One example of this is optometry. I remember having this interest since I was five years old or so, but apparently I showed signs of it at a younger age. I also happen to have complicated eyesight, so I have a terrible OCD obsession about my eyesight. This obsession causes anxiety attacks and my worst compulsions. I could just try to not think of eyes, but it’s my interest.

I want a career in that field, but I’m worried it will trigger my OCD. I also have a hard time knowing whether I’m just engaging with my interest or doing OCD compulsions. Testing my vision through several pairs of glasses is an obvious compulsion, but maybe reading academic papers that interest me are more of a grey area. It seems like OCD always manages to hijack my interest.

The same thing happened to me when I was getting interested in makeup. One second I was enjoying it and the next second I was agonizing whether my skin is warm or cool. I really don’t like the idea of my skin tone being warm since I don’t like a lot of warm colors on me. But since a lot of lighting is warm my skin ends up having a warm appearance at times and I panic about having warm skin. Most skin technically is warm and I know it’s a stupid obsession. This is a great example of how OCD ruins my interests.