Are you OC?

I used to be stressed over by the fact not everyone in my household cleans. At 11, I wasn’t aware there was something wrong with how I perceived order and cleanliness. Everybody should be doing them like I do.

When I finally got my first taste of internet access back in 2001, I stumbled, finally, upon the word Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. My heart sank with the last word.

I was in denial because life was alright and I have given up antagonizing people around me, keeping the discomfort to myself.

This couldn’t be a disorder. But according to Wikipedia, these are four main types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders:

Checking 

With the lingering fear that something might start a big fire, damage to properties, leaks or any harm to people and the environment, checking people always have to check.

Contamination (Mental Contamination)

It’s a dirty world out there and contamination is just a few hand shakes away.

The compulsion is the need to wash and clean, while the thought that contamination may cause illness and eventually death to oneself and to other people is frightening.

Hoarding

As the word itself, it’s the paralyzing fear of letting things go. It’s too emotional and they can’t handle it.

Ruminations

Now this one is tricky. Here’s what OCD-UK has to say:

It’s a train of prolonged thinking about a question or theme that is undirected and unproductive. Unlike obsessional thoughts, ruminations are not objectionable and are indulged rather than resisted. Many ruminations dwell on religious, philosophical, or metaphysical topics, such as the origins of the universe, life after death, the nature of morality, and so on.

Dragging stuff, if you ask me. But it’s nice to know there are others out there like me.

Fast forward to young adulthood and I’ve discovered how to stay true to myself, while co-existing harmoniously with the outside world: retaliating on the inside via GIFs.

When someone touches you without your permission:

When someone touches you with your permission:

Disinfecting after a contact, thinking people weren’t watching but they are:

Someone dips into the pool without taking a shower:

When someone spits in public:

On people trash-talking the government obsessing with cleanliness:

People accuse you of OCD and you’re caught off-guard:

When someone’s pet tries to lick you:

When the family pet tries to lick you:

Someone borrows your disinfectant and forgot where they left it:

Someone in TV does something gross and others didn’t seem to be bothered by it:

In a crowded, slow and poorly-ventilated elevator: