Everyone's a little bit crazy (normalising thread)

[Shortstuff]

You know those little tags on the back of clothing that name the manufacturer, item size and wash conditions? If they are pointing up outside of people's clothing I get a desperate urge to tuck them back in for them...

...

it's a sartorial thing...

...

...I hope.




Campion.

I totally have that too! They'd probably think it was a bit weird though if a total stranger came and rearranged their clothing lol.

I also have the numbers issue on for the TV volume - it has to be a multiple of 5 first and failing that i can accept 3 or 7 because they are halfway between 0 and 5. I could never have the volume on 9 though! My flatmate makes fun of me for it and tries to hide the remote so i can't change it

And i have a weird thoughts about my feet getting the same treatment. So if one foot steps on a crack in the pavement i have to step on another crack with my other foot so that they are even. Makes no sense and i probably look strange walking down the street trying to find cracks to step on lol. For a while the feeling went away but it seems to be coming back again. Anyone else ever had this problem? Would be good to know i'm not alone!

[Gilly]

Ms Gilly cant sleep with a duvet the wrong way round (with the poppers near her face) because she thinks spiders will come out at her face.

[Baneen03]

Ms Gilly cant sleep with a duvet the wrong way round (with the poppers near her face) because she thinks spiders will come out at her face.

OH MY DAYS YES!!!! I can't bare the thought of having the poppers or buttons near my face. Much to the dispair of Mrs Baneen if I ever have to do some duvet rearranging during the night.

I also can't stand the thought of seeing a drawer which isn't shut properly. I've tried walking away and ignoring it before but I just ruminate about it even more. White bear anyone?

[tarasian]

i have to set three alarms every morning - incase i sleep through the first two

[keepcalm1985]

Ms Gilly cant sleep with a duvet the wrong way round (with the poppers near her face) because she thinks spiders will come out at her face.

OH MY DAYS YES!!!! I can't bare the thought of having the poppers or buttons near my face. Much to the dispair of Mrs Baneen if I ever have to do some duvet rearranging during the night.

I also can't stand the thought of seeing a drawer which isn't shut properly. I've tried walking away and ignoring it before but I just ruminate about it even more. White bear anyone?

Mr KeepCalm can't stand this either!!

i have to set three alarms every morning - incase i sleep through the first two

Having once slept through my alarm, I now have to check I've set mine properly at least 5 or 6 times before I go to sleep each night, very annoying! I frequently have the 'placing bets with myself' thoughts mentioned before, as well as sometimes when I'm waiting for things to happen, I'll mentally count down from 5 or 10 to the point at which I think it will happen, and repeat this until it does....

[fledgling]

This is a great thread- well resurrected, Gilly.

I identify with a lot of things people have already said about checking: that I haven't run over cyclists; that I locked the door/windows; that I set the alarm clock(s!); turned off the cooker/straighters...I'm a big checker . Sometimes after sealing a letter to a client, I feel I have to open it again to check I haven't accidentally put another client's notes in the envelope, or written something rude in the letter (why would I have?!). Wastes a lot of envelopes. I do wonder whether, if didn't have the knowledge that I do about OCD and CBT, this might have developed into a problem in need of intervention...

One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned (which curiously, I was discussing with colleagues just last week as a few of them have the same issue)- I cannot stand hearing people eat. If someone is chewing crisps or something else noisy in the same room I have to fight the urge to throw them a dirty look and walk out !

I did (briefly) experience some auditory hallucinations while I was revising for my undergrad finals and very sleep deprived. I'd hear our doorbell ringing on repeat 'ding-dong...ding-dong...ding-dong...' The first few times it happened I assumed someone outside was playing a prank, or the button was stuck, and went downstairs to see what was going on! Few good nights' sleep sorted it out.

As for the duvet thing...why would you EVER have the buttons/poppers at the top?! I seriously don't understand .

[Posie]

I constantly tap out a rhythm to a tune, whatever I am doing. So if I am chewing food, I chew 'in time' to whatever earworm is going round my head at the moment. I grind my teeth to a rhythm, constantly jiggle my feet and fidget my fingers, all 'in time' to a rhythm that only I can hear. If I am in a session with a client, where fidgeting is not appropriate, I have to practically sit on my hands to stop the tapping

[choirgirl]

i have to set three alarms every morning - incase i sleep through the first two

DITTO. Only difference being, for me it's not "in case", but rather "because"!!

[coffeemate]

I can't believe I've never seen this before, fab thread!

