OCD or On Constant Demand? – WOMAN MARKET READY

The year was 2004.

As I sat in the doctor’s office with my child, listening to the doctor ask all the probing questions: when did this behavior start; do you remember what was happening in your life at the time; are you conscious of it when you are doing it and lastly “does anyone in your family exhibit these tendencies”—I knew what was coming next, based on the answer I was listening to—parent interrogation!

I walked behind the doctor as I was being led into the interrogation room (slight exaggeration, the room wasn’t this scary),

a few steps behind so he couldn’t see the panic arise from within and show up on my face. Now we were alone, no witnesses except the four walls that held the “failings” of parents from years past that would now absorb me into their “club”. I already knew the questions he was about to ask and in those steps and space behind him, had already formulated my answers.

Sure, I get a little tweaked when my entry door rug is off-center; a little outraged when my kitchen sink mat is not clearly where I left it—between the left edge line of the cabinet and the center tile in front of the sink; and yes when someone comes into my office and picks up something off my desk that was clearly placed right where I wanted it, I get a little hot under the collar. But I have to ask you doctor, who doesn’t?

The year is now 2016.

It’s been 12 years since the day my child and subsequently myself was diagnosed with OCD—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OR as I like to refer to it—On Constant Demand. My son and I have talked about this at great lengths over the years. He parallels OCD with “human desire for control”, and I believe he is very well on the mark with that analogy. I adore therapy (insert sarcasm here), it forces you to look at things in a different way. I began to look at OCD as something outside of myself, that way I could dissect it while keeping my inner workings intact and my mind sane.

My analysis has taken many turns over the years but always comes back to being—On Constant Demand. As people, we are conditioned from the very moment we enter this life to be “ON”. When infants: we are expected to sleep through the night; don’t cry when strangers are holding you; eat your mashed peas and carrots. When toddlers: we are expected to walk before we are 1; be able to read by age 3; don’t cry when strangers are holding you. And it only gets that more cumbersome when we go to school and now have teacher expectations, peer relations and the beginning of self expectations. It just doesn’t stop. I suppose that is what we call “Life“, so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that the control mechanisms start to manifest.

After years of dissection and self-analyzation, I leave you with these 3 tips that I am sure have saved my life or at the very least my sanity over the years:

If you go to bed at night with a full stomach; everyone in your family is healthy and nobody has died—it was a good day.
Count your blessings, and know they outweigh your blights.
This too shall pass, it always does.

Though the above may seem trite to some, I have learned to live by the acronym-K.I.S.S.—Keep it Simple, Sweetheart. And I have also learned being On Constant Demand is exhausting, and that is something I CAN control! 🙂

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Kimberly

Author; Blogger; Self-Proclaimed “Woman” of all trades and Self-Proclaimed “Master” of some! AFAA Certified Group Aerobics Instructor since 1998; MA Licensed Real Estate Agent since 1995; former Certified Financial Counselor and Passionate Advocator of Financial Education for Women. Tech Geek; Home Cook & Most Importantly, Mother of 3, my #1 Reason for Living!!!