NationStates Jolt Archive

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?

Once all the M&Ms are equal in number how does she decide which to eat?


How old is she?

MEH! My girlfreind can't leave the house without staring at the oven for a good few minutes to make sure it is off, and I am sure one day the front door handle will break the ammount of times she checks we locked it. Nothing to worry about until she has to count to 100 before going through a door.

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?
I do things like that and I have OCD, but those are not the compulsions that interrupt my daily life, so they are not really the part of OCD that I am worried about. (if that makes any sense)

for example, animal crackers I sort them by animal, I must have an even number of each animal, and broken ones don't count, if I end up without an equal number of equal numbered animals (4 of each is prefered) then I can't eat any of them. If however I do have an equal number of paired pairs then I can eat those animals alphabetically throwing the superfluous animals away.

that, while strange and annoying to those who know me, doesn't really affect my daily life much since I can choose not to buy animal crackers. The compulsions that I worry about are the ones I have little control over and the ones that really are a detriment to my functionality.

Everybody has their own little quirks and routines, which do not necessarily mean OCD.

As a child, I did almost the exact same thing with my m&ms, I don't have OCD though, just a quirk.

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?

All that singly is a quirk, but with all that together... I would try to find out if there is an OCD test.

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?Probably not. I've done silly little things like that in the past and it never became debilitating. I was also able to stop those actions when I wished to.

Possibly. I have a friend with OCD who compulsively folds up placemats and the like when sitting at a table without even realising she does it. But it's not really a practical problem for her. It'd be advisable to take your daughter to a psychiatrist or something if you're worried and you notice it a lot, but I wouldn't really get stressed about it if it's not causing any trouble.

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?

Holy shiite! I do the exact same thing with m&m's as well as the trash thingy. Like at Taco Bell the other night, I ordered a #6(chalupa meal..mmm mmm) Well, first I ate my taco, and the napkin i used i placed in the wrapper after done and wadded it up. Then I got a new napkin, ate a chalupa and did the same thing with that, and as well with the other chalupa. I finished my drink, opened the lid and put the trash inside, then took the straw and place it inside, and finally the little advertisment sheet that comes on their trays, i also put it inside and then put the lid on, and it was satisfying. But, man, I have never thought of those habits to be OCD :(

Probably not. I've done silly little things like that in the past and it never became debilitating. I was also able to stop those actions when I wished to.

For some reason, neither of us can stop from posting on NS...

I do the M&M thing. Nothing wrong with it.

Holy shiite! I do the exact same thing with m&m's as well as the trash thingy. Like at Taco Bell the other night, I ordered a #6(chalupa meal..mmm mmm) Well, first I ate my taco, and the napkin i used i placed in the wrapper after done and wadded it up. Then I got a new napkin, ate a chalupa and did the same thing with that, and as well with the other chalupa. I finished my drink, opened the lid and put the trash inside, then took the straw and place it inside, and finally the little advertisment sheet that comes on their trays, i also put it inside and then put the lid on, and it was satisfying. But, man, I have never thought of those habits to be OCD :(

being tidy is not the same as OCD, being organized is not the same as OCD.

liking things in order is not the same as OCD.

If you had OCD you would know, and the reason you would know is because your daily life would be interrupted by your compulsions.

preferences are not compulsions
habits are not compulsions

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper.

I do that when I'm bored, waiting for the food and the discussion just isn't enough.

She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate.

Sounds like real boredom.

In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this,

Is it a problem, though? Does she enjoy it? I do.

In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

Kids do that too, a lot.

She has other behaviors like this.

Example?


Also, think about it, if more people were neat about where they threw their trash, for example, then the countryside wouldn't be as littered as it is.

Everybody has their own little quirks and routines, which do not necessarily mean OCD.

As a child, I did almost the exact same thing with my m&ms, I don't have OCD though, just a quirk.

Just a quirk? Remember, you're either in recovery, or you're in denial ;)

For some reason, neither of us can stop from posting on NS...
Yeah, but I've only changed my identity once.

Yeah, but I've only changed my identity once.

One deat, and the rest were failing to log into my NS nation every month...

One deat, and the rest were failing to log into my NS nation every month...

Who were you beforehand?

Who were you beforehand?

