Does anybody else?

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Do any of you have a small ritual you feel as if you have to perform all the time for uknown reasons? Such as doing everything in symetry or walking in a certain way at certain times?

I have to walk on cartain steps when I'm walking up the stairs. I have to leave my toothbrush in the same position. Things like that.

It sounds like you are talking about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

I don't have that but my brother in law does and his mother also used to.

Before we left the house to go anywhere... BIL would have to check... then recheck.... then recheck (at least 3-4 times) all of the doors in the house to be certain they were locked. He would do this after we got out of the car also -- he has to tug on the handles so hard the car rocks back and forth -- then he walks away about 5 feet and runs back and does it again.

He can't walk through the produce section of the grocery store without pulling off and saving 20 or so twistie ties (even though he has thousands at home already.)

He does this with flossing his teeth too. Certain things *must* be done or else he feels anxiety.

If his mother heard someone in the kitchen making food -- she would come in and take the plate or bowl they were using away from them and give them the appropriate bowl (some were only used for cereal, some were only used for ice cream, some for soup, etc). It bothered her a great deal if someone used a bowl for something she didn't want it used for.

mmm, and the list goes on. It consumed huge portions of her day to the point that she was unable to do anything else beyond her rituals, really.

I don't currently have rituals but I have in the past.
mostly involved compulsicely going to the bathroom regardless of whether I actually needed to go,

I cannot sleep unless I am sure that my alarm clock is set properly. I check over and over again. Some nights I only sleep in 10 minute intervals because I need to make sure that my alarm is still set properly. No matter how many times I tell myself how stupid I'm being, I still have to do it. It is a cause of great distress in my life.

If I'm looking at the ground while I'm walking, I absolutly cannot walk on the cracks (whether it be a real crack like in a road, or between even things like tile or sidewalk sections).

If I'm not looking at the ground i get this feeling in my feet like I am walking on the cracks...I'v learned to block it out to the point where it doesn't bother me.

And then sometimes I like walking (or stomping) on the cracks on purpose because it makes me feel rebellious

I set the clock in my bedroom ten minutes ahead a few years ago so I'd think I was running late for a special occasion, and now I still set it ahead after power outages and such even though there is no point in doing so.

When I was younger I used to have to do the same thing every night before bed and my mum had to follow along. If anything did not go as I planned, then we had to start all over. I once called my mum when I was on holiday with my dad, to make her go through the whole routine. I also have various little routines that I don't even notice anymore, but if I did not do them, everything would fall apart.

The grandfather clock in my living room always speeds up even when someone sets it to the correct time. My mum says it's a good thing since it might stop us from being late, but I don't see how that's supposed to work when you know the clock is ahead.

I have the opposite. Whenever I look at the ground, I have to step on all the cracks.

good to know I am not the only freak here. Don't be offended by the term freak since I only give that word to people as a compliment. Anyhow I gotta walk a certain way at places I got to often. I also have to keep everything even, even if it's just a little hand twitch I gotta do it with the other hand.

At night when I'm at home I have to be the last to go to bed. I always make sure the door is locked I can't sleep unless I check it and there are other things as well

When I was younger, I would kick a door/wall/etc if I stubbed my toe to make the other side "even." I'm not that bad anymore.

i fantasize when i listen to music, bizzare fantasys, you dont even want to know

When I was in college and really stressed, I would get up out of bed at least 10 times a night to make sure the bathroom light was off. I could see it from my bed and knew that it was off, but i'd still have to run my hand over the switch twice.
Thank the gods I don't still do that. Now the only thing I do is make sure that turning off the bathroom light is the absolute last thing I do before I get into bed.