I think you know whether you have impulsive tendencies and/or obsessive compulsive disorder or not. I have never been diagnosed with OCD, but I know I have impulsive tendencies. It's almost a joke in my family to turn the canned food upside down to see how long it takes me to notice it. I can tell you it's right away and to leave it upside down bothers me on some level I do not understand. I cannot leave it that way. It must be ordered. I started doing the same thing with hand sanitizer several years ago, where everything I touched made me think of germs and I used hand sanitizer if I couldn't wash my hands immediately. I got a grip on that and don't have to use the hand sanitizer anymore, although I still carry it and/or baby wipes in my purse. Even though the OCD has subsided, I still struggle with impulsive behavior sometimes, especially when it comes to food. I cannot have junk food around me. Chips, cookies, candy, any of those things seem to call my name and the temptation to eat it becomes too great. Impulsive behavior has caused much grief in my life and contributed greatly to my becoming 150 lbs overweight.
I used to have an issue with impulsive spending too. If something was 50%-75% off, I would buy it just because it was such a good deal, even if I didn't need it. I cannot count the number of times I have went shopping for one or two things and came out of the store with a cart full of merchandise, sometimes forgetting to get the very thing I went into the store to get.
I realized that the behavior was not helping me, so I set out to change it. I still struggle with impulsive behavior from time to time, but nowhere near the level that it used to. I read somewhere that OCD is common in creative people. I would like to think that's it. It is more likely due to feeling I had no control as a child. Either way, impulsive and compulsive behavior does not benefit me and is something I deliberately set out to change about ten years ago. Like everything to do with getting healthy, it is a work in progress complete with momentary setbacks. It takes determination and patience to change any negative behavior.
Awareness is the first step in changing any behavior that you want to change. A willingness to change is the second step. Sometimes our impulsive behavior brings us a false sense of security. In order to change it, we have to separate the behavior from our identity. That is where I am at now. I love Joyce Meyer's message about implusive behavior. She says that thoughts will creep up, but a "tadpole doesn't have to become a frog." I agree! I believe that what we focus on expands and what we resist persists. For me to turn off the impulsive behavior, I have to focus on something that benefits the greater good. That is what I am doing now. I am focusing on turning my health around, focusing on helping myself and those who want to join the journey to live a healthier and happier life. That is what I want to expand. Thank God for people like Joyce Meyer who have faith, strength, and bold courage to not only change their own life, but to help others along the way. She inspires me to want to do the same. That's an obsessive compulsive behavior I can live with.
If you struggle with impulsive or compulsive behavior or even if you want to understand a little more how lift yourself up and live a healthier, happier life, listen to Joyce's messages and apply what resonates with you!
Kathy
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