Pissing people with actual OCD off: yes and no.  

The "yes" would be if people in this thread started insisting this stuff really is OCD.

The "no" is that no one is saying that, and I'm not all uptight about it.  

I'm not "OCD" about my TFs. But I have real OCD. Nothing in this thread is real OCD... *but* I know what they mean and I'm not a fan of getting all wound up about people re-purposing the term like this.

 

clean displays, that's about it.

 

I'm OCD in that I like to buy every main line Transformer off the shelves whenever a new wave is released

 

Definitely with you on the faces, Dai Omega...that's why I'm glad so many of them are packaged in robot mode now.

 

The only issue I have is I can't walk off and keep them in mid transformation.

 

If you are one of them, I apologize. But as for me, I have OCD that just about a year ago was completely crippling, and I still medicate for it. While I have made tremendous progress since I notice that my recently started Transformers collecting is a new arena where the condition rears its ugly face. I also read posts in other threads suggesting others in the fandom might have similar experiences, and if so, maybe we can laugh about it together, no offense intended!

I would say yes and no, I don´t think there´s a clear line between regular general anal/neatfreakish behavior and actual OCD. I´d say all people have some things they are especially particular about, it can be things they don´t like or just small rituals in their everyday life. This is simply human behavior and we call it OCD as soon as it has a measurable effect of impediment on someone´s life. In that sense, you could call a lot of the stuff being brought up here actual OCD, it´s just a matter of definition. As for me, I don´t mind people getting relaxed about the term and saying "I´m OCD about...", I think it just normalizes the condition in people´s eyes and makes it less stigmatizing for us actual having being diagnosed with it.

 

All my MP's are Collector graded and MISB. Never opened a SINGLE ONE.

 

Your sig made me lol for like 2 minutes.  

On another note.

I'm not going to say much about this nor am I going to read through this thread so forgive me if this was said, but If you have OCD about a "toy"? You should probably seek help because it is not that serious.....

 

Well, kind of. But there is a solid clinical definition for it that must be respected, so that sufferers of it can get proper treatment. The danger with people self-diagnosing anal behaviors as real OCD is that it dilutes the understanding of the seriousness of the real thing.

I often describe it to folks as "it's not genuine OCD unless it has ruined your life". An exaggeration of course, but the point being that untreated OCD is, as you said, genuinely crippling. Untreated it will very likely eventually wreck one's career, relationships, and freedom (OCD loves to confine one to "safe" places like home).

For anyone else reading, here's a good summary from our old pal Wikipedia:

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry, repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning, repeated checking, extreme hoarding, preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts, relationship-related obsessions, aversion to particular numbers and nervous rituals such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room. These symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and financial distress. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, OCD sufferers generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational and may become further distressed by this realization.

The phrase obsessive–compulsive has become part of the English lexicon, and is often used in an informal or caricatured manner to describe someone who is excessively meticulous, perfectionistic, absorbed, or otherwise fixated. Although these signs are present in OCD, a person who exhibits them does not necessarily have OCD, but may instead have obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), an autism spectrum disorder, or disorders where perseveration (hyperfocus) is a feature in ADHD, PTSD, bodily disorders, or just a habit problem.

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Sorry, a little off on a tangent folks. Back to TF obsessing.  

 

A valid point, most definitely!

Right on!  

 

Every Optimus I have (Well over a hundred) has to have a Sword! Dose that count? LoL.

 

For those members here with real OCD, and are collectors of TFs, what types of behaviours do you exhibit with respect to your TF collections?

I'm curious, as I am pretty picky about things and believe I may have gone down a different road when I was younger regarding OCD-like behaviours.

If you feel comfortable about sharing such things, I would appreciate it as it.

 

They had to have their body and limbs proportional in order for me to even look at them.

Primary reason why I loathed RotF Leader Megatron (and yes I now have a junker of him, and am looking for parts).

 

Not for the most part.

It really depends on which particular aspect of collecting that's in question for me. Of course with sealed items I am. With Masterpiece I can be, but probably not as much as some people. With G1, again, it depends, as I'm getting there very much so with paperwork, but condition of figrues I'm not so much.

Maybe I have OCD for my OCD?  

 

I have to admit that I think any collecting is a reaction to something (most human behaviour is).

Maybe to feel safe and secure, to feel like you're good at something, that you matter, etc.

Did anyone watch the tv show about someone call Grim or something? He collected action figures, mainly Transformers and wrestlers, and his marriage was on the brink of cracking up due to his manic collecting ways.

He kept saying he was a toy collecting legend. That might be true, but fact is he was a legend in a very niche community - i.e. the "king of nothing", really, if you ask me.

That was a scary program.

But's obviously a dangerous discussion given the company we're all in  

 

No I embrace Chaos rather than try to tame it.

 

As for me, I had an incident with a visiting friend not washing his hands after taking a leak, and through a series of events I felt my FOC Vortex had gotten "contaminated". Nevertheless I persisted in combining him with the other Combaticons to Bruticus... Only now, the whole group was "contaminated". And eventually, all the figures on the same shelf felt "contaminated". So I spent like 200 dollars to get new ones for all of these, Bruticus included. Only some of the new ones has worse paint jobs on their faces (got them from Amazon), so I´m still dissatisfied with that part of my collection. Right both now the old and the new ones are in boxes and I´m figuring out what to do. Sell the old ones and display the new ones with (at least perceived) inferior paint jobs? Stick with the old ones and live with the constant, irritating feeling that they are somehow filthy every time I look at them? Or keep all of them, selling off the new, boxed ones some day in the future? Right now, I just keep them out of sight as it exhausts me thinking about it.

There, a glimpse into the mind of someone with OCD...

 

I've often worried about people's cavalier use of the OCD label. I'll be the first to admit that I use it simply because it's a lot easier than saying "I'm really damned picky about damned near everything." Kind of like saying "I didn't see your text" when what you really meant was "I left my phone on the table at a restaurant and had to retrace my steps from the last two hours until I found it, and by then the battery was dead."

I think a lot of people are guilty of "abbreviating" actual situations because it makes things easier. I hope this doesn't come across as being disrespectful to people with real conditions that they struggle with.

I'm not OCD...I'm just really damned picky about damned near everything. R.D.P.A.D.N.E.?

 

lol, quoted for truth!

 

Thank you for sharing that! My wife has OCPD, which thankfully hasn't devolved into full-blown OCD, and I can relate.