pj wrote:
> On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 16:38:34 -0800, Paisely Sky
retina.net>
> wrote:
>>>>>She may not interest you "that much" But you certainly seem to be interested in
>>>>convincing other people that your opinions about her are more accurate than other
>>>>opinions of her. So it sounds rather disingenuous to me when you say you are
>>>>uninterested in a thread you keep responding to.
>>>
>>> No, it's just a really bad habit I have. Can't leave something alone.
>>
>>Ah, I think I may be able to help you with that. Have you ever considered that you might
>>have obsessive-complusive disorder?
>
> I don't think I do, but I'd be interested to try the test you
> mention.... I usually think that I have a tendency towards ADD....
That may be true. I have a friend who I could have sworn was obsessive-compulsive. We can stay
on the phone hours on end talking about blues music or some other interest we have. One day I
told him I thought he was like me---obsessive-compulsive. But he said he had been diagnosed
with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). There are two different versions of
attention deficit disorder. One is brought about by hyperactivity. That is true enough about
him. He never sits. When he's not sleeping he's up and walking around. He can't stand to sit.
I had another friend who had ADD. His symptoms were entriely different. But that makes sense.
Hyperactive people can't concentrate because their mind races. ADD people can't concentrate
for a different reason.
After learning more about my friend's problem (with ADHD) I began to wonder if it might be
*related* to obsessive-compulsive didorder, but my web searches haven't turned up anything.
You are probably right if you say the symptoms don't sound right to you. But I'm constantly
amazed how similar my friend's symptoms are to mine. There are differences, though. I'm a
voracious reader. he's not. But he also has dyslexia. So that explains his lack of interest in
reading.
It just seems wierd to me that since obsessive-compulsive disorder, basically, equates to
*hyper* attention, that anyone with an attention *deficit* could exhibit so many of the same
symptoms as I have. I don't understand that. But it must be true.
> in
> that I tend to get distracted by anything (like this!), when I sat
> down to do something completely different. I occasionally use
> stimulants (modafinil being the best I've tried so far) that vastly
> improve my ability to stick to one task for a long time - improving my
> productivity at work and in my studies.
Well, I can get distracted too. I have to really be interested in something to be consumed by
it. Eventually I learned to be interested in just about everything. But I can easily be
distracted from things I *have* to do, like school work. I can be very undisciplined unless I
am passionate about something---*that* is when my unwavering focus kicks in.
>
>
> - snip -
>
>>The up-side to obsessive-compulsive disorder is that it gives you a kind of unwavering
>>focus that many people lack. In my case, it means that I can stick with problems for a
>>very long time. So it has been a real asset to me.
>
> No, that doesn't sound like me. I can do that with the aid of a bit of
> amphetamine or modafinil, but otherwise, I sit down to study, and here
> I am on usenet..... :-)
But what about things you are passionate about? Does that change things?
>
>
>>I'll bet you a dollar you are obsessive-compulisive. I might be wrong, but there is no
>>reason in the world you should be offended. One of the worst sufferers of
>>obsessive-compulsive disorder was Howard Hughes. And look at what he accomplished! We was
>>a designer of airplanes, a pilot, a financial wizard, a movie producer, an owner of
>>casinos. He was a human dynamo! When you combine high intelligence with
>>obsessive-compuslive tendencies, you end up with and spectacular over-achiever.
>>
>>I suspect Einstein may have suffered from it as well. He once said, "It's not that I am
>>so much smarter than everyone else. It's that I stick with problems longer." Of course,
>>he was also brilliant. But I have begun to supect that many "driven" people, some of the
>>most successful people in history, are obsessive-complusive to one degree or another.
>
> No, I think I'm really the opposite....
Well, probably so. If you were obsessive-compulsive (and didn't know it) you might be having
some profound revelations and new insights into yourself about now.
