OCDs: The weird world of obsessions

Ever heard of an OCD? It's not a COOL slang but a psychological disorder! OCD implies 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' which is an anxiety disorder pigeonholed by obsessive thoughts that eventually lead to compulsive behaviour. And if you're thinking it can't happen to you then you are completely wrong as according to the American Journal of Psychology "Every individual goes through a psychological stage similar to an OCD or purely an OCD in some cases; in the span of a lifetime." If it can happen to commoners like you and I, then think about the ever-so-popular celebrities.<br/><br/>It is a known fact that all of us are distinct individuals, but what actually makes us vary from each other is the way we behave. We as humans have always been curious about whatever is 'weird' but not many would want to know the reason behind this bizarrity. Many would agree if I say that popularity and insanity go hand in hand, though it is not true in all the cases because as they say "Exceptions maketh man". Barring a few sane exceptions, we can very well pull in a lot of famous celebs inside the circle of crazy obsessiveness and oddness.<br/><br/>Okay, for a moment if I leave these celebs to their privacy and talk about myself, I can feel, as I write, that I am weird! But every time these thoughts dog me, I get a reassurance from the fact that I am surrounded by a lot of people who are 'weirder'. I am a cleanliness freak of sorts, one to that extent that I wash my hands every time I eat something (now that is not abnormal, is it?). It is definitely normal but I must confess I had reached a level of abnormality long ago when I was in my <i>paathshala</i> days. It was as insane as it may sound, it started when one day I washed my hands, washed them again and again and kept on washing them for days until the skin of my hands gave up and started peeling off. My granny thought it was time for intervention- she pulled me next to her and gave me a piece of her mind. <br/><br/>I got over the habit as I was more obsessed with the welfare of my then-beautiful baby skin, than I was with washing hands. Guess I was young and smart to mend my ways and shrug off the supposed OCD but not everyone's that lucky, are they? There are people who have learnt to live with it (their obsessions) and are forcing others to put up with it as well. <br/><br/>End of flashback, back to present- My behaviour is now modified (at least that is what people say) and I don't wash my hands that often. But now I am obsessed about knowing of other people's obsessions and compulsions and guess where my obsession took me? It took me to the closets of the biggies of the world of glamour, to sieve into their privacy and get out some shocking revelations about the otherwise seemingly 'sane' celebs. <br/><br/>Ever wondered what Shah Rukh, the King Khan is obsessed with? Nah... It isn't Karan, Gauri or for that matter even his kids. The answer is chips (not gold ones but the ones made of POTATO). Yeah, the crispy, golden potato chips are giving SRK sleepless nights and quite literally, as when the ace actor starts munching them, he can't stop at one packet (remember the tagline "No one can eat just one") and ends up having lots of them (lots means lots as in he's had 20 packets of them in a row once). It is believed that Khan keeps away from the pack of golden crispies because he finds them irresistible. I am feeling sorry for his kids- Aryan and Suhana, wonder if they've ever got to taste a single one in daddy's absence!<br/><br/>Since SRK's my fav, here goes another one from the King Khan stable. According to Khan's biography 'Still Reading Khan', SRK avoids opening gift packs in public because he likes to tear them open (in an aggressive way) which obviously becomes an embarrassment for the star later on. Mushtaq Shiekh, the author, says that the actor has confessed he is obsessed with the idea of tearing off gift packs in a violent fashion and it is this obsession which compels him to act in a childlike manner. <br/><br/>Now let me give you something about Mary aka Cameron Diaz. The very likable actress has won notoriety for one of her obsessions. Diaz, for some strange reason, can't let herself touch door knobs and opens all the doors around her without putting her wrists on the knob as she feels that they carry germs and to avoid contact with invisible creepy-crawlies, she opens the doors with the help of her elbows. Apparently, the actress landed in some deep trouble when she rubbed off the metal polish of her hotel room's doors in order to clean them!<br/><br/>Actor Aftab Shivdasani has a habit of peeling off the skin of his wrists. According to reports, the actor used a safety pin to do the same when he was in school and is still not done with the habit, but tries to keep it undercover by saying that it is an allergy. Guess the actor has enough time at his hands with no movies around! <br/><br/>I have been told since childhood that it is good to keep your surroundings clean and green, but whatever Ameesha Patel made out of that teaching is super-sonically weird. It kills me to even mention it, the actress (or shall I say former?) has a penchant for CLEAN toilets, so much so that she cleans her commode every damn day! And you ought to know this, when Amee is doing an outdoor shoot, she cleans the commode of her hotel/ restroom too (Aww... now I have a better understanding of why she has been losing out on so much of work, I mean who won't lose it after cleaning THAT?).<br/><br/>Let's move on from cleaning s*** pots to pinching bottoms, ahem... ahem... and who does it after all? It is none other than 'Ginger Spice' Geri Halliwel. The <i>Mi Chico Latino</i> singer is obsessed with pinching bottoms. Yep and she's had the likes of Madonna, Victoria Beckham and even Prince Charles as her guests of (bottom pinching) honour. When asked about this peculiar liking of hers, Ginger says "I have pinched everyone's bottom. Why am I going to stop at anyone? It is not bad". Well might not be that bad for some after all!<br/><br/>If that wasn't all, Demi Moore's babylicious hubby Ashton Kutcher likes to pee in his backyard with his pet doggies every morning and says he likes it that way and if this ain't a weird obsession what is it then?<br/><br/>Obsessions and compulsions that I have mentioned till now were funnily weird but there are some which are awfully weird, one of them being Drew Barrymore's obsession with vinegar. It is reported that the chirrupy actress started drinking vinegar after someone told her that it was a nice way to keep fat at bay but soon the dietic tip turned out to be a haphazard when she developed an addiction for vinegar and started getting cravings for the same even during the middle of her film shoots. So while her fellow actors used to have energy boosting drinks in between their shots, Ms Barrymore used to relish vinegar. Though the actress denies having anything to do with vinegar now, many believe she still hasn't left it completely. Cheers in that case.<br/><br/>The looniest of all the celebrities, Amy Winehouse, is obsessed with makeup. According to OK magazine, the 'not in her senses' singer sleeps with her make up on and had taken her makeup kit along when she went to the rehab for drug addiction.<br/><br/>The big bad world of glamour is a playground for such obsessions. Since all these disorders have co-relation with the past activities of an individual, these psychological troubles are come and go with changing scenarios in an individual's life. It is very hard to gauge the reasons behind these obsessions, all one can do perhaps is take notice of them, try and rectify them or else learn to live with them.<br/><br/><b>Moral of the story</b>: Dig into your inner self and accept what (if existent ) is an obsession and just don’t shrug it off or else you will keep on getting compelled to do weird stuff. <br/><br/>Now it is that time again when I am getting an itch in my hand, seems it is the time to wash hands and move to purity (if only it was that easy to put behind the grime).