I’m Not Neurotic — I’m Quirky
Yes, there’s a difference
I’m the most quirky member of my family.
I triple-check doors and windows when I leave the house. There are lists posted everywhere — a school checklist on the front door, a to-do list on the bathroom mirror, and a list of checklists I need to make on a bulletin board in the laundry room.
I have to pick up every coin I see on the ground otherwise I will have bad luck. I have been known to turn around on my bike and go back to search for a penny that I briefly saw as I whizzed by. Neurotic? I prefer financially savvy.
If I can’t retrieve the money because it is in the middle of a busy road or stuck in something gross, I silently repeat, “Find a penny, pick it up. All-day long I’ll have good luck.” That is the only way to guarantee I won’t have bad luck.
Did the Door Close?
I have to watch the garage door close completely before leaving the house. Then, I turn right when I exit the driveway so I can verify in my rearview mirror that the door is closed. If I turn left, I can’t see the garage.
My spouse trusts that the garage door will work properly every time, so he drives away without a worry. He also turns LEFT out of the driveway. Crazy!
If I’m riding with him and he leaves before the door has shut completely, I ask him to go around the block so I can confirm it is closed. Once, due to a moth, mouse, or random sunbeam, the door stopped its descent and we found it fully open.
The other forty times, the door has been closed. But that one time — it wasn’t.
Where Is Our Ridiculously Expensive Stroller?
My spouse is somewhat less quirky than I.
He once took a trip from New York to Oregon with our then 2-year-old. I helped him pack all the essentials, and when he returned home, he only had half of them. My husband left the stroller on the outbound flight, several articles of clothing at the hotel, and my son’s favorite movie disappeared into the seatback pocket on the return trip. I was flabbergasted.
First, I never (really, never!) put anything into the seatback pocket on a plane because the vomit bag lives there. Secondly, who forgets a stroller? I guess I should be thankful he came home with the kid.
I’m Not Neurotic, but You Are
A friend recently gifted me a book, I am neurotic (and so are you), by Lianna Kong. This book is a compilation of anonymous neurotic confessions that made me both laugh and cringe. A few of the disclosures were highly relatable.
- “I can’t stop myself from aligning the strings on my hooded sweatshirt, and I even try to fix other people’s strings. They drive me absolutely nuts.” — I do like my hoodie strings to be even, just like my haircut.
- “I have to squeeze toothpaste from the bottom of the tube.” — Yep!
- “I open the mailbox every time I walk by. Even when I know there is no mail, like on Sundays.” — Guilty. You never know when a neighbor will leave you a package of Oreos. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’ve only lived here for ten years. There is still time.
- “When I’m shopping, I will never buy the first product. I will always get the third or fourth one behind the first. I feel like the first product was touched and I don’t want it.” — Me (raises hand).
The vast majority of the book had confessions that seemed a bit odd to me, and I’ve worked in a psychiatric hospital. Here’s one:
- “I have to transfer the brain of my old toothbrush to the new one. I do this by holding the heads of the toothbrushes an inch apart and making a buzzing/zapping noise. Then I wobble the new toothbrush to show that it received the old one’s brain.” — Hmm…people are fascinating.
After reading the book, I feel certain I’m not neurotic, just quirky.
What Makes You Quirky?
Just like every snowflake is distinct, each of us has one or two (or fifty) idiosyncratic behaviors that make us unique.
What makes you special? Go ahead, share it. Your secret is safe with me!
Jill is a clinical psychologist, blogger, and penny picker-upper. She shares behavioral health tips every Sunday on her blog.
