I tend to be about as far away from OCD as you can get.

I believe there are two types of INFJ's.


those who think more in terms of health, and those who think more in terms of understanding.

and your both beautiful!

What are those two types? And which one would I (as self-described) be?

Most INFJs I've known tend to think about everything.

When under stress, this tends to accelerate a bit, so that I'm overthinking everything. The first way I tend to catch that I am doing this is that I'll check door locks multiple times, be sure I really turned off lights... Somewhat OCD-like. So that's my cue to sit down with my own feelings and try to figure out what's really going on.

There's also the theory postulated about the "dominant-tertiary loop" that types go to when under stress, but I haven't really finished my ponderings on that yet. However, for INFJs that would be Ni-Ti, which pretty well matches my description above.

OCD is a misused/overused word IMHO. I think people tend to confuse/use it interchangeably with perfectionism.

What most people think of as OCD is actually OCPD. The two are similar but have very different presentations.

OCD vs. OCPD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) & Anxiety Disorder Attacks, Symptoms & Treatment

I do think I have some perfectionist tendencies, but i think having children has caused me to mellow out a bit. (About some things at least.)

curious0610 said:

OCD is a misused/overused word IMHO. I think people tend to confuse/use it interchangeably with perfectionism.

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I don't have OCD. I think that it more prone to my INFP ocd ninja.

I'm a non-perfectionists perfectionist.

i have ocd. it's mild though... nothing like repeating rituals. more like a complusion to have order, and cleanliness.

i would say it is perfectionism, but like perfectionism that starts to negatively affect your life. inability to sleep, inability to take risks... even affecting relationships because im unable to detach enough to just CHILLAX.

i used to throw the word around jokingly. but my doctor has figured out a have a mild case of it afterall.

people seem to think perfectionism is a good thing to aspire to. however, i honestly have too much of it. im never satisfied with myself. ever. and sometimes that's kinda tiring, ya know?

I don't have OCD, especially the clinical definition of it... but I do have an overwhelming, and sometimes debilitating, need to be in control. I'm not sure if this is necessarily an INFJ trait, but I do like for things to be a certain way. My Ni is hard to break out of and I suffer from panic attacks a lot, usually because I come to the realization that I am not in control over so much that happens in life, whether my own or others.

Yeah idk.

Why does every personality quirk have to be a labeled mental disease these days? :/

Anyway, my stereotypical view of the OCD-sufferer is someone who has to have their living space be 150% clean all the time, and spends maybe 3-5 hours every day cleaning surfaces that I'd let go for weeks

I think it's quite helpful to have labels... and I didn't say I had OCD, just OCD tendencies, and I think that's a helpful way to let people know what kinds of things I'm referring to.

Some people would say that I have tendencies towards OCD. Absolutely nothing that I would consider detrimental to my quality of life at all, but still things that apparently "normal" people wouldn't do. One thing would be that if I am structuring things in the outer world (as opposed to just in my head) like for instance the books in a bookshelf, I do it to 100% and not just somewhat approximately (Otherwise, what's the point of it... :laughing so to someone who doesn't regulary spend unproportionate amounts of time getting things perfect, it might seem somewhat compulsive. I guess it comes down to following my inner sense of structure more than conventional systems. Another example would be me in periods always checking that the door is locked, since otherwise I feel uneasy about it. So I guess I don't trust myself with routine work, like locking the door (and probably for a good reason as well...) and feel the need to check that I actually did do it properly since I was probably thinking about something else while doing it. Or something like that... I suppose such trivial details don't always register with me...

I lived with someone who had OCD. I wish they were like this!

He was actually quite messy.

His thing was lining things up. I'd open the kitchen cupboards to find he'd gone around putting everything in size order and making everything straight. Yet no one had done the washing up, and there would be empty pizza boxes on the floor...neatly stacked of course.

If we went out together to have something to eat he'd carefully line up the cutlery.

He does it more when nervous, and takes medication to help controle it. He also did counciling for a while.

It's not just a case of perfectionism, it comes with irrational thoughts, and guilt or feelings of dread for not performing certain rituals. Things like turning out the lights in a certain order.

I know someone else with OCD who has it with cleaning. She cannot use public toilets and things like that. She also used to bathe with a small amount of bleach in her bath water.

If you think you have OCD go see your doctor. I don't think it is a good idea to use these terms without a diagnosis from a professional, as I feel when people don't have it then it spreads misinformation and trivialises the difficulties people who do have this issues actually face.

Most people don’t mean any harm of course, they simply do not understand the realities of these types of conditions.

If it is really impacting your life in a negative way there are treatments available. If you don't feel it's bad enough to get professional help, why use the term?

....

I can quite safely say I don't have OCD or any tendencies towards it. I do like to have things in a certain order at times, but not to the degrees of a mental health issue.:laughing: I really wish people wouldn't just throw words like this around.

zwanglos said:

Why does every personality quirk have to be a labeled mental disease these days? :/

Anyway, my stereotypical view of the OCD-sufferer is someone who has to have their living space be 150% clean all the time, and spends maybe 3-5 hours every day cleaning surfaces that I'd let go for weeks

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I really hate when text is not Justified or Centred (depending on the context).
I have major issues with symmetry (Think, Death the Kid in Soul eater) not as bad though!!
I think this is why I love Even numbers and intensely dislike Odds.

I am OCD, but thankfully it is mild. I need order, or I can get stressed out; fortunately, I do have order in the house. But, my loving husband has a mild hording problem. He has filled up the garage to the rafters and we can't park the cars there...so when I'm stressed to the max, instead of nagging him I go into my library and count my books, which are all in alphabetical order...it is very soothing.

Not sure if I have OCD or just OCD tendencies but I have the "obsessive" part where if I have a thought, it persists and gets really annoying and I have to be "compulsive" about it. But it's just harmless thoughts, not like locking the doors or washing hands to get rid of guilt and all that "typical OCD" symptoms. Over the years, I've managed to keep it under control. :happy:

I'm certainly a perfectionist though (I'm editing this post actually haha).

i think its cuz we have this tendency for perfection in everything we do AND also we're like anxious and we have a lottttta fear about what others think and shyt i think this has a lot to affect us on OCD and in that area

I can become obsessed with things and I strive for perfection. However, I'm not a compulsive person..there isn't anything I feel I must do repeatedly "to feel safe".

My boyfriend and I are both INFJ's and both were diagnosed with OCD. Though I don't know if OCD is just a term for the way I cope with my PTSD and other anxiety problems in addition to my autistic tendencies. My boyfriend has displayed OCD traits since he was a toddler and it's his official diagnosis, but one specialist thinks his OCD is totally chalked up to autistic spectrum. Either way, we definitely have traits.