Bit of a wierd one

[Dark Orb Choir]

for years i have had this weird way of counting stuff, like if i see a car numberplate and its W324XTG it would add the numbers together

3+2+4 = 9 then as there are 3 numbers i would add the 2 together so

so
9 and 3 = 12 then i go 12 (plus 1 for 9 and 1 for the 3 then add 1) = 15

So i am walking down the street and the first number plate doesn't produce an even number i add that total number (15) to the total number of the next car number plate hoping it works out at an even number.

i also count lots of other stuff, like tiles and trees and all sorts of inane objects just to make an even number

i have been doing this for as long as i can remember and i was watching a program about OCD and i saw a person who did a little of what i do, low and behold.

OCD Technique 4 - Contact Counting OCDaily - Home of the Kittridge Farrell Experience?

i know i have always been a bit different to other people but its good to at last see a reason for it.

i most likely have ADD as well but in a really mild form. (Which could explain some of my outbursts in previuos posts and my attitude in IRC

i know i am opening myself up for a shit load of flaming and piss take but i just thought that i would share with you what for me is a big deal as i have lived with this for along time

 

[Thorwyn]

I think it´s great that you found it out!
Nothing worse than living with a feeling that something it´s right and you don´t have a clue what. Now that you made this step, it´s a good starting position to work on it. I don´t know wheter ADD is "cureable" or how it affects your life (apart from the IRC and forum outbursts that is), but at least you know that *if* and *when* you want to change something, you know where to start.

*thumbs up*

 

[Dark Orb Choir]

Thanks Thorwyn, sounds like i have fuck all serotonin in my brain, or the bits i do produce die really quickly.

looks like Prozac or some other evil drug for me.

/me rings dr's

 

[old.Osy]

I have it with words and/or phrases.

I count the letters 3 by 3, or 4 by 4, etc... trying to see if it's a round number per starting multiplying factor.

Take a simple phrase like "We deliver your stuff."

I'd count "We deliv" = 7, then "er your s" = 7, and then i'm left with "tuff" which is 4. I then split 4 by 2, because I have two groups of letters, 7 each, and add the 2 resulted from splitting the 4.

So I end up with re-reading the phrase - "We deliver" and "your stuff", and counting the letters in it - 9 + 9.

And then I start over with another number, like 5 or 4... etc.


This is just an example, I do this with very long phrases, counting words and letters in my head until I can fit it all in nice even tranches.


So this is a medical condition? I just thought I have a "thing", didn't realize it's been properly recognized as a condition.


PS: I too check the number plates of passing cars, we have them in the form of "B 12 XYZ", and I try to fit the last three letters into propositions.

example: "B 12 FHF" - I think of "Freddys House Forums", and then I realize that if you take the s from Freddys and stick it to House, you get even groups of 6 each...

(No, I'm not nuts.)

 

[georgie]

No, you're not nuts. But it's definite OCD behaviour.

 

[Dark Orb Choir]

let's make a Freddyshouse support group, i knew it wasn't just me that did this stuff.......

its just hard actually talking about it i suppose...

 

[Amanita]

It's something worth investigating but don't put all your faith in a self diagnosis. However, I am not sure if there's processes and stuff out there for OCD patients, the only contacts I have are with my scary and pervert step-uncle and one of mum's psychotherapy clients. My mum helped her client with her OCD a LOT.

 

[georgie]

I think it's officially classed as OCD if you spend more than an hour a day doing these things.

Or maybe I'm making that up...

 

[Lamp]

What would be amazing is if you've inadvertantly discovered some new mathematical constant through your sums

 

[kirennia]

I do a pretty similar thing and often confuse the hell out of my friends because when drunk, I openly talk about it.

I always picture words and sentences in my head. For me the ideal word count is different in that I love even numbers but my love for evens always ends in an odd... I should probably explain

If for example I have the same phrase, "We deliver your stuff" it counts up to 16 but I'll add a '.' in my head as I like for the final number to be more significant. 2 16's as such so basically, my method derived from being unhappy with end numbers having the same significance as the previous ones, I've ended up making the final word include more then one character. More often then not, these characters end up turning into boxes when the sentence is counted and arranged nicely in my head. Can't really example it that well to be honest. I'll draw a lil picture from an object I don't even have to look at to know how many letters it has in it My speakers...

