Obsession
 

Obsession. Everyone obsesses over something; sometimes it's valid and other times it's incredibly silly. So my simple question is what do you obsess over, and why; how do you feel about it?

I have a couple obsessions but there is one that haunts me pretty constantly. I fall head over heels for dancers. I can find a girl attractive and see her dance and become enthralled with the idea of being with her. Two examples: I lived with two fucking incendiary contemporary dancers last year, and I was a puddle around them. I just wanted to be around them all the time. I don't know what it is that is so sexy about it - the movement itself, the talent (most likely), etc - but it's been that way since I got into theatre and I tend to date dancers only.

My name is Taylor and I have a problem; I obsess over dancers.

Who's next?

I obsess over how clean my kitchen is. And food safety. If my son tries to sample the cookie dough and it has eggs in it, I'm like STOP, don't touch it, there are raw eggs in there. Even though it's ridiculous.

I'm always using cleaner with bleach on the counters, etc. I just can't stand anything I would consider "unsanitary" in the kitchen.

And bug spray. I have severe arachnophobia, so I'm always telling my husband to get the Home Defense bug spray, do the windows, around the baseboards, doors, etc.

Being clean. I have to shave head to toe, lotion, wash, condition, etc. every single day, sometimes, twice a day depending on yard work, etc.

Unfortunately, this all makes me sound stuffy and prissy. I'm not, but that is of course my perception.

I obsess over not doing enough in my day. I make lists of things I need to do and I never seem to get through an entire list in a day. It makes me feel like I'm not good enough, I can't cut it. I pretty much beat myself up about it every single day. In my head I question myself ' did I do enough? Why didn't I do this, or that? I should have done this, or that. I did this, or that, but it didn't come out like I wanted it to. I should have done a lot better. I'll have to do better tomorrow'. Rinse, repeat.

Erikson was right.

Young adulthood (20's to 40 years)

* Psychosocial Crisis: Intimacy vs. Isolation
* Main Question: "Am I loved and wanted?"
* Ego quality: Love
* Related Elements in Society: patterns of cooperation (often marriage)

Body and ego must be masters of organ modes and of the other nuclear conflicts in order to face the fear of ego loss in situations which call for self-abandon. The avoidance of these experiences leads to openness and self-absorption.

Intimacy vs. Isolation, is emphasized around the ages of 19 to 34. At the start of this stage, identity vs. role confusion is coming to an end and it still lingers at the foundation of the stage (Erikson 1950). Young adults are still eager to blend their identities with friends. They want to fit in. Erikson believes we are sometimes isolated due to intimacy. We are afraid of rejection; being turned down, our partners breaking up with us. We are familiar with pain and to some of us rejection is painful, our egos cannot bear the pain. Erikson also argues that "Intimacy has a counterpart: Distantiation: the readiness to isolate and if necessary, to destroy those forces and people whose essence seems dangerous to our own, and whose territory seems to encroach on the extent of one's intimate relations" (1950)

Interesting bit of self-analysis.

I obsess over efficiency. I always want to find the most efficient manner possible to complete any one given task. I will repeat tasks several times until I find the fastest method that allows for the least error. I will time myself and attempt to beat previous times for any one task while increasing accuracy. This comes into play with many daily tasks: ironing clothes, brushing teeth, showering, washing and brushing hair, cooking meals, planting and tending Arabidopsis, feeding pets, writing papers, completing assignments, editing photographs, measuring, counting.

With efficiency comes habit.
With habit comes organization.
With organization comes cleanliness.
All of these subsidiary obsessions are essential branches from the desire for efficiency.

...i loooove ice. I prefer a cup of ice with no water to a glass of water with the usual amount of ice. I understand it's considered rude to crunch ice in public and i comply but i'm in heaven when i can be alone with a cup of ice. My co-workers always have a pitcher of ice and a cup for me in the back when i arrive at work. It's gone when i leave.

...i'm a connoisseur of ice. The best ice is the small soft kind and for a special treat i'll hand-pick the clear ones out as they're the crunchiest (but not too crunchy). I even put 3 ice cubes in my cereal bowl with skim milk. I can hardly get to the cereal for all the ice. When the cereal is gone I eat what's left of the ice as though it's the "piece de resistance"

...temperature is everything. When i have a warm meal, i love the contrast of an icy cold drink...i even chill red wine (chilling reds is a no-no to experts)

...i've read that people who crave ice are lacking iron. I've had a complete cbc and physical done and i'm not at all anemic and 100% healthy. In fact, the nurse said she wished she was as healthy as i am.

