5 Signs I am Still an OCD Case

I write all the time about my recovery, but I sometimes neglect to mention that many of my OCD quirks continue, even though I’m not paralyzed and anxious like I used to be.

I don’t need an OCD screening quiz to know what I’m up against. Here are five signs that the condition is always there below the surface:

Mood music:

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–1. The other day, after putting away a new pair of boots and new pants, I opened and closed the drawer two or three times to make sure everything was in place.

–2. When Duncan was doing his homework yesterday, the table cloth on the kitchen table kept wrinkling up. I knew it was pointless to fix until he was done, but I kept trying to do so repeatedly.

–3. Whenever the kids pull the bottom cushions off the couch, it makes me CRAZY.

–4. Whenever I get ready to leave my office in Framingham, I check the position of the chair once or twice to make sure the leather arms aren’t rubbing up against the desk.

–5. When I’m in the car, I put my Android phone in one of the empty drink holders. Obsessed with keeping it from going into locked mode, I repeatedly flick at the device with my index finger. 

Don’t worry. I’m fine. Though these little things persist, the insidious parts of the condition have not come back — namely the fear, anxiety and out-of-control worry.

Those are the things that make a disorder impossible to live with.

The rest I think I can handle.