I 'can't leave well enough alone'. I must dig, pick, investigate, analyze, question everything to death. Is thia an ADD trait or a OCD trait? What meds help with this? Can anyone else relate?
Thanks,

I too am a constant improver. I look at things and wonder how I can make it better or more efficient. It can get me in trouble with my wife too. For example, if she makes a dinner that is excellent, I will complement her, but say it would taste good if you added xxxxx to the recipie. Those comments aren't well received.

OH boy can I relate. I consider that hyperfocusing. It's like you find something new then have to know every little thing there is to know about it until you can't find anything else. Then you become bored and avoid it like the plague. I'm finding I am doing this with ADD right now. I just realized last week that I am ADD and since then I have been obsessed with it. Wanting to know everything there is to know about it. I have probably spent 80% of my waking hours reading about it. Not sure I will become bored with this one because it is so much a part of me now. I feel better knowing that others feel the same way as I do and that I am not alone in my world. I'm not on medication yet so I don't know if the meds help in this area. Would love to know though?

Oh dear.. I fight this! It's part of what makes me stuck in a rut sometimes. And when I get stuck I have a heck of a time getting going again.

I've been looking for some external structure to deal with some of this and found some of what I need at flylady.net.

The theory I'm going on as to why it works to "leave well enough alone" is that the cycles of attention to different tasks come around again and again. In this way I seem to be able to leave well enough alone if I'm sure to have someone or something remind me to get back to it and pick up where I left off sometime later.

Does that make any sense? I hope so. For instance if I was to apply the flylady type routine to some subject of interest for me like researching a problem I was having with a computer, I would alot a reasonable amount of time to it and then have it entered into my pda or yahoo calander or something to reoccur some time later on a regular basis until it was done and over with.

I am better with people than I used to be for LWEA (leaving well enough alone). I had a disturbing one last night where my brother phoned to tell me one of my neices close call with suicide.

Talking about compassion or empathy to him is like beating my head against a wall. I was happy to find myself being able to LWEA in that conversation. I'm not at all satisfied to remain univolved but my attention is better spent elsewhere I think. Leaving things be is so hard especially with this one! Somehow the kid has to know someone gives a hoot.

I used to believe that it was not enough just not to tell a lie but instead that I must tell the "truth". As it turns out leaving well enough alone in many instances has proved to be wise and fruitful in developing relationships of all kinds. It's also revealed to me that my interferance is sometimes not what is best. I'm still learning this one.
Ian... scab picker.. :P

I 'can't leave well enough alone'. I must dig, pick, investigate, analyze, question everything to death. Is thia an ADD trait or a OCD trait? What meds help with this? Can anyone else relate?
Thanks,

Maybe this is why CSI is my favorite TV show ... :D

CSI... very popular here too... lol

I am not sure if this would "fit" into the same category as what you all are talking about.....................but just this morning I was having this conversation with my husband. There are some things going on in my life that I am finding myself getting "angry" over. I do not like having these feelings or that I even react like this. My husband tells me to just let it all go(as in do not worry about it so much). Things are what they are, and I can not change them

Along these same lines, I've been trying to think of a way to turn these types of traits to my advantage.

For example, I notice that when I use a stencil, I feel I "must" carve away the little piece of paper, wood or plastic that attached the shape to the center of the stencil.

Or when I paint, I can't just throw a "coat" of it on the walls and be satisfied...I "must" first sand, patch, excavate old caulk, etc.

There must be some line of work where this kind of focus is appreciated or rewarded-

Beyond the knowledge that, of course...IF I ever finish jobs that I start out this intensely, there is the pure joy and pride of a job well done...but it is a big IF...