I get the very strong sensation that either I'm moving very fast/the world is moving slow or the other way round. It's usually when I'm concentrating very hard on something and when I notice it, I get a very strong feeling of being outside myself, so disassociation I guess. I get thought echo; it used upset me because it would get so loud I couldn't think and the shouting scared me a little, but not such a problem these days.

Whenever I'm stressed, I always worry about the house burning down, leaving the door unlocked etc. . . .

It wasn't until I started working in mental health I found out these were psychiatric symptoms and associated with schizophrenia. Honestly, I was worried for a little bit; until I realised that they've never really bothered me and I rarely experience them as intrusive. Now, I tend to think these are just weird things and everyone has experiences like these, leading me to question the validity of the schizophrenia diagnosis and the usefullness of diagnoses more generally.

[RobinWall]

I know this probably isn't too strange, but when I used to cycle to work, it was always on a very quiet road, and I just used to get the urge to shout out random obscenities. There was something about having the wind blowing in my face, and swearing at the top of my voice that was exhilarating.

Obviously there were times when I was coming round a corner and hadn't spotted a person walking their dog, and I would feel my face flush red, pedal really frantically to get away...and weirdly start swearing again. By the time I got to work though, whatever mood I was in initially, I always felt great.

Although I only usually did this on windy or rainy days or if something was really bothering me.

Robin

[Aoifleur]

I constantly tap out a rhythm to a tune, whatever I am doing. So if I am chewing food, I chew 'in time' to whatever earworm is going round my head at the moment. I grind my teeth to a rhythm, constantly jiggle my feet and fidget my fingers, all 'in time' to a rhythm that only I can hear. If I am in a session with a client, where fidgeting is not appropriate, I have to practically sit on my hands to stop the tapping

I completely have this too! I ALWAYS have music in my head and tap and fidget along to it. I also find it very hard not to mouth the words if I'm listening to music in my headphones when I'm out and about. I often get some strange looks... I walk in time to the music as well, which means that when the song changes sometimes I suddenly slow down or speed up walking. Occasionally I can see my bus coming and I'm walking in time to a song that won't get me to it in time but it's really hard to break out of the rhythm!

[Peach]

Whenever I'm the first one to get home and the house is all dark, I always open the door just a tiny bit and shout "If there are any ghosts can you kindly disappear please because I'm very scared of you", I then wait a few seconds before going inside to give them time to 'disappear' and then I rush inside and turn all the lights on as quickly as possible.

I also get really agitated by raw unwashed vegetables, whenever possibly I always try to buy prepacked 'washed and ready to use' vegetables because I can't stand the sight of insects on them. Even if I wash the veg thoroughly before I cook it I'm convinced I'm also eating bugs. Also because of a few stories I've read about people finding weird things like frogs in their lettuce I get paranoid about green vegetables because I'm convinced that a frog or reptile is lurking in there.

I also don't like storing eggs outside of a fridge because I'm convinced that storing them at room temperature is going to make it hatch into a little chick. And whenever I crack an egg open I always hold my breath in anticipation that a chick is going to fall out.

I have lots of little irrational thoughts like this but I think I've shared enough...

[jemma.c]

I get the very strong sensation that either I'm moving very fast/the world is moving slow or the other way round. It's usually when I'm concentrating very hard on something and when I notice it, I get a very strong feeling of being outside myself, so disassociation I guess.

I get this all the time! Especially if i'm walking somewhere very crowded. I try to explain it to people and they just look at me strangely

I'm also very paranoid about the little clear gridded panes they have on the edge of the pavement near buildings, I assumed they're some kind of drain covers but for some reason I thought they housed wasps when I was a child and I have never got over the unease of walking near them...

Although apparently I was told they are for letting light into basements http://glassian.org/Prism/Vault/index.html I'm still not convinced

[Shazzy]

When I climb stairs where there are gaps and you can see the floor, I get dizzy and my breathing gets heavy. May just be a general fear of heights...I don't like being on high platforms...I don't feel very secure...

When I watch a very scary movie. If I go to the bathroom, I can't look at the mirror, 'cause I feel like something might jump out and eat me.. ...LOL! I also have to sleep with the hallway light on, because I need to be able to see what's happening around me. Nevertheless, I do love watching scary movies.

[keepcalm1985]

Going a little off point, but if you haven't come across it before, Postsecret always seems to have some interesting and unusual bits and bobs http://www.postsecret.com/