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[vhtry]

My psych says that obsessiveness is part of my bipolar. Do any of you deal with obsessiveness? Isn't it freakin' draining? I spent 15 fucking hours making the ~*perfect*~ grocery list and I'm still not done. Any thoughts on how to ease it?

Comments

[vhtry]

If I can relinquish some of my control issues, I think I can. Have to get over that hump.

[alliesmania]

Sorry but I LOVE YOUR PICKLE ICON!!!

[unico_love]

I'm extremely obsessive. I obsess over people, repeatedly check things, when manic or mixed I set very high goals that I obsess over until I meet them; I obsess over a lot of other things, too, depending on my mood.

[madamtruffle]

I definitely go through periods of being obsessive. When I was in eighth grade I went through a phase during which I would watch a particular television show for hours a day, documenting episodes with full summaries, cast lists, even detailed transcripts.

Now it usually manifests as just generally over-analyzing everything people say or do.

[harrietbrown]

I tend to obsess over people and past events. The best thing is to do something to get your mind off it. Just keep going forward with your life and try not to live in the past. As for making lists, I have that dilemma too, with me it's the grocery list. I find it helpful to "compartmentalize" things. Block out a space of time during which you will work on your list or project or whatever, and outside of that time, don't think about it. If you have an idea about your list or project, write it down (I keep a little Moleskine and a Filofax and Post-its handy for such emergencies) and get back to it when you return to the list or the project. Also, you have to discipline yourself mentally - train yourself not to think about your obsession. That can be very difficult, but sometimes it has to be done. Medication can only take you so far. Past that point you have to do things for yourself.

[alliesmania]

I do that too. My therapist calls it my infinate loop of crap, think of drawing an infinitiy sign and the left side is the past and the right side is the future and the present moment is the little cross section in the middle...you constantly go from "what if?" to "why didn't I?" when all you have to do is drive off the road by not turning on it, don't follow the loop...well, that is the theory anyway...I am good at explaining advice anyway...I guess that is what my Psych would say is "your choice"

[goodjobme]

I obsess too. Not so much with the lists, but it's more like... little things bother me. I'll obsess over a sound my boyfriend can't hear. Or, I'll obsess over something I said (or didn't say) in a conversation. I over analyze a LOT.

I often find that if I focus on something else (say, you put the list down and watch some tv, or read for a half an hour) helps some. I know it's not much at all, but I hope that helps.