No one of consequence...

Who were you beforehand?

Whispering Legs, Sierra BHTP, Deep Kimchi, and....something else?

Whispering Legs, Sierra BHTP, Deep Kimchi, and....something else?

Four or five something elses... not all run by the same real life person at the same time...

Whispering Legs, Sierra BHTP, Deep Kimchi, and....something else?

Ah.

No one of consequence...

Communist Mississippi. :D

I wish to add my voice to the chorus of M&M manipulators out there. I used to have a "fan's guide to football" playbook the NFL produced in the 70s, and I'd take out my M&Ms and make the brown ones the offensive line, the dark brown ones the defensive line, the green ones receivers, and so forth, and run the plays in the playbook. Failing that, I'd do just what your daughter did -- cull the herd until all colors were of equal number.

I think your kid is just looking for things to occupy herself with. Think about it, to a modern child, a restaurant (that doesn't have several TVs or some kind of kid-oriented stimuli) is kind of a boring place. Think of it this way -- it could be worse, she could be destructive instead of constructive with her impulses. She's neatening things -- take advantage of that while you can!

It doesn't become a disorder of any kind until it interferes with routine things. If, for example, she couldn't leave the table or start eating or something UNTIL she so organized the condiment wrappers, and in fact made a scene if she was forced to leave without doing her thing, then you'd be looking at a POTENTIAL problem.

I take the view that kids are over-medicated, over-diagnosed and overzealously fretted about these days. Why go to psychiatrist if what she's doing doesn't interfere with anything else? Why add stigma when it's not necessary? It could just be that she's *GASP!* creative! If that's the case, NOW you've got a REAL problem! Keeping creative kids positively oriented with their creativity is a lot of work. Also, creative can mean gifted which equals more work. Regardless, you're doing the right thing by giving her attention and asking her about what she does. Just keep watching her. I'll wager she'll be fine -- and perhaps even an artist of some sort (sorry!).

being tidy is not the same as OCD, being organized is not the same as OCD.

liking things in order is not the same as OCD.

If you had OCD you would know, and the reason you would know is because your daily life would be interrupted by your compulsions.

preferences are not compulsions
habits are not compulsions

exactly.

we all have rituals in our lives. they seem to be especially strong when it comes to food.

its not the same as OCD. if anti's daughter had ocd, she would almost certainly know it.

youre a committee??

Five people.

Four or five something elses... not all run by the same real life person at the same time...

youre a committee??

I love this attitude of self-diagnosis everyone has about psychology. Hmm, do I have OCD? Do I have Depression? Do I have Schizoaffective Disorder?

Here are the diagnostic criteria for OCD.

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
A. Either obsessions or compulsions:

Obsessions as defined by (1), (2), (3), and (4):

1. recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress
2. the thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems
3. the person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action
4. the person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind (not imposed from without as in thought insertion)

Compulsions as defined by (1) and (2):

1. repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
2. the behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive


B. At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable. Note: This does not apply to children.
C. The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person’s normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships.
D. If another Axis I disorder is present, the content of the obsessions or compulsions is not restricted to it (e.g, preoccupation with food in the presence of an Eating Disorder; hair pulling in the presence of Trichotillomania; concern with appearance in the presence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder; preoccupation with drugs in the presence of a Substance Use Disorder; preoccupation with having a serious illness in the presence of Hypochondriasis; preoccupation with sexual urges or fantasies in the presence of a Paraphilia; or guilty ruminations in the presence of Major Depressive Disorder).
E. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition.



DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES

The essential features of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are recurrent obsessions or compulsions (Criterion A) that are severe enough to be time consuming (i.e., they take more than 1 hour a day) or cause marked distress or significant impairment (Criterion C). At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable (Criterion B). If another Axis I disorder is present, the content of the obsessions or compulsions is not restricted to it (Criterion D). The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition. (Criterion E).

Obsessions are persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive or inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress. The intrusive and inappropriate quality of the obsessions has been referred to as "ego-dystonic." This refers to the individual's sense that the content of the obsession is alien, not within his or her own control, and not the kind of thought that he or she would expect to have. However, the individual is able to recognize that the obsessions are a product of his or her own mind and are not imposed from without (as in thought insertion).

