How I broke out of OCD

Or one method I used anyway.

I never consulted a doctor about this, because at the time I had not heard about OCD and thought that this was just some stupid thing that I did.

I’d turn taps and lights on and off, or I’d fill something with water, empty it and do it again, and during one point in my life, I found it somewhat crippling and used to fear that someone would spot me doing it, sometimes I’d do something nearly a hundred times, it was awful.

Most people say that they fear that something bad will happen, if they don’t go through with whatever it is that they do, and they know, as I did, that it’s nonsense.

I would get very tired of the actions I took, sometimes they would keep me up later at night, or cause me to miss a train.

What I realised was that it was some sort of game, and I could write the rules, and that’s when I developed “Insurance”.

It works like this.

I might’ve turned the tap on and off five times already, and my mind was saying that I had to do it some more, otherwise whatever bad thing I had concocted, would happen, I could keep playing till I reached the safe point, I could leave and worry that the bad thing may actually happen, or I could stop at any time using insurance.

Insurance gives you an instant safe spot, you don’t have to worry about continuing because insurance will prevent the bad thing happening.

To take insurance, you just tap on the tap or the wall, or put a toe on a particular tile, then walk away.

Insurance has a few rules of its own.

* Must be something within reach of what you’re doing.

* Cannot be anything which causes an accident (rushing from one room to another, falling out the shower etc)

* Must be selected with ONE touch.

The idea is to get your brain out of the loop, in theory you’ll use insurance and your brain won’t think it’s a fun game anymore and you’ll simply give up and forget the whole thing.

It mostly worked for me, now and then I have sparse OCD attacks, but nothing nearly as bad as before.

Notorious

Sometimes, now and then, someone on Facebook or G+ posts an image of someone liking every one of their posts, which they’re a little concerned about, sometimes they find it a bit creepy.

It’s true, it can come across that way, it feels a bit like someone following you so closely that you can feel their breath on your neck.

There’s likely little to be worried about, in all likelihood they’re just a fan.

They really like you, and love all your posts, but might also see you as a bit of a rock star, and therefore won’t say anything to you for fear of embarrassing themselves.

About the best thing you can do is write back and thank them for enjoying your posts, and invite them to comment, which is a bit like offering a shy person tea and biscuits, and a chair where they can sit, mix in, and feel welcome.

 

 

You’re big enough and Ugly enough to look after yourself.

There have been a lot of worries lately, all caused by the newly elected Abbott Government, which you probably know I despise, I may as well make that clear for those who don’t know.

One of the concerns is that at any moment, The ABC might be sold off, and a lot of worrying about that is coming from the ABC itself.

You know, the network that gave us the impression that everything Julia did was horrid, but Tony was a sweet little angel.

And now Tony has been elected, The ABC is going “Crikey, we might be sold off” and Getup are running petitions to prevent it happening.

Now if I were a kid and I’d caused something like that to happen, Mum would have looked at me with scorn, telling me that it’s my own damn fault, and she’d be right, Mum was wise like that.

Yes ABC, You caused this, and now you can eat it.

We, The People – Doctor Who Fanfic. (Part 2)

OK, here comes part 2

“My Name is Farrell, I spotted you here on your own and wondered if you would like some tea, and maybe a chat… or perhaps you’d rather sleep?”

“Well… “ The Doctor eased himself up and the chair adjusted itself so that He could sit up straight, “Well yes, I’d love some tea, thank you, but where did you come from?”

Farrells bright blue eyes shone as he gave the happiest smile that The Doctor had seen since, well, Since Hansel announced his engagement.

Farrell pointed to a path leading between two grassy hills, “Over there, Oh, I have cake too, there’s Jam in it… would you mind if I sat down?”

Farrell was clearly excited to see someone new and different in his World.
The Doctor was about to suggest getting a chair for Farrell, when Farrell seated himself down in mid air, and left the teapot floating in front of him.

The Doctor examined the teapot.

Farrell made himself comfortable and saw The Doctors book, “Oh, Roald Dahl, Excellent, I’ve read all of his books”

“You have?” Asked The Doctor?

“Yes of course, I love reading stories from Earth, I have quite a collection myself” Farrell seemed to pull a couple of cups out of thin air and filled each with tea.

“Well that’s interesting” said The Doctor to himself as he watched the antics of his new friend.

“Milk?, Sugar?, Honey? Asked Farrell, as he pushed a floating cup gently towards The Doctor.

“Milk thanks, and one sugar” The tea in his cup suddenly looked as though it had milk in it, The Doctor tasted it, and was pleased.

