those of you who have non-functional routines/rituals

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For those of you who have these, please describe what they consist of for you.

I have some rituals but I am not sure if they are related to AS (which I have been diagnosed with or OCD (which I didn't meet DSM criteria for but have been told by my psychiatrist that I have "OCD traits")

For example , one of them consists of taking a shower by washing different parts of my hair i.e. front, back, underneath in a specific order for 10 seconds for each part of my hair. I have to count "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi etc". If I lose count (because my mind wanders) I begin the count again. I have a few others like it. I also have a strong preference for sameness . However I don't have any routines/rituals that involve doing things at particular times. In fact my sense of time is terrible and I've never been able to establish a routine regarding what time I go to sleep, wake up, eat etc. A lot of my rituals involve counting or doing things a certain number of times, as well as doing things in a certain order.

I want to see what sort of "strict adherence to rituals or routines” you have (those of you that have this symptom , so I can compare yours to my own.

Non-functional is a word that's an outsider's judgement, it doesn't mean it's nonfunctional to the person. The new criteria probably won't even have the word non-functional in it (possibly for that reason).

I don't have a lot of good examples because if they happen, they happen -- I don't spend time thinking about it. I'm someone who needs a certain amount of sameness in some respects, but strict routines throughout the day aren't possible for me because my body is not on a normal circadian rhythm. (I have "irregular sleep-wake pattern", as well as another sleep disorder that basically seems to make me sleep much more than I used to, probably sleep apnea but I haven't got my results back yet so I don't know. Something requiring a breathing machine because they're about to fit me to one.)

It's mainly when a routine is broken that I notice it, because all of a sudden I can't function.

I have structured routines that must occur within certain periods of time, but I have developed the ability to leave certain times unstructured. I must take two baths per day, and certain things must occur in that time period; and I must arrive at work 20 mins early, and I must perform certain rituals when I arrive.

I must listen to certain NPR programs; I must have THIS food as I watch this TV show; we MUST do this on Thursdays or at six o' clock.

I also have irregular sleep-wake rhythms which interfere with work when they change my schedule as we are open from 12-10:30 or 10:45-10:30, later for big openings. My schedule is in flux right now as we have a new GM and I do not want to address issues with him if not necessary.

I have a few. Although, I believe they were attributed to OCD. I use to have to take a certain number of baths a day, at my worst it was four (I didn't allow that for too long), for a while it was 2, one when I woke up and one when I came home from work, this was my ritual for a long time. Now I usually take a morning shower (old place didn't have a shower) and a shower after work, but sometimes I skip the shower. However I at least have to wash my face and brush my teeth. If I've slept for any amount of time and don't do both (especially brush my teeth), I won't be able to enjoy anything. Strangly, when I was younger I didn't bathe much at all, I would go many days in a row without batheing, go figure. I also don't like to do things three times, I often times avoid two times because if I do it again, that will be three. Everything after that is alright until I hit 13, or 23, ect. However, if I do something that many times, I usually don't count that far, I've conditioned myself to lose count so I can be free from the ritual. I get scared easily too, and if I stay at the number three, and I'm alone, I can get a little freaked out, especially at night. I remember thinking when I was really young, "Does everyone feel this way about a specific number? I've never heard anyone mention that. Am I crazy?". I was suprised when I found out there are many other people that are the same way. I've had lots of rituals and tics over the years. Nowadays I either break the habbit or make it unnoticable when I'm around other people. It use to be really bad, but I try to stop it whenever I notice it, it's hard but my efforts have slowly gained me results over the years. I would reccomend trying to suppress them if possible, they never did me any good and I'm always glad when I get rid of one.

If by "non-functional" you mean "unnecessary," then yes, I do have those. I consider them functional only insofar as they are relevant to my well-being. I also do things in a specific order, including washing parts of my body in the shower, putting on my clothes in a particular order, preparing for the day in a particular order, and other things.

