change this morning. I had never given it much thought until I noticed that I was doing it again this morning; when I put aside change for my morning coffee, I always unconsciously arrange it from largest (loonie) to smallest (dime) in a stack.

Personally I think that it has less to do with OCD and more to do with aesthetics.

Comments

[pierrekrahn.livejournal.com]

I never carry change on me (I'm always prefered plastic), but when I do I often find myself sorting/stacking the coins too. Don't know if it's necessarily OCD though.

[typographer.livejournal.com]

I read an article once that gave a usual example of the difference between ordinary compulsiveness, and an actual disorder:

You're driving home from work, a bit tired and distracted. A bicyclist veers in front of you, but you tap the brakes and avoid a collision. A minute later you hit a rather deep pothole. The anxiety circuit of your brain immediately wonders if you just hit the cyclist (or another one you hadn't seen).

You check the mirrors, don't see anyone laying on the road behind you.

An ordinarily compulsive person might pull over to double or triple check, or circle around the block to be certain no one is laying, bleeding on the curb.

Someone suffering from OCD might circle the block for hours, searching for any sign of an injured bicyclist. Or pull over and walk up and down the street for hours, searching. And/or may find themselves checking the car for days or weeks afterward for any sign of a collision.

Stacking coins while thinking or having a cup of coffee? Hardly a disorder.

Now, if you're unable to do anything at all, even deal with life-threatening situations, until you are absolutely certain that every single coin in the house is stacked largest to smallest? Then you may have something to worry about...

[pfcottontail.livejournal.com]

But if I was OCD I would probably say it was for aesthetics, too! O.o Fortunately, I know I'm not, because I live in a swirling mass of mess.