The most common obsessions are repeated thoughts about contamination (e.g., becoming contaminated by shaking hands), repeated doubts (e.g., wondering whether one has performed some act such as having hurt someone in a traffic accident or having left a door unlocked), a need to have things in a particular order (e.g., intense distress when objects are disordered or asymmetrical), aggressive or horrific impulses (e.g., to hurt one's child or to should an obscenity in church), and sexual imagery (e.g., a recurrent pornographic image). The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems (e.g., concerns about current ongoing difficulties in life, such as financial, work, or school problems) and are unlikely to be related to a real-life problem.

The individual with obsessions usually attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts or impulses or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e., a compulsion). For example, an individual plagued by doubts about having turned off the stove attempts to neutralize them by repeatedly checking to make sure that it is off.

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) the goal of which is to reduce anxiety or distress, not to provide pleasure or gratification. In most cases, the person feels driven to perform the compulsion to reduce the distress that accompanies an obsession or to prevent some dreaded event or situation. For example, individuals with obsessions about being contaminated may reduce their mental distress by washing their hands until their skin is raw; individuals distressed by obsessions about having left a door unlocked may be driven to check the lock every few minutes; individuals distressed by unwanted blasphemous thoughts may find relief in counting to 10 backward and forward 100 times for each thought. In some cases, individuals perform rigid or stereotyped acts according to idiosyncratically elaborated rules without being able to indicate why they are doing them. By definition, compulsions are either clearly excessive or are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent. The most common compulsions involve washing and cleaning, counting, checking, requesting or demanding assurances, repeating actions, and ordering.

By definition, adults with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder have at some point recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable. This requirement does not apply to children because they may lack sufficient cognitive awareness to make this judgment. However, even in adults there is a broad range of insight into the reasonableness of their obsessions or compulsions. Some individuals are uncertain about the reasonableness of their obsessions or compulsions, and any given individual's insight may vary across time and situations. For example, the person may recognize a contamination compulsion as unreasonable when discussing it in a "safe situation" (e.g., in the therapist's office), but not when forced to handle money. At those times when the individual recognizes that the obsessions and compulsions are unreasonable, he or she may desire or attempt to resist them. When attempting to resist a compulsion, the individual may have a sense of mounting anxiety or tension that is often relieved by yielding to the compulsion. In the course of the disorder, after repeated failure to resist the obsessions and compulsions, the individual may give into them, no longer experience a desire to resist them, and may incorporate the compulsions into his or her daily routines.

The obsessions or compulsions must cause marked distress, be time consuming (take more than 1 hour per day), or significantly interfere with the individuals normal routine, occupational functioning, or usual social activities or relationships with others. Obsessions or compulsions can displace useful and satisfying behavior and can be highly disruptive to overall functioning. Because obsessive intrusions can be distracting, they frequently result in inefficient performance of cognitive tasks that require concentration, such as reading or computation. In addition, many individuals avoid objects or situations that provoke obsessions or compulsions. Such avoidance can become extensive and can severely restrict general functioning.

PREVALENCE

Although Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder was previously thought to be relatively rare in the general population, recent community studies have estimated a lifetime prevalence of 2.5% and 1-year prevalence of 1.5%-2.1%.

No your daughter doesn't have OCD, and what I'm primarily worried about is her parents playing doctor and psycho-analyzing her.

Five people.

why dont y'all just get your own accounts? dont you ever find yourself embarrassed by the stupid things your committee members post?

I love this attitude of self-diagnosis everyone has about psychology. Hmm, do I have OCD? Do I have Depression? Do I have Schizoaffective Disorder?

No your daughter doesn't have OCD, and what I'm primarily worried about is her parents playing doctor and psycho-analyzing her.
Sometimes too much information can be more dangerous than too little. This may be one of those cases (not your post--the general situation).

why dont y'all just get your own accounts? dont you ever find yourself embarrassed by the stupid things your committee members post?

It is a cult of embarrassment, in which they try to embarrass each other, but without getting deated. Explains a lot, huh? ;)

I wish to add my voice to the chorus of M&M manipulators out there. I used to have a "fan's guide to football" playbook the NFL produced in the 70s, and I'd take out my M&Ms and make the brown ones the offensive line, the dark brown ones the defensive line, the green ones receivers, and so forth, and run the plays in the playbook. Failing that, I'd do just what your daughter did -- cull the herd until all colors were of equal number.