When I wake up in the morning, usually around 4:00-5:00 AM, this is my routine:

1. Make coffee.
2. Have cigarette while waiting for coffee to brew.
3. Pour brewed coffee into cup and have another cigarette while drinking coffee.
4. Go back to my bedroom and spend time on internet for 2-3 hours.
5. Decide to take shower (sometimes I shower every other day)
6. Take over-shirt off, then pants, then undershirt, then socks.
7. Go into shower, or else shave first and then go into shower.
8. *Cue shower washing routine*
9. Exit shower.
10. Put clean underwear on.
11. Put under-shirt on.
12. Put socks on.
13. Put pants on.
14. Put over-shirt on (usually sweatshirt, fleece, plaid/flannel shirt, or lumberjack)
15. Put crocs on.
16. *Cue teeth cleaning routine*

After step 16 I am considered prepared for the day.

Another activity of mine that involves routine and is unnecessary is my coffee/driving ritual. I don't perform this ritual every day, but only on days when I either have the time or when I feel like it. It involves driving to the coffee shop, ordering coffee, and then going on a drive. I usually follow a specific circuit that takes me from the coffee shop to my house and is approximately 20 miles long, usually taking about 20-25 minutes to complete.

That is my algorithmic life-style in a nutshell.

I've counted my steps to four for as long as I can remember. I don't know why I do it and I don't have to get to a certain number between point A or B like some people. It just goes on and on - 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4.... It serves no point that I am aware of and I don't feel anxious when I do it.

oh and I'm diagnosed OCD.

I have many routines and many of them appear to be non-functional to others, but I believe all of them serve a purpose for me and help me function.

On working days, I need to do certain things in the morning before I go to work, and those things have to happen in a specific order and with the appropriate amount of time. If someone keeps interrupting me or if I'm being rushed (like when my hubby suddenly insists on us leaving the house earlier than usually for some reason) or if for some reason I cannot do those things in the right order, I'm guaranteed to forget something or feel like I'm forgetting something, to feel stressed and to need longer time to get ready than usually.

When I get to work and switch on my computer, I must open the programs/windows I use in the right order and have them in the right order on the taskbar. If during the day some of the programs isn't working right and needs to be restarted, I may need to close other windows and open them again in order to have the windows in the right order. This seems silly and non-functional to other people, but this really helps me with efficiency. I need to have a lot of windows open at the same time and to switch between windows often and it helps to know exactly in what order they are in order to switch fast between them.

Those are examples of routines that I have that are probably considered non-functional by others. I have some more.

I have many ritual which to me serve a function. Everyday after I check my e-mail I go to deleted items and permanently delete 20 of them, or if there are a lot, 30, or 40.

I have CDs in my car and play them in the order they are packed in the holder, starting with the first and going through one by one as I drive around each day. I'll take a CD from my collection and play one to decide weather to keep it or not. If I want to replace a CD with another I do so and it falls into that place in the order. In addition I have the system where as I play each CD from my collection if it only has one or two songs on it that I like, I'll record them onto iTunes and add them to a collection to be be made into a CD of favorites that will be added to go into the mix on my car CDs.

I also have a counting rituals. One is I come home from work, check my e-mail and if an opponent has sent the turn for an email game. I'll open the game then do something else like untie a shoe. Then do two moves in the turn, firing units or moving units, then do two things like pull the untied shoe off and untie the other. Then keep doing this until the turn is played or I'm dressed down from work and have chores done.

Non-functional, my butt! They are what keep me sane--I do things in the same way every time because otherwise I'd be so confused about what to do next that I'd never get anything done!

Thank you for your responses everyone. I guess some people have routines that involve doing things at specific times or that have to occur during specific time periods and others don't. I've always wanted to establish what I think of as more "functional routines", such as waking up at a certain time every morning and then going through an efficient morning routine that would prepare me for the start of the day, I was never able to do this. My mom tried SO many times to teach me a routine like this so that I would be able to leave for school on time and have a lunch packed and everything I needed together for the day. She figured that since AS people thrive on routine doing this could help with my executive functioning problems. I have thought the same thing as an adult and attempted to this. My biggest problem is that (similar to one of the other posters) my circadian rhythms are not regulated properly and I go to sleep and wake up at different times everyday. My rituals all include things like: dishes must be taken out of the dishwasher in a certain order; a shower is broken down in to steps that must be completed in a particular order etc.