>
>
>>Janet Leigh, the American actess, once had a date with Howard Hughes. They met at a fancy
>>restarant. He excused himself to go to the bathroom. She waited and waited and he didn't
>>come back. Finally, almost an hour later, he came back to the table, soaked and dripping
>>from head to foot. When she asked him what in the world had happened to him, he said,
>>"After I went to the bathroom I washed my hands. Then I was afraid to touch the door
>>handle because of germs, so I took off my coat to use to protect my hand from the door
>>handle. Then I realized the germs would be on my coat, so I took it off and washed it in
>>the sink....yada yada...."
>>
>>He eventually took off all his clothes and washed them in the sink. I don't know how he
>>ever got out of the bathroom without touching the door handle. I guess someone came along
>>and opened the door and he bolted through.
>
> nice one... I do wash my hands a lot, but that's because I hate sticky
> mice (the computer kind - I spend a lot of time using a computer).
I see.
Well, I'll go get the book. I know right where it is. And if it's not too long, I'll type out
the test and the key to scoring. It would probably work better if you take the test first and
ask me for the key after you've taken it. I've meant to give the test to my friend, but
haven't gotten around to it.
Oh, obsessive-compulsives can be terrible procrastinators. That may not make sense, but it's
very true. In my case, I procrastinate about everything except what I'm passionate about.
Some obsessive-compulsives are "neat freaks". Some are the opposite. I'm the opposite. If I
can't do it perfectly, I don't want to do it at all, including cleaning. When I clean, I get
out the toothbrush and even get the corners. LOL otherwise I can't be bothered.
>
>
> - snip -
>
>>> Diana shook the guy's hand in 1987.
>>
>>What I rmember, though, is that I already knew that studies had shown I would have
>>nothing to fear from touching a person with AIDS as long as we didn't swap bodily fluids.
>>I already knew that when Diana touched that AIDS patient. And the way I remember it, I
>>had know that for quite a while. But I may be remembering wrong. I wouldn't have guessed
>>her gesture was in 1987. I would have guessed it was later.
>
> No, it was that early - and at the start, the epidemic was a slow and
> creeping one, restricted to a few groups (I remember talk of the three
> H's - Homosexuals, Haemophiliacs and Haitians). I can remember serious
> concern in the UK about Legionaires' Disease in the 80s. I recall
> someone saying they thought the concern was way over the top - just
> like with that AIDs that people had been so upset about, but which
> didn't amount to much. Of course, gradually HIV picked up speed, while
> Legionaires' outbreaks were sorted out fairly rapidly by cleaning out
> air conditioning systems.
>
>>>>You keep bringing it up. Yes, you do. My guess at *why* you do, might not be
>>>>accurate, but you keep bringing it up.
>>>
>>> I keep bringing up her celebrity. I might have mentioned her wealth,
>>> but I don't think so. Your guess is inaccurate, I am not a left
>>> winger, I have no problem with wealth.
>>
>>Oh, OK. I'll bet I'm confusing some of the stuff in your posts with some of the stuff in
>>Mush Mouth's posts. You were both saying similar things, but it must have been Mush Mouth
>>who kept mentioning her wealth. Sorry. It's been a long thread and I've gotten off track.
>
> I think we're way off track considering the subject of the thread!
Yes.
Except we are proving wunnerfully well that we are a couple of weirdos!
:-D
>
> Anyway, Diana, RIP. I pity her boys who lost their mum at such a
> tender age - but I also pity them because of the family they were born
> into, which means (especially for William), he'll have little choice
> about the course of the life he leads.
Yes. I'm afraid so. He's the great white hope for the entire royal family. If he were to
abdicate, I imagine the British people would be inclined to say, "Well, let's just chuck the
whole royalty thing then."
It would be interesting if someone interviewing Queen Elizabeth asked her, "If the Biritish
people decide to eliminate the monarchy, what will you do after that?"
LOL
Could you imagine the look on her face? Could you imagine the look on her face if it actually
happened? She wouldn't know what to do with herself. From then on they would have that picture
of her in the dictionary under the heading: nonplused.
:-D
>
>
> pj