I think your kid is just looking for things to occupy herself with. Think about it, to a modern child, a restaurant (that doesn't have several TVs or some kind of kid-oriented stimuli) is kind of a boring place. Think of it this way -- it could be worse, she could be destructive instead of constructive with her impulses. She's neatening things -- take advantage of that while you can!

It doesn't become a disorder of any kind until it interferes with routine things. If, for example, she couldn't leave the table or start eating or something UNTIL she so organized the condiment wrappers, and in fact made a scene if she was forced to leave without doing her thing, then you'd be looking at a POTENTIAL problem.

I take the view that kids are over-medicated, over-diagnosed and overzealously fretted about these days. Why go to psychiatrist if what she's doing doesn't interfere with anything else? Why add stigma when it's not necessary? It could just be that she's *GASP!* creative! If that's the case, NOW you've got a REAL problem! Keeping creative kids positively oriented with their creativity is a lot of work. Also, creative can mean gifted which equals more work. Regardless, you're doing the right thing by giving her attention and asking her about what she does. Just keep watching her. I'll wager she'll be fine -- and perhaps even an artist of some sort (sorry!).

Actually, she's 36 years old and has an MPH with an emphasis in Epidemiology. She also served 7 years in the Navy. So, no, I don't think she qualifies as a kid except in my eyes.

*snip*

I do that with my M&Ms, too, as well as with Skittles, jelly beans, and any other candy that comes in several colors/flavors in each package. It's not OCD - it's just a silly habit that a lot of people have. :)

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?

It doesn't look lightly, maybe a very minor case.

It is a cult of embarrassment, in which they try to embarrass each other, but without getting deated. Explains a lot, huh? ;)

it certainly does. i feel as if a veil has been lifted from my eyes.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?Try and see if you can get her to stop at the next occasion. If she can stop and does go fidgetingly mad, she's not OCD.

I love this attitude of self-diagnosis everyone has about psychology. Hmm, do I have OCD? Do I have Depression? Do I have Schizoaffective Disorder?

Here are the diagnostic criteria for OCD.

No your daughter doesn't have OCD, and what I'm primarily worried about is her parents playing doctor and psycho-analyzing her.

Thanks for posting the diagnostic criteria. I was going to do that to make clear that Anti-Social Darwinism has nothing to worry about.

I must object, however, to your criticism of Anti-S D. It is perfectly reasonable for parents to worry about their children -- especially when they may be exhibiting pathological behaviors. You are correct that parents shouldn't diagnose, but if they don't notice behaviors at all no one is likely to diagnose.

Anyway, here are a couple more good sources of info about OCD for those who are interested:
National Institutes of Mental Health: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/ocdmenu.cfm)
Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (http://www.ocfoundation.org/)

For some reason, neither of us can stop from posting on NS...

Can anybody stop from posting on NS?

My daughter and I were at a restaurant yesterday, in and of itself, not a momentous occasion. I noticed that she was taking all the used sugar wrappers, folding them neatly and placing them inside another used sugar wrapper. She did the same with the used straw wrappers, then picked up my Sweet 'n' Low wrapper and did the same. She placed the resulting neat little bundle square in the center of a bread plate. In the course of discussion she told me that she always did this, In addition, she sorted M and Ms by color and started eating the color she had most of until the number equalled the amount of the color she had least of. She then ate the second most numerous color until it was down the the least and so on.

She has other behaviors like this.

Is she OCD?

IS she OCD? No, she is not Obsessive Compulse Disorder. Might she have OCD? Possibly. Though she could just be really, really bored :D

And no, I don't have OCD...I'm just a grammar nazi.

Actually, she's 36 years old and has an MPH with an emphasis in Epidemiology. She also served 7 years in the Navy. So, no, I don't think she qualifies as a kid except in my eyes.

Oops. Some of us jumped to the wrong conclusions about the age of your "kid."

Still, I think you have little to worry about. OCDish quirks are extremely common. Note that obsessions must cause marked distress and the behaviors must be aimed at "preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event." The biggest key is that, to be OCD, "[t]he obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person’s normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships."