"Cambridge soundworks"


edit: Bollocks...the thread messed this up... not gonna post the thing if it can't show it properly. Nevermind.

Basically, any sentence can work with my methodologies, even if I have to add a few exclamationmarks to get to an ideal point which is just out of bounds, I'll do it anyway and be happier for it.

15 is fantastic as it leaves 8 8's, 31 is brilliant as it's 16 16's... as you can see from this pattern, I like numbers with 2 squares. i.e. 2,4,8,16,32...I don't often get to 63 as with sentences that long, it's a rarity It'll equal exactly the perfect number. I do very often count up sentences to around that long though.

Another thing is angles and symmetry whereby I'll for example, while looking at the monitor, suddenly realise it isn't completely dead on straight so I'll adjust it, then adjust the way I'm seating so that all four corners line up equally around the edge... which gets mighty annoying sometimes as you can imagine.


Don't worry, you're not alone, I beleive it's quite a large portion of people who do this kind of thing but I'd put money on more people having these tendancies on a gaming forum then in normal life. With OCDs of such often come other trademarks, including different ways of social interaction. In general, I find myself extremely confident and one of the louder people in small groups but in large groups I get very easily distracted and thus, don't participate as much as others in conversations of this kind. Even when I get into large group conversations I often find myself leaving others to finish talking before starting myself but then comes the inherant problem of large group of people = a lot of points of view so often I don't get my words in which gets infuriating. The more years I've had this thing going on though, the quicker I've become at it so it's less of a problem now then it will be when my brain starts to slow down

With traits like this being common among OCD people, it's not difficult to see why online games and such attract them more then it would other people.

Also there is the tendancy to have an overactive mind which is why you find a large number of people with these 'problems' are often the most creative, do some very strange things and have sleeping problems.


It's one of those things which is a blessing and irritation at the same time.

As for the hour a day comment, if it's that little, I'd be very surprised because when you do these things, they tend to occur frequently... throughout the day... or maybe that's just me.

Interesting read too

 

[old.Osy]

Hah, re-reading my post, i noticed both my examples consist of 18 letters, 3 packs of 6, 2 packs of 9, 6 packs of 3's.

 

[kirennia]

Obsessive-compulsive disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Have just read that (trying to avoid work, heh). Absolutely fantastic read and has more confounded my theory of having OCD. Skipped the part about treatment though as I quite like mine .

What's interesting is that of those graduating from 'high-school' (darn americans!), more drop out then those who go on. Interestingly enough however, with regards to higher education such as university courses, a higher percentage of people are OCD sufferers. Will grab the stats for the lazy

Total percent in population : 2.5%

Of people not completing high-school : 3.4%
Of high school graduates : 1.9%

Degree graduates : 3.1%


So basically, it seems to either boost you or pull you back more then it does keep you normal, heh. This could however be attributed to the fact that the control group was only 20,000 people...


I wont ruin the rest of the read for you, just interesting to find that I have quite a few of those traits... maybe you do too

 

[old.Osy]

2.4 Inappropriate sexual thoughts

everyone on the planet has OCD, apparently.

 

[Amanita]

2.4 Inappropriate sexual thoughts

everyone on the planet has OCD, apparently.

Damn. I totally have it.

 

[Bugz]

As far as I know OCD takes place in so many forms that most cases are very unique.

I know I have a lot of trouble with stress-related OCD - repeatedly checking locks and windows to make sure their closed, turning the light on and off several times to make sure it is off, making sure the taps are turned off completely so no dripping occurs; arranging the contents of my pockets in the same way on my desk; washing my hands after coming in contact with anything; checking constantly to make sure I have the right amount of money for certain things.

Often mine springs from the fact my mind simply does not record whether I've done stuff and so I have to do it again and again till it registers. The best way for me is to say aloud what I'm doing: 'On - off' for a switch for example.

