The Different Types Of OCD
There are several different types of OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and these types manifest themselves in differing degrees of severity. OCD can be described, in rather simplistic terms perhaps, as feeling a need to perform a particular action, which may or may not be necessary, and to perform that action in a repetitive manner.
Most all of us exhibit mild forms of one or another of the types of OCD from time to time. We may do it based on genetics or due to a disease or disorder we had in the past, or currently suffer form. These mild forms usually don't indicate any type of mental illness, at least not to the extent that treatment is called for, but can still be irritating at times, if not to the person having the symptoms, but to those around him or her.
A Milder From - A classic example of OCD that lovers of the game of baseball may witness has to do with the batter. Years ago, a batter never wore a batting glove. At some point in time it became obvious that wearing one brought along certain benefits, and wearing two, even more. A batter would put on his gloves, step into the batters box, and that was that. A few years ago, a certain major league player, a shortstop, made quite a show of adjusting his batting gloves before he stepped into the batters box. Not just the first time, but between every pitch. Like yawning, this seemed to be contagious, and today many players unstrap and strap their gloves, sometimes more than once, before each pitch. This is an example of OCD, though a relatively harmless one.
More severe types of OCD are classified as an illness, usually when the severity is such that a person's day to day routine becomes interrupted, or a person simply cannot do something until the prescribed compulsive obsessive ritual has been completed.
One of the more common types of OCD is having a constant need to wash one's hands, even though nothing has been handled in the interim that would seem to justify it. A fear of germs is usually the underlying cause. Someone working in a doctor’s office or a fast food restaurant may have to wash their hands several times a day, for reasons of hygiene. With OCD it's something different entirely. The need for washing springs from the individual's mind, not from necessity.
Checking - It's not always a bad thing to check something twice. whether to make sure the stove turned was off, the door locked, or the checkbook balanced. A person with OCD will not only check things twice, but often repetitively, as if they didn't quite believe what they saw a few hours ago, or even a few minutes ago. Even if a person recognizes the pattern as being essentially a time waster, there seems to be little they can, or want to, do about it. Such people suffer from an anxiety disorder. They may even recognize their actions are irrational, but whatever is driving their anxiety will cause them to continue their behavior.
Hoarding - On of the types of OCD we run across occasionally is hoarding. This too is an anxiety disorder. The driver is not so much a need to acquire things, but once acquired, is the conviction that the things have a value, or at least a potential value, thus there is a real fear of throwing them out. We all have a little of that from time to time, hanging on to a widget or something we can't quite identify on the chance that at some time in the future it will come on handy. The true hoarder feels this way about everything. A broken appliance may be fixable, old newspapers may come in handy, an unopened box may make a nice gift, even though the appliance is not fixable, the newspapers are becoming moldy, and the unopened box was buried under other "collectibles " long ago, The hoarder simply is afraid to part with them.
Arranging - Another of the types of OCD is found in those we could classify as arrangers, or counters. Everything must be in its place, in the proper order, and heaven forbid if the number of items has changed, they must be recounted. There is nothing wrong with keeping a clean and tidy house, or a tidy desktop for that matter. The person with OCD however, may spend a good portion of his or her waking hours, arranging furniture, or counting pencils, for fear if that isn't done, something will be lost, or things just won't look right.
Forget to lock the door? If you check more than twice, you may have a problem.