O Cee Dee

bajenaghe naghi
by bajenaghe naghi
03-Dec-2008
 

yesterday i was asked by a customer/friend to go to his room to help him carry some of his stuff away.  he lives in a room no larger than eight by ten feet with an attached  bathroom.   i met him at ten out side his building and he led the way to his room.  as we approached his room i could smell a very strong smell of ethanol .  when he opened the door to his small room the smell of alcohol mingled with all kinds of other repugnant smells would have knocked me unconscious were it not for the shock of seeing the inside of his dwelling.  piles and piles of newspapers and magazines covered the floor of his room.  each pile between two and four feet high.  there was only a one- foot path in the middle of the room separating the mess into two halves.  his bed could not be seen under all the piles of printed paper. in the same way his bathroom and toilet were covered and unusable.  to my horror i saw some opened jars and cans of baby food and cat food as well as three or four glass jars filled with urine.  I could hardly breathe.  tears had filled my eyes and i did not know whether it was due to my emotions or the stench of pee and dried up cat food,  mixed with god knows what else. I took the two plastic bags given to me and left the room not looking back. as i walked down the stairs with my head heavy with the fumes of obnoxious gases and scents i wondered how could anyone live like this.  this is the ugly face of a mental disease known as obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD for short.  while i was in his room i was not allowed to touch anything since my friend could not live with the "disorder" if i moved any article as he had carefully placed them. to me everything in that room was nothing but a mess but to him every single item was placed there in an orderly and proper manner and to keep and protect that order was of paramount importance.

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more from bajenaghe naghi
 
bajenaghe naghi

kaveh jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

you are so so clever. it is a joy reading what you write.

 


Kaveh Nouraee

AW

by Kaveh Nouraee on

Sorry, dear. Didn't mean to open up another can of worms. Living with one of us is enough of a challenge to begin with. But, I give him credit. He's living with a Celtics fan....  :-)

Oh, and you can kill us. But if you did, you ladies wouldn't have much to complain about, and that would be so dull.


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Leave the poor guy alone !!

by ebi-at-work (not verified) on

That's his sanctuary !.
sepaas
ebi aka haaji


American Wife

ok... great, another project.

by American Wife on

Thanks alot...:-) 

He's got them by catagory... Blues, Persian, rock n' roll, etc.  But I don't think in alphabetical order.  I'm sure by this weekend they will be.  Not that I'll ever touch them... I'm not allowed.  I think he's got them all rigged so I can't mess with them.  I don't even know how to work the juke box for pete's sake.  Too many clickers and buttons.  The more the better is his motto.  Oh, and did I mention the louder the better.  There is no such thing as enough ummpf apparently. 

Guys.  Can't live with 'em... can't kill 'em...:-0


Kaveh Nouraee

AW

by Kaveh Nouraee on

My CDs are in alphabetical order and in the case of the same artist, in order of the album's release date.

How does that compare with your house?


American Wife

oh my god

by American Wife on

Don't EVEN mention the CD's!  We have a juke box and once I was trying to download them all onto the computer for my I-pod.  I put a couple back in the wrong place and you would have thought I had voted Republican (couldn't resist...LOL). 

Thank god for drugs...:-)


bajenaghe naghi

javaneh jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

my friend lives alone so in a way it may be better.  it takes him days to decide to get rid of one piece of newspaper.


bajenaghe naghi

monda jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

this disorder is very sad indeed. you are the hostage of your mental inflexibilities. 


bajenaghe naghi

kurush jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

 your story is very touching. i am sure he suffered a lot. 


bajenaghe naghi

kaveh jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

being a careful person and taking care of what you have so you keep them in good condition and don't need to replace them every other day is a virtue that i as americans say subscribe to . 


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BJ Khan

by Kurush (not verified) on

The waft of urine that plied your nostrils took me on to a Proustian remembrance that I share with you. My father did a favor for one of his patients who had come from shahrestan to live in our house while he was being treated. The poor man was a well digger and had fallen down the shaft due to a freak accident. The impact of the free fall on a hard object mutilated his penis which surgeons had to amputate. His urine was routed through a tube to a medical receptacle attached to his waist. For the few days he stayed in our house we experienced the insufferable. In retrospect, I pity the man more than my own discomfort during those few days.


javaneh29

OCD

by javaneh29 on

OCD is an anxiety disorder thats out of control. I have worked with many such cases and they are extremly difficult to treat when they have reached these kinds of proportions.

Its a really sad existance and if ppl with this disorder live with others, their lives are completely taken over by it. It can be diminshed with treatement i.e meds and therapy but often its too entrenched and ppl with it cant enviasage their lives with out their routines and obsessional behaviour ... it comforts them.

