This past week my OCD has kicked into high gear, with no relief in sight. The only things I can do to get my mind off of the things I’m currently obsessing over are work, write and spend time with my family. If I didn’t have those things in my life, I suspect I’d be on a major cleaning and organizing binge. And yes, I refer to these “episodes” as binges. Much like an alcoholic, it is important for OCD sufferers to try to get their impulses under control in order to feel better. The wrong way is giving in immediately to the urge to clean, organize, toss and so on. The better way, is to work through the urges, fighting the temptation to drop everything to “fix” what you are obsessing over. It’s a self-controlled form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
If you have OCD, you know how difficult this is. But in the long run, it works! Trust me. Right now, I have some major OCD triggers that I’m trying desperately to keep under check. I’m secretly hoping that a cleaning and organizing fairy notices these things and fixes them when I’m not looking. What a surprise that would be! And by fairy, I mean a husband or son. And by when I’m not looking, I actually meant to say when hell freezes over.
Here is my major OCD trigger:
I cannot handle a spaghetti mess of wires! Thankfully, this mess is behind the huge TV in the living room so I don’t have to stare at it every time I’m in the room.
Another big one on my list:
We must have had an earthquake, because one minute this picture was hanging as straight as can be, and the next…like you see it. It is in a high trafficked area, so I’m constantly looking at it. But, I will not give in. Someone else is sure to notice? Right? PLEASE!
Now, this one is bugging the heck out of me, but I refuse to clean it. It’s not my mess and nothing in this drawer is mine.
Just because it’s a junk drawer doesn’t mean it has to look like garbage.
This one, I will most likely address in the coming weeks. Not today, not tomorrow, because that’s giving in. But it does need to be picked up and some of those cleaning pads need to be put through the wash.
Does your broom closet look this pathetic?
Last, but not least, a friend posted this on my Facebook wall yesterday. Let me just say, I would have to be institutionalized if my bathroom looked, smelled (I’m guessing) or sounded like this:
