Calling all amateur psychologists - Quirks

[naughtybear]

Just for fun - analyze me and my "quirks"

I have to take things out of boxes before I put them away - ie capri suns - can't go in the fridge in the box
hamburgers - out of the box and bags and into ziplocks - string cheese - out of the bag and separated etc

I don't like doors - My pantry door is taken off - I don't like closed doors

I don't like to put things in cabinets or dressers - I like open shelving so I can see what I have.

Neatness - OCD - something more

Does anyone else have similar quirks?

[Shooby]

Nope.  Just you!   

[naughtybear]

LOL -- phew glad to know I am an original shoobs !!

[Deleted]

I'm too lazy to unpack from boxes, but I can understand doing it.  I do prefer shelves and hanging clothes to dressers.  But, I like doors.  The more doors (preferably with locks) between me and my kids is a huge blessing sometimes.

[busymom]

I think everyone is a little OCD about specific things. At my house, no one can make a sandwich without leaving A LOT of crumbs on the kitchen counter, & no one seems to see them, or wipe them up, but me. (Yes, it bugs me.)

About the closed doors: are you a bit claustrophobic? Maybe an older brother or friend locked you in a closet when you were little for "fun"?

[lexxy703]

I take beverages out of the box too. But for me it is just for better use of space. I am totally the opposite on the doors though. I want my cabinets shut. If I notice a door or drawer hasn't closed completely I have to get up & close it otherwise it will drive me to distraction.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I can see taking somethings out of boxes so you know how many are left. We often have a 12 pack of soda with only 1 left.

[Tiny]

Maybe with the open doors - need to see stuff, maybe when you can't see it "it disappears" and you have a hard time keeping track of it (ie, you can't rattle off what's in a drawer off the top of your head)

I, too, like to see the stuff I have. I joke-ingly say that if I can't see something it doesn't exist and it doesn't pop back into existence until I see it again. My attic is the place where "things go to die" - pretty much if I'm going to 'save' something by putting it into storage (ie pack it up and put it out of the way) in my attic/basement/or garage - I might as well just give it away because once it's stored it's 'gone forever' from my mind.

Don't know why I'm like that...

[busymom]

Nov 23, 2016 11:23:11 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

I can see taking somethings out of boxes so you know how many are left. We often have a 12 pack of soda with only 1 left.

     You just mentioned another thing that bugs me.    DH will open a 12-pack of Pepsi, & leave 2 cans in the case, & leave that almost-empty case on the floor for others (me) to trip over.  What is so difficult about putting those last one or two cans into the refrigerator? 

[milee]

Nov 23, 2016 11:50:26 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Maybe with the open doors - need to see stuff, maybe when you can't see it "it disappears" and you have a hard time keeping track of it (ie, you can't rattle off what's in a drawer off the top of your head)

I, too, like to see the stuff I have. I joke-ingly say that if I can't see something it doesn't exist and it doesn't pop back into existence until I see it again. My attic is the place where "things go to die" - pretty much if I'm going to 'save' something by putting it into storage (ie pack it up and put it out of the way) in my attic/basement/or garage - I might as well just give it away because once it's stored it's 'gone forever' from my mind.

Don't know why I'm like that...

I'm like this on vacation or when traveling.  At home, I want everything put away but since I know where things are I still know what's "in stock".  When we are traveling, I want all the food and supplies in an obvious, open location so I can quickly scan and see what we have and if we need anything.  Whether it's food or gear, I like it out where I can see what I have to work with.

[Shooby]

  Everything isn't a "mental illness".  We seem to want to name what is "normal".  In bygone years, we just say that it was that person's "way" and people just accepted that.  That's your way.  Nothing wrong with that.

[naughtybear]

Naw I don't think it is a mental illness at all. It was just poking a little fun at myself. We all have quirks but I do wonder sometimes if these quirks are rooted in something in my past. Like maybe I did get shut in a small enclosed space so now I don't like doors. AHAHAHAHA. It's funny stuff.

[Deleted]

Nov 23, 2016 12:35:29 GMT -5 naughtybear said:

Naw I don't think it is a mental illness at all. It was just poking a little fun at myself. We all have quirks but I do wonder sometimes if these quirks are rooted in something in my past. Like maybe I did get shut in a small enclosed space so now I don't like doors. AHAHAHAHA. It's funny stuff.

Maybe in a previous life you were a can of beans.

[Lizard Queen]

Did you ever have a creepy surprise from a spider or something that likes to hide in places like that?

[Shooby]

Nov 23, 2016 12:35:29 GMT -5 naughtybear said:

Naw I don't think it is a mental illness at all. It was just poking a little fun at myself. We all have quirks but I do wonder sometimes if these quirks are rooted in something in my past. Like maybe I did get shut in a small enclosed space so now I don't like doors. AHAHAHAHA. It's funny stuff.

I know, lol.  Just saying it isnt' necessarily "OCD" , etc.  It's just "your way".  So, we will keep you in the realm of us Normals!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't have their own set of comparable idiosyncrasies.  

[Deleted]

Nov 23, 2016 12:50:24 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't have their own set of comparable idiosyncrasies.  

Big Pharma would like to give a special name to those idiosyncrasies and prescribe a pill for you to take daily.

That is the problem IMO.

[alabamagal]

My DH has the thing about taking things out of boxes and I HATE it.  Like if we have frozen waffles in the freezer and there are 2 or 4 left he will take them out of the box and throw the box away.  My problem is that I don't see the small package of frozen waffles so I buy more.  After a while we have 3 or 4 small packages of frozen waffles in the back of the freezer...

Of course next year we should make it to our 30th anniversary, so I guess we put up with each other.

My youngest son (22 year old) has an issue with food.  From the way he acts you might think he was deprived of food at some point in his life, but I can tell you he hasn't.  Maybe it is a hangup due to being the youngest of 3 kids, but he is always wondering where his next meal is coming from and wanting to make sure that he gets enough food at any meal.  For example last night we had 6 adults eating dinner.  I made a huge plate of fried shrimp.  I made so many that they didn't all fit on my platter.  As we start to eat, DS fills his plate, then as others start to put shrimp on their plate he looks at me and says "Is that all there is?".  So I added the extra amount to the serving platter.  At the end there was a small amount of leftovers, so no one went hungry.  My son is a tall, muscular young man, not overweight or underweight.  He has been that way about food all his life.

[naughtybear]

Maybe in a previous life you were a can of beans.

If anything I may have been one of those chicken in a can. HAHAHAH

[naughtybear]

Thanks for the "normals' for accepting me...woot..LOL

[Deleted]

I have a tendency to keep good and sturdy boxes for those just-in-case moments.

I examine boxes to make sure they are worthy for the trash or recycling.. If not, I stash them away for reuse. Most times I have so many they fall all over the place when I open the area where they are stashed. When that happens I know it is time to cut them all down to size and put them in the recycling bin, so I can start all over again.  

I like my chairs to be pushed under the table when not is use at all times. It bugs me when they're not. 

[Lizard Queen]

I love boxes too. I'm like a cat that way.

[tskeeter]

Nov 23, 2016 12:31:09 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  Everything isn't a "mental illness".  We seem to want to name what is "normal".  In bygone years, we just say that it was that person's "way" and people just accepted that.  That's your way.  Nothing wrong with that.

I have my "ways", too.

Many say it is because I'm way off.  

[tskeeter]

Nov 23, 2016 15:10:31 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

My DH has the thing about taking things out of boxes and I HATE it.  Like if we have frozen waffles in the freezer and there are 2 or 4 left he will take them out of the box and throw the box away.  My problem is that I don't see the small package of frozen waffles so I buy more.  After a while we have 3 or 4 small packages of frozen waffles in the back of the freezer...

Of course next year we should make it to our 30th anniversary, so I guess we put up with each other.

My youngest son (22 year old) has an issue with food.  From the way he acts you might think he was deprived of food at some point in his life, but I can tell you he hasn't.  Maybe it is a hangup due to being the youngest of 3 kids, but he is always wondering where his next meal is coming from and wanting to make sure that he gets enough food at any meal.  For example last night we had 6 adults eating dinner.  I made a huge plate of fried shrimp.  I made so many that they didn't all fit on my platter.  As we start to eat, DS fills his plate, then as others start to put shrimp on their plate he looks at me and says "Is that all there is?".  So I added the extra amount to the serving platter.  At the end there was a small amount of leftovers, so no one went hungry.  My son is a tall, muscular young man, not overweight or underweight.  He has been that way about food all his life.

I sat in the middle of a table of seven people.  Passing things back and forth.  Trying to get something to eat between requests.  I have a food thing, too.

