Normal or OCD

ciderwithrosie_2

OP, what would her reaction be if you said, for example, 'sorry love, but I'm not going to wait for you to open the garage door for me, I'd like to go in and out of my own front door when I like'?


I can't imagine my husband putting up with anything like this at all - you must have the patience of a saint!

Waves_and_Smiles

We all have OCD to an extent, we are just in different places on the spectrum-throwing salt over ones shoulder and other superstitions are the lesser signs of it as are eccentricities. It does sound like your wife has a degree of OCD but it is only a problem if it stops the individual or those around them being able to function in 'ordinary life' in a way that causes discomfort or worse.

I have severe OCD and have to be medicated for it and have had treatment because it reached a point where I could hardly function but that isn't always the case at all. Unless your wife or you are upset by these behaviours then there is no reason why they can't continue. You might find they get a little more severe at times of stress, this is also common because in that way OCD is a way to gain control when everything feels out of control. Just keep an eye on it and make sure that they don't begin to have adverse effects but otherwise enjoy her uniqueness!

Marisco

ciderwithrosie wrote: »

OP, what would her reaction be if you said, for example, 'sorry love, but I'm not going to wait for you to open the garage door for me, I'd like to go in and out of my own front door when I like'?


I can't imagine my husband putting up with anything like this at all - you must have the patience of a saint!

Yes, I'd like to know that as well! The trouble is though, he has been pandering to her for so long, he'll find it hard to put his foot down now.

theoretica

This sounds interestingly similar to various old children's books - with the parlour furniture under wraps and only sat in when visitors come or perhaps on Sundays, father made to take off his boots when he came in and the front door only used for weddings and funerals!

Which ones bug you most?

tea_lover

Amazing how many people on here are qualified to diagnose a mental health condition.

indsty

I presume you have "put up" with her wishes for many many years. Now you find yourself beginning to get a bit more annoyed about it. You need to decide whether it is something that you can continue to put up with because you are fond of your wife, or whether it has got worse or to the point where you are getting increasingly cross about it. What do you think would happen if you went against her wishes? Would she be really hurt/upset/angry? Have you tried to broach the subject with her before?

lostinrates

theoretica wrote: »

This sounds interestingly similar to various old children's books - with the parlour furniture under wraps and only sat in when visitors come or perhaps on Sundays, father made to take off his boots when he came in and the front door only used for weddings and funerals!

Which ones bug you most?

Front door rarely being used is not unusual at all in some rural homes. Sometimes goes along with the tradition that you leave by the same door you enter, so if you arrive by the front door you don't slip out the back door. Some people moving to rural areas are disconcerted that it can be quite hard to get people to use the front door, in fact it can be considered 'odd' and even inconsiderate to make people uncomfortable.

Gigervamp

It doesn't sound like a rural thing though as OP has to go through the garage.

Grouchy

Clicked on this thread by mistake and don't normally comment on personal issues but OP you should know your situation best and these things are very specific to personalities/situation. Generalisation can be misleading.. Perhaps it might be best to talk to someone close to you or perhaps talk to your GP (or other professional) if you are concerned/worried?

Apologies for poking my nose in. And best wishes.

Georgiegirl256

tea_lover wrote: »

Amazing how many people on here are qualified to diagnose a mental health condition.

No one is diagnosing anything, merely offering up an opinion to the question asked by the OP.

If it's helped the OP in understanding his wife's 'ways' then IMO it can only be beneficial.

Maybe some of us who have answered view things differently and can empathise because we suffer from OCD which without any doubt has the potential to be a debilitating illness.

Like has already been mentioned, the scale on which it affects different people can vary greatly. Whether or not it is has got to such an extent that his wife does need to get professional help is their call.