“What sort have you got?” asked Farrell.

The Doctor wondered what Farrell meant and looked puzzled.

“The tea, what kind do you have? Asked Farrell, smiling.

“OH!” exclaimed The Doctor, still slightly confused, He sipped and tasted… “Irish Breakfast… What about  You?”

“Blackberry, it’s my favourite, I love the smell” Farrell sipped his tea and drifted off for a minute or so, lost in a peaceful daydream.

The slight breeze whirled around and through the dry wheat, the only sounds were of the wind and the occasional buzz of a beetle.

“Have you lived here all your life” asked The Doctor.

“Yes I have” replied Farrell, “Till now at least, I’m thirty five”

“And what do you do?” asked The Doctor.

“Well, I read a lot” said Farrell, “and I talk to people a lot, oh… and I make these”

Farrell pulled a small wooden box out of his pocket, there was a knot design etched into the top and the sides, He smiled and handed it to The Doctor. “Open it and have a look”

The Doctor took the small box and opened the lid.

A tiny, intricate mechanical bird of an iridescent blue and gold, fluttered its wings and sang “The Rainbow Connection”.

The Doctor smiled wistfully, “It’s beautiful”

Farrell opened the paper bag and took out four small cakes, which also floated in the air. Two beetles, a red and a green one, flew up to look at the cakes.

Farrell smiled gently and took one of the cakes, tore a piece off, then gently crumbled it in his hand, then held his hand out to the beetles “There you go”.

“I made it myself, it took me two years to build it”  Farrel smiled, wiping a small crumb off his face.

The beetles gathered up the crumbs and took them away, Farrell sprinkled the rest to the beetles around their feet, and the crumbs were gathered up with enthusiasm.

When the song ended, The Doctor closed the lid and handed the music box back to Farrell

Farrell reached out for the Music Box and said “Oh I am sorry, I rushed in like this and I never even asked you your name, I do that a lot” He blushed slightly.

“The Doctor” said The Doctor, “How do you do?”

Farrell sat back in his chair, his tea stirring itself, “The Doctor?… It’s funny but I’m sure I’ve heard that name before”

“I get around” replied The Doctor with a slight grin.

Farrell hesitated slightly, “Do you… Do you travel in that?” He pointed at The TARDIS.

“Yes I do, would you like to see the inside of it?” He asked.

“Yes Please! If I may, I’d very much like to have a look” Farrells eyes shone, he smiled and groomed his short, light brown hair with one hand.

The Doctor went to get up, and all the beetles who were on the ground, hoping for more cake crumbs, got out of the way.

Farrell got up, but floated a few inches above the ground, and with a slight swimming motion propelled himself towards the TARDIS, a few beetles followed him from behind.

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, and pushed the door open for Farrell, gesturing him inside.

Farrells eyes popped, as he gazed around the interior of the TARDIS.

“Do you like it?” asked The Doctor?

Farrell  looked back at The Doctor, trying to find the right words, but couldn’t, That was enough for The Doctor, “Go on, go and have a look”

Farrell floated towards the console and hovered above it, clearly fascinated by all the lights and switches, then he looked up and in one swift motion, swept his arms back and zoomed up to the ceiling where he admired well, everything that was up there.

“It’s Exquisite” Farrell said to himself, easily ten feet up.

“It’s alright for some” muttered The Doctor, whose feet remained firmly on the floor.

Like a kid in a lolly shop, Farrell floated all over the TARDIS, including underneath the console, examining every portion of the huge room with enthusiasm and wonder.

The Doctor sipped at his tea and frowned slightly, it was almost cold, so he took out his sonic screwdriver and dunked it in the tea for a moment, then sipped it again, raised an eyebrow, smiled and nodded.

Farrell flew back to The Doctor, “It’s wonderful, I love it, and she loves You Doctor”

The Doctor almost spat out his tea, his eyes bulged and he swallowed hard, then sputtered “What?”

“It’s Obvious” said Farrell

“It is?” replied The Doctor?

“Of course” Smiled Farrell “A Woman made this… for You, She must adore You”

The Doctors eyes scanned the TARDIS, and then he looked at Farrell and said “Yes, You’re right”, He walked forward and put his hands on the console.

Farrell floated up behind him and said softly “I don’t know how, but, it’s as though she’s nearby, perhaps… ” fearing he had gone a little too far, he stopped short and backed away.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder at Farrell and said “Yes, You’re right, She is here, just not in the usual way.

“I understand” said Farrell, “It’s the same for my people too, sometimes, that is, not everyone was lucky”.

The Doctor leaned against the console, “What do you mean?”