Ironically my dad is near enough the complete same (perhaps not as severe); so I'm guessing there must be something on a biological level which influences this.

It's an odd disorder none-the-less!

 

[Zenith]

There is treatment for OCD, and a few drugs to take to lower any depression that might come out of it. There is A LOT of different types of OCD, and links to other psychologicalconditions, so Id say you should look it up.

And a tip, dont go to your typical shrink as they wont be able to help you that much.. In Sweden the psychologists you should visit is called KBTpsychologists... Its in the line of the behaviourpsychology.

 

[ford prefect]

for years i have had this weird way of counting stuff, like if i see a car numberplate and its W324XTG it would add the numbers together ....

OCD is often a symptom of Asperger's Syndrome, especially when related to numbers. I have similar habbits and have AS.

 

[Zenith]

OCD is linked to some other diseases or symptomes but dont have to be anything more than just OCD.

 

[Billargh]

Hahah I do something very similar to that. Whenever I see a number plate, bus number or similar I'll count up the numbers in them, and if it ends in 9 or 19, it's a good 'un! Even numbers are boring.

Another one is I'll get a word in my head, and I'll count the lines needed to create the word. For example the word 'THE', two lines in T, three in H and four in E. Again, if I get them to add up to 9 or 19, I'm happy

 

[Bahumat]

I don't understand what the hell you guys are talking about so it seems I don't suffer from this lol.

 

[old.Osy]

Hahah I do something very similar to that. Whenever I see a number plate, bus number or similar I'll count up the numbers in them, and if it ends in 9 or 19, it's a good 'un! Even numbers are boring.

Another one is I'll get a word in my head, and I'll count the lines needed to create the word. For example the word 'THE', two lines in T, three in H and four in E. Again, if I get them to add up to 9 or 19, I'm happy

Hey, that's a cool one with the lines...

Now, my "thing" is not anywhere near compulsive, I sometimes urge myself to stop and look the other way - I forget about it quickly.

But I do have the reflex of doing it when i'm riding in a car for example, and I see the other cars in traffic, my eyes inadvertedly slide towards the number plates, or towards written signs (be it road signs, adverts, shops, etc).

I'm rarely stressed, and I don't think I have ever been depressed in my life.

But if I come to think of it, maybe that is why I gave up the driving school. I found I could not focus on many things simultaneously, and that caused me to make mistakes often.

longshot, maybe that is why I hated audiosurf

 

[Huntingtons]

i wash my hands alot

 

[Dark Orb Choir]

OCD is often a symptom of Asperger's Syndrome, especially when related to numbers. I have similar habbits and have AS.

are you on any medication for this, the problem in all this is i think my son is affected in the same way, we have got an assesment once a week for 3 weeks starting in January, i think its going to entail something like it says in Wikipedia for AS

"The current "gold standard" in diagnosing ASDs combines clinical judgment with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)—a semistructured parent interview—and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)—a conversation and play-based interview with the child"

 

[ileks]

Why is it called a disorder? Does it even need an official name? We all have habits like the ones people are describing in this thread. In fact I doubt there's a person on the planet who doesn't do something obviously pointless on a regular basis.

 

[Cadelin]

Why is it called a disorder? Does it even need an official name? We all have habits like the ones people are describing in this thread. In fact I doubt there's a person on the planet who doesn't do something obviously pointless on a regular basis.

I tend to agree. Everybody has little habits and things they do when they are a bit bored.

Dark Orb Choir, ask yourself this, before you found out about this did you feel that this little counting game had a negative impact on your life?

 

[Ezteq]

hay you wont find me taking the piss when my agoraphobia kicks in i do some well wierd stuff lol and none of it as useful as adding things up either!

we all have our ways of being, some call it disorders i prefer to think of them as personally suited coping mechanisms, i mean your brain must have some reason for doing these right? even if its just to stop it thinking about other things.

anyhoo, like Lamp said what if you manage to find the sum that explains the meaning of life in a numberplate or something lol, that'd be cool.