Hi there! Thanks for this. While I won't be responding to every comment (as my publisher said it can get rabid in here!), I wanted to hop on this, as this one's important.
I’m very much a “you don’t have OCD just because you like a clean room” person. You might have OCD if you find yourself repeatedly cleaning as a ritualized response to a trauma trigger, only to come-to 2 hours later. Or if a long-lasting intrusive thought is tethered to idly cleaning. Frankly, I’m not the most tidy.
My OCD often overlaps with my maladaptive daydreaming, frequently triggered by internalized asymmetry. What’s helped most is intentionally scheduled task completion as ritual delay, an accommodation that supports both my compulsions and my ADHD. Writing down my parachosm (which later became my sci fi "Death Tango") helped accommodate my intrusive daydreaming; similarly, writing down my “bright ideas” acts as ritual delay and self-accommodation for compulsions.
I keep it light in the book, as I've kept it pretty light here, because I’m protective of my OCD diagnosis.
I’m very much a “you don’t have OCD just because you like a clean room” person. You might have OCD if you find yourself repeatedly cleaning as a ritualized response to a trauma trigger, only to come-to 2 hours later. Or if a long-lasting intrusive thought is tethered to idly cleaning. Frankly, I’m not the most tidy.
My OCD often overlaps with my maladaptive daydreaming, frequently triggered by internalized asymmetry. What’s helped most is intentionally scheduled task completion as ritual delay, an accommodation that supports both my compulsions and my ADHD. Writing down my parachosm (which later became my sci fi "Death Tango") helped accommodate my intrusive daydreaming; similarly, writing down my “bright ideas” acts as ritual delay and self-accommodation for compulsions.
I keep it light in the book, as I've kept it pretty light here, because I’m protective of my OCD diagnosis.