[nr47]

Hey - does anyone here have pure O? Does it get in the way of your creative endeavors, if you have any? I used to be a choreographer for dance, and a pretty good one (not to boast, but just to depict myself accurately) -- now I can't really even dance anymore. I can't do a simple 2-step. I can't get into the rhythm of dancing anymore...for some reason I don't feel it anymore. It's not that I've lost passion for it - I've already explored this possibility thoroughly. I'm very motivated to dance, but can't do it...

Someone said I need to practice in case I'm rusty, but that's not the case either. I've tried practicing, but I can't seem to execute anything the way I want. I can probably do the moves (Eventually), but I don't feel like I'm dancing...just moving my limbs. And it's very awkward for me. And very awkward to look at, I'm assuming.

Is anyone in a similar boat? Or can you actually enjoy what you're doing and feel pretty good about what you're doing (that you're doing it right)?

I can tell there's some OCD tendencies in what I'm writing...by asking "doing it right", as if there was a "Right" way of doing things. I'm trying to see if my OCD/Pure-O is a separate issue from my dancing/creative pursuits issue.

Thanks anyone/everyone for reading.

[healingme4me]

I don't have personal experience, but am sharing this article in case it sounds similar to your experience.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-ocd...rtain/00012600

[MusicMike]

I've had obsessions my whole life, so with the help of therapy actually I can do more than I used to, but I'm acutely aware of how the obsessive nature impacts my ability to be creative. My creative outlet is composing music. As a child I wanted to be a composer, but I couldn't write more than a couple measures at a time before they would get stuck in my head and drive me mad. I now realize that without OCD I probably would have been naturally building big structures, perhaps a lot in my head. Now I can do more than I used to, but can't imagine music very well (my head is so full of racing obsessions) and I can't work with very large structures.

[starliteyes]

It can be a nuisance when it comes to writing music. Once I have a passage written, it is so tempting to stop there, and start tweaking all the instruments until it sounds "perfect". Sometimes it can be an asset, other times I end up changing passages so much that they lose the essence they had, or I just get plain bored of hearing it so many times that I end up not using it at all.

[coyotee]

I really like crafting and making things, but starting new projects is always very hard for me. Just the supply list alone is time consuming: making the list, getting the right stuff, "should I get this one or this one". Then I have to make sure the environment surrounding me is "perfect" when I actually start on it or I can't concentrate at all.

Then with the actual project, there's a lot of delays and decision making and fears of going forward because what if it doesn't turn out up to my standard. I sometimes go through a lot of complete start-overs because of minimal screw-ups.

If I can get past the setup and prep and first steps, I usually can relax a little bit and enjoy the actual process - the enjoyment part is the whole purpose of doing the project in the first place. But sometimes the mind still gets in the way with the details.

Finishing is very hard too. I'll even sometimes pick up finished projects from years ago and tweak. When I tweak those wrong, it's very upsetting - I feel guilty for ruining it.