OCD and detailing

[daveb]

Hey guys!

I've seen a few posts saying that when you are detailing it feels as though you are OCD with the paint cleanliness and so on...

I was just wondering if people really are OCD or just being stereotypical?

I for one have OCD and can completely relate to detailing and cleanliness. I'm in a bind where I want to fix it because it takes mucho amounts of time out of my life, but yet...I like the results it gives on my car! I've seen my doctor and am on Zoloft...any experiences in regards to OCD and detailing?

Thanks for any response.

[ZaneO]

Many refer to their hobbies/passions as OCD, but I think few acutally have diagnosed OCD.

[Bill D]

If the obsessive compulsive behavior is strictly limited to automotive detailing, without OCD-like symptoms hampering all aspects of one's daily life, then it's simply an obsessive passion/lifestyle or a new sub category of the diagnosis may need to be formally named.

Folks can have OCD like personalities or be attracted to interests that could be associated with OCD without actually having the bona fide, true diagnosis.

[Accumulator]

I kinda dislike the way clinical/psychological terminology is casually applied to all sorts of stuff. It pokes fun at people's interests (perhaps as a coping mechanism for the user's own inner conflicts ) and IMO diminishes the significance of various disorders and the plight of those who truly suffer from them.

Even the colloquial use of "anal" as in, anal retentive, is, IMO, just so :rolleyes

I recall a recent thread where I was genuinely concerned about somebody who said that marring on his paint was keeping him up at night.

[daveb]

Ah yes, I too remember that thread...it was a pickup truck if I remember correctly?

Thanks for the replies

Sometimes I wonder if I'm going too far as to make a website about detailing. But, but its fun!

[ebpcivicsi]

I am not sure what you call it, but..

If my car(s) are not clean, I am thinking about when I will be able to clean them

If one was to become marred in some way, I would *have* to fix it and would compulse until I did

I think about paint/detailing all the time

When I have details booked for the weekend, I can barely sleep the night before because I am so excited


I have no idea what that's called, but I LOVE DETAILING!

[Bill D]

Originally Posted by ebpcivicsi

I am not sure what you call it, but..

If my car(s) are not clean, I am thinking about when I will be able to clean them

If one was to become marred in some way, I would *have* to fix it and would compulse until I did

I think about paint/detailing all the time

When I have details booked for the weekend, I can barely sleep the night before because I am so excited


I have no idea what that's called, but I LOVE DETAILING!

Likewise here. It's a preoccupation in overdrive or, otherwise, an obsession. Hey, as long as you can control the rest of your life,

[WSUcommuter]

I have had co-workers tell me in the past that I must be OCD. I do not agree- I can allow certain aspects of my life to go "less than freshly detailed" without having the overwhelming compulsion to rectify their condition.

With that said, I do realize that once I start on something, I can sometimes (and to my own detriment) stubbornly refuse to walk away until I finish it. To me it isn't whether or not I am being obsessive- but rather I believe you do something right the first time or you do not waste your time or others'. Also, I'm HUGE on preventative maintenance whether it is by looking at one's health- physical and mental well-being, or with mechanical objects.

Many are out there like me, and I'd just assume likewise that they may have been accused of being OCD at some point in their lives as well. There are folks that might think of these behaviors as impairments (at least with me on a non-clinical level) but I look at them as nothing more than a defining character of whom I am.

[Bill D]

WSUcommuter,

That is very well said Based on what you say, nope, you don't sound like having anything clinical to worry about. I agree with the point Accumulator made earlier about clinical terminology being hap hazardously assigned with little, if any, understanding of what it really means. This is a pitfall of popular "pop psychology".

True diagnosis of OCD ( or any psychological disorder) comes only after a very serious evaluation sometimes requiring a team effort to accurately assign it. The principal tool uses by psychiatrists to do so is the DSM-IV /TR. For those interested, here's the basis text of the categorization for OCD

When I first learned about they types of anxiety disorders, I was cautious not to say anything about my detailing. I kinda didn't want to be the "Anna O" for a new, automotive related sub category. (j/k!)

[Accumulator]

Sorta funny how detailing and cars seem less and less important to me even though my vehicles probably look better than they ever have When I hit the deer in my previously-perfect S8 it didn't even spoil the afternoon. When I was younger it would've given me fits to know it would never be even close to the way it was; I probably would've had to sell it lest it drive me up the wall. Gee, maybe I really *am* getting old

daveb- Could be, I forget but that sounds right. I do suggest that you, having been diagnosed with genuine OCD, approach activities such as detailing with a modicum of caution. All a matter of balance and some people have to work harder to achieve that balance than do others.

WSUcommuter- Well put Heh heh, people who flippantly label things obsessive impairment often seem to have a few impairments of their own, which are usually somebody else's fault

[G35stilez]

I know one detailer who legitimately has OCD on this site.


My gf had it...Its a pretty nasty, life-changing disease. Regarding to detailing, I can't see it doing more than taking an inordinate amount time out of your life.

[ET Awful]

I think very few here would truly be diagnosed with OCD. BUT, I'd say most here would definitely quality as being anal retentive as it pertains to automotive appearance.