Day 131 - Obsessions and Compulsions

An obsession is a thought, an idea, or an image that you cannot get out of your mind. Common obsessions involve doubts, fears, orderliness, aggression, and sexual images. A compulsion is a feeling that you have to do something. Compulsions are physical or mental acts that you perform over and over. Common compulsions include counting, washing, arranging and checking things again and again. When these tendencies are exaggerated, it is called an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Sometimes I am concerned that I have an obsessive personality - often I cannot stop myself thinking about something in circles with no constructive resolution whatsoever. Thankfully, over time I have learnt how to let those thoughts run their course in my head without my active participation. I have a concern about being a bit compulsive, too. Luckily, my permanent and temporary compulsions are of a pretty constructive nature: reading, cooking, working, learning.

But my obsessive compulsions are nothing in comparison to what is happening around me today. The four of us - Liang, Javier, Tanya, and I - are hanging out at home today, because I'm still having a migraine after yesterday's incident, and they are all keeping me company. Well, at least that was the original plan. However...

Tanya set up a Scrabble game on her iPhone to be able to play it with her boyfriend Michael (who is now in NYC), so they Scrabble-municate all day long. The problem is that Tanya is super competitive (although she would probably never admit it), and when she makes a move, it's not just any move, it's a move that will gain her the most possible points (even if she has to obsessively think about re-arranging the 7 letters on her board over and over again all day long - I am not exaggerating), at the same time leaving no good options on the board for her opponent. I mean, those are commendable skills and intentions, but, Dear God, is it scary to look at her possessed face absent to the outside world! And now she contaminated Liang as well! Both of them are living on the Scrabble board today.

Javier is running in and out of the house finding more and more tasks for himself to do. Finally, his excess of energy finds an oulet in turning all the fruits in our fridge into some kind of refreshing beverages. Yield - a juice-bar selection of delicious tropical drinks. Not bad, I have to admit.

In the midst of these obsessions and compulsions of others around me, all concerns about my potential OCD fade away and I feel absolutely normal. Aha, I guess that is what friends are for:).