“I mean that, I mean that not everyone has a body” Farrells eyes dropped to the floor.

The room suddenly seemed very quiet to both of them.

“They, They couldn’t make more bodies, nobody knows why” said Farrell softly, so they, they just sort of float around.”

“The Doctor, said “But you float, around”

Farrells eyes looked up at The Doctor and said “Yes, but I can’t pass through walls”.

We, The People (Part 1) by Wolfie Rankin

“We, The People” – Wolfie Rankin

The Doctor sighed and leaned against the inside door of the TARDIS, alone once again. His travel partner Hansel Stencil had fallen in love with a giant Tharg called Mangolin, and the two were engaged.

The Doctor really didn’t think Hansel had it in him, He’d known there had been a thing between them ever since, what was referred to as “the incident”.

He wiped a finger under his nose and pushed himself towards the console, and slumped over it.

The little lights twinkled in his eyes, like a child looking at lights on a Christmas tree, it was a sight that despite all of his years of looking at it, he’d never tire of.

He let out a long breath, and took his purple jacket off and hung it on his coat rack, He was exhausted.

He needed to go somewhere, somewhere nice, somewhere  he could sit and think for a while, perhaps read a book or two, He hadn’t done that in some time, He needed time and time needed him.

“What a corny line” He muttered under his breath.

“You’re not supposed to pass commentary on my writing, Doctor” I typed.

He let out a sudden puff of air, which may have passed for a laugh.

“Buttons, Switches, Knobs, Levers” He said as he ran his hand over all of them.

“It’s not so much about what is pressed, but how you press it, and that is how you “Fly” A TARDIS”

He almost casually flipped one tiny toggle switch and the entire TARDIS shuddered, then he pressed three buttons, spun around, grabbed hold of a lever, and pushed it down.

The TARDIS sprang to life, tiny lights like stars pulsed and flickered across the ceiling, while the column in the centre rose and fell, the machine breathing, conscious, alive.

The familiar sound signalling the TARDIS was leaving reverberated from every wall and…

“If you’re really going to follow me around, you could at least make yourself useful” said The Doctor, Clearly frustrated that he was not quite as alone as he would like… He made a flippant gesture with His hand and said “Make me a coffee”.

“You drink Coffee?” I typed, Questioning the man who…

“Yes, I do, or I did, I just started, again, I think” He pressed something and got a slight shock “ow”, He shook his hand in pain.

“You don’t have a coffee maker” I typed.

“That’s beside the point” he countered, displeased, burnt, frazzled.

He sucked his finger.

Three tiny stalks rose from a panel on the console, a balloon inflated on each with a squeak.

The Doctor leaned down to examine them, “That’s interesting” he thought aloud, “very interesting indeed”  as an arm reached out and pressed a toggle switch, and his foot pushed a pedal to the floor.

The TARDIS shuddered slightly, and the column in the middle of the console stopped.

He pressed a switch and the doors opened.

Warm daylight filled the inside of the TARDIS, and The Doctor walked outside, breathed deeply, and stretched.

The TARDIS had appeared in a field of what could have been wheat, which bent and twisted in the wind. Further out were manicured hills of green, and a few had trees on them.

He was about to take a step further out, when he looked down and saw a beetle with the shiny body of gold, sitting there amongst the grass, He bobbed down and noticed that there were quite a few beetles around, all with differently coloured bodies.

One with a red body buzzed around The Doctors jacket and settled upon his lapel.

The Doctor smiled “I shall name you Paul”.

He pulled out a whistle from his jacket pocket and blew it, on hearing this, the TARDIS opened a great blue and white awning around itself, with a muffled sort of floomph.

A beach chair was shoved out of the TARDIS door and came to an abrupt stop right next to The Doctor, on top of it were a pair of sunglasses, a book, and an after dinner mint.

“Thankyou Kindly” The Doctor said to the TARDIS, “This looks perfect”.
He put the sunglasses on and laid on the chair.

He looked at the cover of the book “Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls by Roald Dahl, Excellent!”

As he read his book, Pauls friends examined the chair legs, which had been placed very carefully by the TARDIS so as not to harm the tiny folk in the grass.

The sun moved across the sky and both warm air and comfy chair let The Doctor drift to sleep, without a care.

“Hello” said a voice.

The Doctor woke and looked around, He spotted a tall man with fair skin, dressed in white, who was carrying a teapot.

“Hello” said The Doctor, to the unexpected arrival.

“My Name is Farrell, I spotted you here on your own and wondered if you would like some tea, and maybe a chat… or perhaps you’d rather sleep?”