Click, click, click, blink, beep, aaahhhhh

I suppose we all have rituals, some of them sanctioned and taught, some of them just seem to happen. We usually call the latter "habits." Or "quirks."  If they become too elaborate, too complex, we start wondering about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

You have to wonder why they call a mental affliction that causes the person to become obsessed with a certain order, a "disorder" but who understands psychology? Personally, I have always been suspicious that psychiatrists and psychologists choose those fields because they aren't all that sure about their own mental stability. Which triggers weird thoughts about proctologists.

Little rituals are acceptable. Mostly simple, they reassure us that the world is "okay." It's only when they become very important to the person that we begin to worry about OCD. I suspect OCD starts innocently enough. Take myself, for example. I get out of my car and click the lock button on my remote more out of habit than anything else.

Except... it has become so routine that I forget if I locked the car at times. I find myself worrying about it. And that prevents me from relaxing and enjoying whatever it is I am doing. So I often find myself "making sure" by going to a spot where I can see my car's headlights or taillights and hitting that lock button on the remote again. Then I can relax.

So far, that isn't a problem. But if I create a ritual, a series of actions, to make sure I have locked the car then I might be developing the beginnings of OCD. So I suppress the urge to create a habit which could be beneficial out of fear that it will become an obsession.

Or I could just quit worrying about it.