From the Babylon Bee: Man Taken Up Into Heaven After Stopping Gas Pump Exactly On The ‘.00’:
A local man has been taken up directly to heaven after managing to miraculously stop a gas pump exactly on the “.00” while filling up his car, sources say.
Cue rueful chuckle with a tinge of sorrow.
When I saw this, I was struck by how perfectly it illustrates OCD for me. Granted, it’s intended as a joke, but it is so close to the truth that plays in my mind, and of many I know.
Scrupulosity is a form of OCD that I describe as perfectionism with the constant threat of eternal damnation. This is my flavor.
In many ways, it is the other end of the stick of this joke. In almost every endeavor, there is a “right” way, a “pure” way to do it. Failing to find and perform that means you are fast-tracked for hell.
This also illustrates OCD because we know these thoughts are ridiculous. Rationally, we can’t swallow what our brain claims and demands. But sometimes, its grip is too strong, and we find ourselves bowing down to serve the compulsions, all the time hating ourselves for our weakness.
So, yes, we will join with you in laughing at a hyperbolic joke. But we’ll hurt a little on the inside too.