Everything must be ordered in a straight line. There can be nothing out of drawers in hotel rooms. And if a number of objects prevents you from establishing proportions, what a fright. If this sounds familiar to you, it is likely that, as David Beckham has confessed during the recording of a documentary series, you suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It is a set of obsessions and obsessive behaviors of different kinds that cause anxiety in those who suffer from them and can end up affecting the normal development of their daily lives.
Obsessive compulsive disorders or OCD are characterized by the appearance of intrusive thoughts continuously, which may have their origin in obsessions that surprise their patients since childhood. Beyond the most common, such as those related to order, cleanliness, or checking, the American Psychiatric Association has documented other compulsions that can affect the population.
The order of how to do according to what things is one of the patterns that society can most easily associate with some type of disorder. There are people who are really obsessed with the order of objects who cannot avoid that everything is placed in their own way. The clothes in the closets, the furniture in the living room or the work backpack: for what the rest of mortals can be a banal matter, for those who suffer from this type of OCD it is of vital importance. Symmetries, colors or sizes, everything must govern certain guidelines that cannot be compromised.
Fear of germs or contamination can socially hinder people who have obsessive thoughts about cleanliness. And it is that, the lack of personal contact or avoiding shaking hands with another person, will end up reporting negative consequences, for example, in the workplace, but, above all, for their own mental health.
Within this, a subtype could be included, that of hypochondriacs. Those who suffer from this OCD worry about their health constantly, they tend to measure their vital signs or go to the doctor very frequently, and they anticipate linking any symptom with the development of a disease.
There are people who dwell on the details of the simplest action with the sole purpose of executing it perfectly. These are normally subjects with a high sense of criticism and self-demand, who attach too much importance to details that others may overlook.
We all probably know someone who repeats an action endlessly for no apparent reason. This includes any act that, as strange as it may be, if you have OCD, you will not be able to avoid it.
Some obsessive compulsive disorders are linked to beliefs or superstitions. People with this type of OCD practice rituals with which they believe to attract good omens or drive away bad luck. In short, they cannot put aside their amulets for fear that something bad could happen to them.
A similar disorder is one that has to do with numerology and with the particular obsession of counting tiles, steps or any other object, to the point of occupying a large part of their thoughts.