Everyone has little routines but this does not constitute OCD! Dont worry! It only becomes a disorder/ psychiatric issue when it interfers or takes over your life or the lives of others,

Benagh jaan.. your job sounds alot like mine!

Javaneh


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BN jan, it's complicated and sad

by Monda not logged in (not verified) on

how hoarders find safety in collecting all the junk. Compulsive personality disorders are complex, result of emotional trauma, difficult to intervene and usually mixed with at least one other dysfunctional issue (often alcohol dependance). OCD sufferers can be helped by anti anxiety meds along with long term individual therapy, if one can get them to see a therapist that is, since one major problem with these folks is their lack of a support system. Especially those who hoard.

You're a good man to have given him a hand this time. He does need help, but a professional's.
Best,
Monda


Kaveh Nouraee

BN jaan

by Kaveh Nouraee on

You are certainly a stronger man than I. I don't know if I could have lasted in there for more than a second based upon the very vivid picture you painted.

AW khanoom, I'm not only anal about my tools, but also the pantry and my collection of CDs, but for the reason you mentioned about hubby. It's out of respect for the things that I have and wanting to take care of them and for being grateful that I have a pantry full of food that I don't just throw everything in helter-skelter. I'm anal about pee too. (That sounds weird). I'm compelled to flush as soon as 'm finished.


American Wife

as with everything,

by American Wife on

there is an extreme.  I for sure don't keep jars of pee around the house...LOL

I wouldn't worry if I were you... you sound pretty normal.  God Bless Maryam to keep you straight!

peace out


bajenaghe naghi

american wife jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

you make a lot of sense. i count a lot of things but i am not obsessed and i don't count every thing all the time either. maryam doesn't think i am and reading your discription i don't think i am too. but you can not be to careful can you. 


American Wife

BN

by American Wife on

It becomes an issue when a simple habit disrupts your life or becomes so invasive you can't think of anything else.  Another example but not so invasive is... you come to a stop light, perhaps one that you come to every day so you pretty much know its schedule.  You count how long before it becomes green.  You start counting that light every single day to make sure it's the same.  You count at other lights and compare them.  Every one is anal about something.  My husband is anal about his tools.  But that is because he respects them.  He's not nearly as concerned as I am about the pantry for example whereas I put everything in it's place and when I see a tupperwear container on the mixing bowl shelf, to me that's disorder.  It's emotional as well.  If you have obsessive thoughts and just can't get rid of them.  It's difficult to proceed or even progress when you have obsessive thoughts.  Whether about sanitary habits such as Monk... or about a person. 

So... I think everyone is a little OCDish to an extent.  Sometimes I have to deliberately move something to another position just to "break" that mode.  Some things are just normal habits and routines.  You might PREFER to sleep on the left side but it's not going to keep you up all night if you don't.  Make sense?

:-)


bajenaghe naghi

american wife jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

as you say we all have habits or may be even rituals in doing things. so i wonder when a inocent habit becomes more than just a habit and becomes a disorder. i mean after seeing the way my friend lives i have started doubting a lot of the things i do as being a little ocd-ish. 


American Wife

there is no doubt

by American Wife on

that OCD is a difficult disorder to live with.  You can't imagine how invasive it is to your daily life... 24/7.  Everything and I mean EVERYTHING must be "just so".  Everybody has habits... ways of doing things.  But someone with OCD has got to do it exactly the right way.  You take a shower... washing your hair first and then your body and then brush your teeth.  You get out and dry off... one leg at a time.  If for any reason that routine is disrupted, for example drying one leg before the other, you feel compelled to do it all over.  And if you don't... forget the rest of the day.  The anxiety will stay with you all day long.  It sounds funny, I know. 

I love Monk... a little more than OCD going on there...lol.

Funny post though BN... loved it. 


Princess

BN jan,

by Princess on

Yes, rather hard to believe. 

I trust Monk is a sit-com? It must've started after I left the States. It's just a matter of months before they air it here as well. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks!


bajenaghe naghi

princess jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

thank you for your comments. i did not know howard hughes had the same disorder. i would not have believed this if some one told me. i had to see it with my eyes. my friend has been seeing a doctor for years. another character that has this problem is monk on tv. 


Princess

BN jan,

by Princess on

I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it must be to live with OCD.

 

The most famous fictional character suffering from OCD remains Melvin Udall who was humorously and amiably portrayed by Jack Nicholson in AS Good As It Gets. However, in real life the condition can be a lot more tragic as was the case with the legendary Howard Hughes who ended up locking himself up and collecting his own urine in milk bottles. It is so sad, but fortunately nowadays there is a lot more help for people who suffer from OCD than there used to be. I hope your friend seeks some help.

 

Thanks for your thoughtful post again!