What you are describing doesn't sound like distressing, time consuming, or interfering.

You can discuss it with your daughter if you wish, but I just wouldn't worry about it.

I have some strong idiosyncrasies some pointless, some rather difficult to deal with.

For instance, all my meals are eaten by item, I will never eat a particular item till the prior one is finished, the number 300 will pop into my head at random times, I am constantly adjusting my hat, with it rarely staying in one direction or position unless I am locked into some task, I ask questions without even listening to the answer, I start books without finishing them (present list: Ancestor's Tale, Spinoza's Ethics, The Stranger, Poetry by Bukowski, Wittgenstein's Poker, Thus Spake Zarathustra, and my old calc textbook.), and I cannot manage money in the slightest: I have overdrawn my bank account over 25 times in the past year.

And the sound of someone eating can make me incredibly irritable, I cannot be in the same room with the quietest of eaters.

I have some strong idiosyncrasies some pointless, some rather difficult to deal with.

For instance, all my meals are eaten by item, I will never eat a particular item till the prior one is finished, the number 300 will pop into my head at random times, I am constantly adjusting my hat, with it rarely staying in one direction or position unless I am locked into some task, I ask questions without even listening to the answer, I start books without finishing them (present list: Ancestor's Tale, Spinoza's Ethics, The Stranger, Poetry by Bukowski, Wittgenstein's Poker, Thus Spake Zarathustra, and my old calc textbook.), and I cannot manage money in the slightest: I have overdrawn my bank account over 25 times in the past year.

And the sound of someone eating can make me incredibly irritable, I cannot be in the same room with the quietest of eaters.

I do that too!

Also: I'd recommend finishing Thus Spake Zarathustra.

Edit: Nietzche is dead!

everyone has an idiosyncracy. For example, apparantly I looked pissed off all the time, which I'm not, some of the time.:p

And the sound of someone eating can make me incredibly irritable, I cannot be in the same room with the quietest of eaters.

Oh god the sound of people eating drives me completely insane also.

It's probably not a sign of anything. I've done that sort of stuff (with the M&M's anyway) since I can remember, and I've turned out ok.
Well except for the fact that I want to stick vegetables in my ears, but that's comparitively normal, by Intarweb standards.

Also with the M&Ms. And the eating different foods one after the other. I don't think it always means OCD...

It's really hard to tell by just hearing this example and none of us being qualified to make that judgement. To find out and get a possible diagnosis, you have to take the tests for these kinds of syndromes. It may help alot, especially later on, when she realize somethings not explicitly normal.

If it isn't adversely affecting life, and this trivial stuff obviously isn't, then it isn't a disorder.

People need to stop being hypochondriacs and pretending they're sick.

My understanding of OCD is where you are compelled to do something and you cannot resist it without some sort of major anxiety attack type freakouts.

When I worked at Taco Bell back when I was in high school I actually flattened and straightened and neatly stacked all of the taco sauce packets in their bins... did the same thing when I worked at Wendy's with the ketchup packets... but if I didn't get around to it one night it didn't bother me, and I can go into fast food restaurants without being undeniably compelled to go flatten and stack their packets. It's just weird, not OCD.

I think your daughter is fine, really. People are weird, in general, and that's fine. Since she's old enough to understand then ask her yourself if she's suspicious. If she is then get her to a shrink to find out.

My daughter and I have discussed this and have determined that, while she has some interesting idiosyncracies, she is probably not OCD, she just has some of the traits - like her habits with M & Ms and sugar packets, and her not wanting to mix her foods - meat in one dish, starch in another, vegetables in a third (makes dinner cleanup fun, though).

My daughter and I have discussed this and have determined that, while she has some interesting idiosyncracies, she is probably not OCD, she just has some of the traits - like her habits with M & Ms and sugar packets, and her not wanting to mix her foods - meat in one dish, starch in another, vegetables in a third (makes dinner cleanup fun, though).

I do all of that too ;) (it's probably not comforting since I actually do have OCD, but like I said earlier, those aren't compulsions, they are just things I do)

maybe she is just a systemizer, it's different than OCD but would explain some of her quirks.