I have a question. Is excessive note taking an OCD thing? Like if I have to outline a chapter I leave nothing out. Sometimes my outline is more pages than the chapter. Also I heard that constantly using new materials is an OCD thing. Like always starting new notebooks, getting new pens, restarting imperfect flash cards, etc. I never really struggle with perfectionism but maybe I do on a mild or moderate level. It does affect my functioning a little bit in terms of things taking forever to do but it’s not severe mental distress.

i think it is...When i was cutting the grass i used to insist on going over spots that didn’t look cut enough again. And in like 5th grade if I forgot one detail from a chapter I was reading, i would reread the whole page. In some ways this is a beneficial part of OCD because it makes the outcome good for what you’re doing, you remember the info more. But I would still try to minimize it because giving into compulsions there could negatively impact other ocd thoughts you’re having

I have tons of notes. In my case, it's one part of my OCD,. From what I've read it is OCD. I know it is because sometimes I almost have a panic attack and I take notes many times a day.

Yes, I really struggle with this, I write way too much because I’m worried about leaving out something important, but then I’ve written too many notes and it’s very difficult to study and to find what’s actually important. So yeah that’s something I’ve been working on for awhile, I’ve gotten better at resisting excessive note taking.

If you take notes can you stop or do tou have to do it like no matter what you do it if so thats ocd

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It can absolutely be OCD! Now, depending on how badly it affects your daily life/work, it could be made manageable into a helpful trait. For example; I too take excessive notes and will feel like I need to rewrite them or use specific paper/notebooks and pens/highlighters. However, if I put caps on my notes or deal with having the wrong color highlighter, the notes that I do take mean more comprehension and retention. So while even with caps on time or pages or whatever, they still take longer than for others; however, I need less study time because I’ve been so immersed in the material. In class example: My extensive notes in class are also a coping mechanism for my ADD. I have had student jobs as a note taker before. Because I’m getting paid to share my notes, I back off from just trying to write everything in the lecture so that the notes are more legible, but I also don’t have time to rewrite them, so that however they turn out, I live with the imperfections. In that case, it helps with my attention, retention, fighting perfectionism, fighting the desire for 100% verbatim, gets me better test scores, and I actually get paid. It’s a difficult balancing act to be sure. It’s something I still struggle with. But it can also be one of the few good things from dealing with OCD, if you just keep fighting those urges. Good luck! 💜