[Bob Ross]

Nov 23, 2016 9:38:13 GMT -5 naughtybear said:

Just for fun - analyze me and my "quirks"

I have to take things out of boxes before I put them away - ie capri suns - can't go in the fridge in the box
hamburgers - out of the box and bags and into ziplocks - string cheese - out of the bag and separated etc

I don't like doors - My pantry door is taken off - I don't like closed doors

I don't like to put things in cabinets or dressers - I like open shelving so I can see what I have.

Neatness - OCD - something more

Does anyone else have similar quirks?

I'm sure it all stems from your childhood.  Would you care to open up more to Dr. Bob?  My rate is $200 / hour.  

[msventoux]

Look at Bob's picture.  Do not "open up" for this man.     

[Bob Ross]

Nov 23, 2016 22:59:37 GMT -5 msventoux said:

Look at Bob's picture.  Do not "open up" for this man.     

Oh c'mon.  Go watch my painting show, then tell me you don't feel more relaxed afterwards.

[Virgil Showlion]

Nov 23, 2016 9:38:13 GMT -5 naughtybear said:

Just for fun - analyze me and my "quirks"

I have to take things out of boxes before I put them away - ie capri suns - can't go in the fridge in the box
hamburgers - out of the box and bags and into ziplocks - string cheese - out of the bag and separated etc

I don't like doors - My pantry door is taken off - I don't like closed doors

I don't like to put things in cabinets or dressers - I like open shelving so I can see what I have.

Neatness - OCD - something more

Does anyone else have similar quirks?

I don't normally provide this kind of analysis for less than $300, but your post has me deeply concerned. I'll provide you with a cursory analysis pro bono.

Taking things out of boxes before putting them away is a classic indicator of insecurity. A box--the packaging a product comes in--represents your intrinsic self. It represents you "as you are". The place where the product winds up represents the world, where the food is first seen and appraised.

You're compelled to take the product out of the box because the act symbolizes the metamorphosis of your intrinsic self into the being you wish to be presented as. You don't trust the world to accept you as you are. You instinctively shed your identity and "repackage" yourself in a new one. Your food unpacking habits are a subconscious manifestation of these deep-seated insecurities.

A dislike of doors is a pathology that stems from past trauma involving snow leopards. Snow leopards hunting in urban environments often hide behind closed doors and surprise human victims when the doors are opened. In your past, likely when you were a toddler, you witnessed one of your relatives or caretakers slain by a snow leopard in this way. The victim was somebody close to you and beloved by you.

Such attacks are typically so brutal that all conscious memory of them is wiped out, but unconscious memories are not so easily repressed. Your trauma has stayed with you, buried in your subconscious, throughout your entire life. It manifests partly as a preternatural fear of closed doors, sealed cupboards--anywhere a snow leopard could lurk.

You keep everything out in the open. Openness represents safety. It represents being able to see the threats around you and all avenues of escape. It's your subconscious' way of protecting you from ambush predators like snow leopards and the threat they represent.

Your two pathologies may be related. Your insecurity possibly stems from your feelings of inadequacy about not being able to save your slain relative or caregiver. The second example you give--hamburger--is revealing. I can only speculate in this case, but I believe the hamburger represents the bloodied body of the victim whose death you witnessed. You feel defiled by the presence of the leopard and your inability to protect your caregiver, and such feelings are a crucible for deep self-loathing.

Unfortunately, your condition will continue to worsen until you address its root cause. At some point you'll need to slay the demons plaguing your psyche--both metaphorically and literally--to avenge your loved one, and only then will you know true peace and fulfillment.

Just contact me via PM and we can discuss the specific steps you'll need to take in the healing process.

Be well.

[Spellbound454]

I think a dislike of doors is a latent form of claustrophobia.
You need an escape route.....you don't want to feel trapped or forced into accepting the unknown.... which comes from a closed door.
You need the freedom to roam like a wild animal needs to shake off its chains.  You need to be able to fully assess a situation to make you feel safe, so that when the fight or flight swings into play, you have  options.

As for the unpacking of boxes. This is a form of OCD where you claim ownership of items you have purchased and stash them like a squirrel saving up for winter.
Its a natural link to our past... where we had times of great famine.
Survival of the fittest.....Your ancestors who did not do this probably starved to death.
Own your food and stash it, is an innate response... initiated by the hardships we once endured.

Open shelving again is the need to be able to assess a situation... stemming from an innate survival response.
You need to check for snakes or poisonous spiders.

Solution....Valium... or a large glass of wine.

[zibazinski]

Lets start on the subject of the proper way of toilet paper on the holder.