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GenePoole · Dec 8, 2007, 08:16 PM

Not a serious problem compared to so many posted here.

When I leave my house, after I've locked the door and taken a few steps, 9 times out of ten I have to go back inside for some reason. For example, I forgot to take a letter I was going to mail. Once in a while, when I'm about to go back in, I don't, just because it irritates me that I have this habit. But I'll only do this if it's not important, like with the example of the letter. But usually it's more important, like a grocery list when my only reason for going out is to go shopping.

To an objective observer (fortunately, I don't think anyone in my neighborhood bothers to keep track of me) it would seem like I'm OCD. But I don't feel any anxiety, no compelling need to go back in the house, just a practical need. It's not a forgetfulness problem, I'm forgetful like a lot of people else but not in any way that's a problem.

J_9 · Dec 8, 2007, 08:23 PM

Okay, well, not to make light of your situation, but what other pressing needs are in your life?

Are you a student?
Mother/father?
What kind of job?

I find myself doing this frequently too, but I am a full time college student (43 years old), mother of 4, and a nurse extern. It may be that you just have other pressing things on your mind and some of these things are trivial compared to your actual life.

Julia1015 · Dec 9, 2007, 05:37 AM

What you are describing is not a compulsion or an obsession. An obsession is a repeating thought about something or someone, a compulsion is repeating deed. Both to the point of causing anxiety and interfering with your life in some respect. Forgetting things before you leave the house may be a sign of ADHD, being too busy, being unorganized, etc. I would need more information before I could fully answer your question.

GenePoole · Dec 9, 2007, 06:55 PM

Thank you J-9 (I'm sorry about that bunny!). Thank you Julia. I'm not busy or stressed but I am a bit ADHD. So that might be it. When I focus, I really focus. But much of the rest of the time, I'm an airhead.

J_9 · Dec 9, 2007, 06:58 PM

Again Gene, what is the rest of your life like? Being a "bit ADHD" is saying you are a "bit pregnant"

Are you a student? Do you have a family? What is the rest of your life like?

GenePoole · Dec 9, 2007, 07:21 PM

Hi J 9,
What I meant by "a bit" ADHD is that I don't have it very bad. Surely, there is a continuum. Like with depression, some people are mildly depressed, some people are in despair. When I was a student (as in, enrolled in school), I learned to compensate, for example, I'd study in the quietest corner of the library where there were no distractions. I'd make outlines.

J_9 · Dec 9, 2007, 07:37 PM

Again, what is your daily life like? Are you married? Do you have children? Are you a student?

I would love to answer better, but without knowing your life and daily routine it is near impossible to give an adequate answer.

GenePoole · Dec 9, 2007, 07:46 PM

J-9,
Thank you for your concern but really, it's not a serious problem, this quirk of going back into the house for something forgotten. There are so many more serious issues posted that you could address. As Julia1015 pointed out, it's not OCD if it's not interfering in ones life. My "problem" is not interfering in my life at all.

KISS · Dec 9, 2007, 08:14 PM

Poor short-term memory. I have to compensate too. It means lists and putting things where most people wouldn't. If I needed to have something in my hand like a letter before I left the house. It would be on the floor, by the door.

Keys and wallet have fixed places to be. My shoes, my pocket, the bowl and one other temporary location.