OCD and Perfectionism
15 Dec 2021, 1:29 pm
Do you struggle with OCD or perfectionism? I've been struggling with it a lot for the past 10 years and it just seems to get worse. I get fixated on things with minor imperfections on them. Even when something is 99% flawless, I can't rest until it is 100% flawless. If I get a stain, a scratch, or any kind of marking that isn't supposed to be on an item, I will spend countless hours trying to get what is not supposed to be there off.
If I am unsuccessful, I will do research online to see if there are any services that specialize in fixing whatever item I am trying to get fixed. I have spent so much time and money over the past 10 years getting things fixed, buying supplies to try and fix the items myself, and replacing items with flaws in them. In most cases when I've tried to fix things myself, I have ended up making them worse. I bought my own car earlier this year which is the first car that I have ever owned, and it has triggered my OCD and perfectionism even more. I have gotten bothered by every little minor scratch I have noticed on my car. I also am bothered by any little stain on my seats and any crumbs or dirt that accumulate in my car.
Over a month after I got my car, I replaced one of the hubcaps because there were scratches all over it. I also bought some scratch remover and microfiber towels to try and remove all the minor scratches on my car. I replaced one of the window tints because there was a huge scratch on it. I recently replaced the belting mold underneath my window because there were very minor tears in it and it was bothering me to look at them.
I have this toy collection from my childhood that is very important to me, and I get bothered if I notice a marking or if the original paint is peeling off. I have recently been spending countless hours fixating on a figurine that I got repainted 8 years ago by a family friend because the paint on the nose was rubbing off. I just tried repainting over the paint that the friend had already done, and now I wish I would have just left it alone. It doesn't look bad, but there was no need for me to do that. You are never satisfied being a perfectionist. Something could always be better and it is hard to rest until you can make it 100% better.