Software updates.

I watch them download and install with an unhealthy obsession. I think its because I get enjoyment out of things being improved or fixed. This also includes biological growth and healing; both in animals and plants.

Ultimately, this is why I'm so geared up about nanotechnology. It all comes down to nanotechnology.

Watching people's reactions to different facial expressions.

Although this does tend to be mostly around friends/family, I find I will often gauge people's reactions (including their own facial expression) to my facial expression rather than talk. It is normally only after several different reactions on their part that I need to reply and answer their question or continue the conversation. I noticed that they don't seem to notice this actually occurs unless I go too long without speaking. I'm not sure how/why I first started doing this, but it seems to be something I do without conscious thought now.

There's actually a forum dedicated to this you know?

I love ice, but my love is for CRUSHED ice. I can eat that all day.

...thank you for the tip, 99. No, i didn't know about it. Thank you. Nice to meet a fellow ice lover. :)

Threads, I obsess over them, I love to bump them, click on the quote button, twist an otherwise intelligent quote to something more belligerent .. ahh yes, to see the world from my eyes ...

Class material on TFP! Erikson is one of my main men this term; he does provide an interesting framework for emotional development. I can see how this stage applies to me.

I obsess over obsession. I'm an anxious person like that. I worry that I worry too much.

I worry about ratios. Everything in the world to me is a big ratio. Is that box of cereal worth buying? How much does it weigh compared to the price? Should we go to the movies? What else could be done with the money? What is the entertainment value on a scale of 1-10 divided into the cost?

Opportunity costs and price to performance ratios drive my every decision in life.

I have a few obsessions...I first thought World of Warcraft was my main obsession. Not really anymore seeing as I have only played for a few hours in the past month.

I think I'm obsessed about getting money. I want a quick and efficient way of attaining it that is legal. Being able to pay off all my debts and living comfortably is my goal.

Stupid South Dakodian winning the NC State Lotto :( (it was at $222 Million)

...wow, lasereth, we're on two separate planets. I need a little more of your worry and you could use a little more of my care-free spirit so you can enjoy what you spend $$ on. Maybe you could set aside a certain portion of your budget (i don't even have a budget lol) like a "kitty" that is earmarked for spending and not-caring about it's outcome and then just LET GO. And be sure to lower your expectations for that part of your budget. If it turns out great then GREAT, if it doesn't then oh-well-who cares-that's-life-kay sara sara. Vacation plans sometimes meet with bad weather or a stolen purse. A movie may be a disappointment (i recently left the theater in the middle of "slumdog millionaire"...can't handle children being mistreated) but when that happens you can just say "well, that's what the kitty was for so mission accomplished".

I PM'd you the link to the site.

I'm not a member as I don't chew it non stop, but I COULD probably do it. There's no crushed ice at work so it doesn't matter. :( It has to be that really really crushed one, like the type they have at ARCO gas stations' fountain drink machines.


On a side note, I'm obssesed with taking pictures of people eating. I even made a site for it. :expressionless:

Maybe you're right, but I also watch in pure glee as people shopping along side me at the grocery store spend $150 per visit while my visit is $35 and we have the same amount of goods. It's like that with everything, too -- so much money can be saved if you pay attention to ratios.

No shit!!

Explain this to me, how can you achieve a $150 grocery bill minimized to $35??? You either exaggarated or I'm doing something wrong cause I do shop very conciously and I do get the VERY BEST groceries for the least amount. And that runs me $65-$80!

Downside: I spend hours upon hours just gazing at the same spot on the shelf in the supermarket!!!!!

My precious integral nature of being: Duality
 

Achieving clarity in this life while also encountering meaning is perhaps my greatest obsession.

The dichotomy of trying to live by bounds yet being allowed to muse incorporeally is an ideal that is inherently at odds with itself.

My process is by no means sliding into the realm of OCD, but I ponder such thoughts regarding my dual nature, as that of others I chance upon, to a degree where it seeps into my idle thinking on a consisent basis.

