For those that tend to focus on little and otherwise-forgettable things, such as people with OCD, ASD or ADHD, what are tiny details or things you notice frequently that an average person would otherwise not care so much about?
I have ASD (and self-diagnosed OCD), and I do get thrown off by minor imperfections at many times. Whether that be a single dead pixel in an inconspicuous place on my monitor, tiny dust particles in random areas of my house, small bits of crumbs on the floor and so forth, I’ll become bothered by some of the smallest things.
In more convenient terms, I tend to focus on people saying “you know” or “like” in interviews quite often. I’ll be bothered if those words are uttered too often, but I’m guilty of doing it as well so I can’t really say that I hate when others formulate that habit.
I get way more bothered about how clean the dishes I am using are than my parents. This is a bit frustrating because I haven't figured out how to properly clean them myself.
I also inspect my drinks way too hard when I pour them into a cup. I'm at a point where I take dust and hair out with a spoon. It's really weird compared to everyone else.
As someone who has ASD I notice a ton of things that people don't in every day life. The list would be too gigantic to put down, but basically I see people easily forget things or make mistakes on a daily basis and it makes me ruminate about what I would have done better instead if it were me. Then there's that one situation where someone makes a mistake and I'm not sure that I could have done anything better, and it's just kind of a sinking feeling, LOL.
I would base my entire worth as a person based on arbitrary things, such as grades and achievements. If I even remotely fail at something, I immediately began to question my intelligence and self worth.
It's odd how people have become normalized to people just talking over them. I'm not done talking and I'm going to keep talking until I'm done. Chances are if I did that to you, you'd be feeling some kinda way about it. Also, trying to conversate with the mouth totally being filled with food? I think the topic may wait.
So many things, but a couple of examples -
I count stairs. All the stairs. I remember the number of steps in each area of the house i lived in back in 1986. I also notice if it takes an odd or even number of steps to complete a path when im walking somewhere, and i like to keep it even.
Noises and smells are huge. It amazes me how people are able to tune out odd smells and everyday noises. I have great earplugs, earbuds, etc. I have a nightmask that blocks out noise and also has Bluetooth speakers in the mask right over my ears for white noise, etc. I need constant noiseblocking
I like stuff in the cupboard to stay at the same place for years, I have my favorite glasses that must stay at the same place forever. I'm also super picky with spoons and forks. It annoys me when things around the computer are not at the same place and in the right angle, the pen has to be at the right of the notepad . My mom taking my candies out of their original bags to put them in a bowl!
Things I notice, that nobody cares, all those little mistakes in drama, series, movies. Like I notice car licence plates not being the same in a same scene. Sometimes I focus on eyes of the actor being too big, too small or not the same and stop listening to what they say. I also focus more on the background. Lately I was watching a drama and the floor of a house was dusty while the rest of the house was spotless and neat, it also didn't fit the characters' personality. Still annoying me. Also when they have a drink and the glasses of the restaurant are full of stains, or they drink from empty paper cups (because yes, we can tell if there is something of not in those paper cups). Or when they leave without touching their food. In fiction they like to order food but not eat it.
I'm also good at finding money and stuff on the street because I always look down and spot anything out of place.
Books must be perfect, at school I bought books in double or scanned them because I didn't want to write or underline text in them.
Any imperfections, scratches or folded pages annoy me no end.
Sensitive to sounds, like clocks, boiler, normal sounds in a house, if I focus those sounds, it's over, I can't think of anything else.
