Am I correct in saying that for a person to receive a diagnosis of OCD, the behaviors must be having a significant impact on the person's ability to carry out a daily life?

If so, how do you know where to draw the line between some compulsive behaviors related to other conditions - namely bi-polar disorder and ADHD - and a true diagnosis of OCD.

By now you're hopefully wondering about my symptoms. Please understand that I don't know much of anything about OCD, really, and I apologize if I portray any stereotypes, I'm just trying to list as factually as I can behaviors I think may be related to OCD but there may be plenty of stuff that you identify as having nothing whatever to do with it. I'd appreciate any feedback in that regard.

I continually check the time, but there have been many times where I have done that and realized a moment later I still had no idea what time it was and had to look again. I feel lost without my watch and when I don't have it, I need to know where the clock is wherever I go.

Each and every daily household task has been broken down into individual steps that have been examined in the minutest detail. Many of the things I do, are done much the same was as anyone else; however, I have in my head an exact right way everything has to be done so, for example, when folding clothes, I have to keep fluffing them out and folding them again to get them just right; it takes me far longer than it should. Mistakes are inevitable but when I make them, my reaction is way out of proportion.

I tend to be quite formal in the spoken and written word.

I'm gradually becoming more and more precise in the placement of dishes in my cupboards, i.e. nudging this one just so and making sure that one goes on top etc. Simply keeping them more organized is easily a good thing for someone with ADHD, but I'm referring to more precision and feelings of, "no, it's still not quite right.... nudge nudge". Please tell me if you disagree with the distinction I'm trying to make here.

I go completely off my rocker if I think I may be late. It happens whether I'm running behind due to forgetfulness, due to a third party and even when it really doesn't matter if I'm on time or not - say for parties and such. I absolutely flip my lid. It turns out if I start rushing around it triggers anxiety; there's a fine howdy do.

I can't stop talking out loud to myself whether anyone else is around or not unless I focus almost all my attention on it. I think that's the biggy right there.

So here's the crux of the matter: how do I know how much impact these things are having on my daily life when I have no idea what its like not to have them?

But I know this much about where I work: I know the talking to myself thing has caused embarrassment more than once; the extra time needed to do certain tasks caused a lot of unpaid overtime; whenever I would arrive late or even just on time, I would be agitated and scatter-brained and feel like I was running behind for the entire rest of the day.