I firmly believe that we all develop OCD in some form or another, with a few cases escalating to the point where it can drasticallly alter the control one has over their life processes daily. But for the general majority of the populus, they are able to fixate on their specific tendencies without much repercussions to the status of comfort. In fact, I am quite amused to detect the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, idiosyncrasies we all have atrributed to our innate characteristic traits of how we have evolved as a person. Obsession as I see it is just our learned preferences, based on past experience & familiarity, triggering a response to seek out and/or avoid what we have ultimately become enraptured with: our fancies & phobias.





But in simpler terms, perhaps in the modeled of form of "acquired stuff", I have a tendency to want to find something spectacular, find more of the same but with acceptable distinctions, collect and collect more of it, then ultimately search for a way to complete the collection to my overall satisfaction, in order for my mental state to utter, "Hell yeah, I accomplished this feat of gained ____!" Conversely, the above example is in reality an obstacle I wish to overcome in unfeigned & accomplished time in order to attain my true goal of unfettering myself from material and inconsequential possesions that divert my overall attention to embracing the blissful serenity of clear eyes & a full heart. :surprised:

it's as pure and simple as that.

I am the paragon known as the philosophizing Procrastinator-Perfectionist.
Interests include the 'Pataphysique, the Pretense of the Present,
and the Peculiars locked within each Prodigious Person.
I have a Problem.
Pansophy.

Shesus and I spend no more than $40-50 when we do our grocery shopping. We shop at Trader Joe's, and we eat almost no processed foods. Everything is basically fresh. I can easily see him only spending $35 if he's shopping only for himself.
====

I obsess over very little. I used to obsess over many things but I've found that it's unhealthy to be obsessive over things. The idea that I would do something psychologically damaging to myself has me constantly focusing on not obsessing. It's a little strange because there are times I think of little else than not obsessing, but it seems to work.

So in other words, you obsess about not obsessing.

Sure. Seems like a healthier tradeoff.

Another ice lover here. The best kind is the crushed ice that is in little pellets. It's so hard to find though.

I am obsessed with the color black. No matter how hard I try I am drawn to the color when buying clothes. I have added lots of color to my wardrobe, but it was very difficult to do. I still wear one item of black clothing everyday, but a least most of the time it isn't all black anymore.

No, I am not emo!! I am too old to be emo, and I am not sad and depressed. I never thought of myself as goth either. I am just me and I love black.

Lately, I obsess over music. I get in a mood where I feel like I need new stuff to listen to... one thing leads to another, and I have 10 new albums!

Also clean drinking glasses. I smell each one before I use it. That's normal, right? :rolleyes:

~~~~~

Most of what gg writes applies to me also. I hate inefficiency, and I also hate bad product design, especially if it is overly complex, like the radio in a BMW that I once borrowed from a friend.:grumpy: But I also hate to fly, so I will (inefficiently) drive half way across the country several times a year.:confused: But, by the most efficient route, of course.:paranoid:
But my real obsessive/compulsive thing is that I count things. I'll count cars going by, bushes in a yard, notes in a measure, etc, and I irrationally remember numbers. :shakehead:I can recite every housenumber, phone number, and license plate number that I have ever had. Weird. I've done the counting thing since I was a small child.
On the other side of it, I think that I can honestly say that I have never experienced boredom. My mind is just too active to be bored.:thumbsup:

Lindy

I love my music and I'm obsessed with Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Evanescence, Within Temptation, Arcade Fire and Pink Floyd. I must find all the info on them I can find. They are my main music focus at this time.

I love Within Temptation! I saw them in San Francisco and Utrecht Netherlands. I am always amazed by how much more awesome Sharon sounds live.

I am yet to see them live but I do have the latest live album Black Symphony. I love it and I love the sounds of orchestrated rock. I started with Silent Force. I listen to them every day as I drive my truck around Denver. I play them loud plus I sing along to many songs. I'm just an old music nut. HA!

You just HAVE to see them live. You will be blown away! Her voice is like an angel, and the recording just doesn't do it justice.

Sharon is with child now, I read on the WT site a tour maybe in 2010. I hope they come to Denver or someplace close.

:thumbsup: