"No one is immune to compulsion. Most believe actions are rational responses to things that need doing. You shower every day because your armpits smell, to clean your ass of trace particles of fecal material, to organize the body for a new day. A la douche, you smile wide, let the clear liquid course through your gums as you position your face to be pounded by the pouring down of pressurized water, a pummeling that centers your thoughts in a singularly unique way. At night, to fall asleep, you hold a book for a page or two, drink tea, watch television, sculpt pillows. People call these designs, 'my daily routine', but what they really are, are compulsions. Repetitious behavior to stay on track , feel normal, able to function. Ritualized practices whose absence could wreck havoc on a days tone. What's bugging her? Well something didn't quite go right with her routine.
Levels of compulsion can run a wide range, bathing and sleep methods are uniformly considered normal, but some actions cross into the realm of mental illness. Take for example Myrna Joyce Allen. Ever since obsessive feelings began to intrude on her daily thoughts she felt compelled to organize, then photograph, a little grouping of toy animals. Eleven stuffed creatures, owned since childhood, arranged like a crescent moon and required to move clockwise shifting one position per day. An activity so important that Myrna Joyce gave up her beloved cat Tompkins, fearing that he might knock her order askew, and unleashing the hounds of anxiety."
