INTERVENTION!!!, or, in the mind of obsessive-compulsive Nathan

I'm writing this post as a quasi "self-intervention." Now don't get your knickers in a twist. I'm not addicted to anything too harmful – just clipping my fingernails and toenails. Does that sound a little off to you? Well, here's the story:

So I have an abnormally fervent obsession with fingernails and toenails. In fact, sometimes I even judge people according to the cleanliness of the nail and the quality of the manicure. I especially judge myself on the same specifications. One of my biggest pet peeves (if not my all-time biggest) is the length, cleanliness, and shape of my fingernails and toenails. They always have to be perfect. ALWAYS. If one my fingernails has too much of a point, out come the clippers until it is perfect. What's worse is, after I've fixed the nail in question, I realize that I have made it shorter than all the rest, so I think to myself, "Well, I guess they all have to be cut." I then proceed to manicure all of my nails to the same length and rounded shape. In addition to these clippings, if I notice any of my nails to be a little dirty and I can't seem to get the dirt out, I clip them. If that doesn't work, I proceed to pick at the skin that was formerly underneath the fingernail – sometimes until I'm bleeding. I know...too much information. But wait...there's more.

My toenails are an entirely different story. I've always heard that if you cut your toenails straight across, you have less of a chance of an ingrown toenail, which can become extremely painful. My semi-illogical brain, however, needs to have that same rounded shape on the toenails that I must have on the fingernails. This brings an all new dilemma in that I have to keep them unusually short to compensate for the risk of those horrible ingrown nails.

All of this combined means that I often cut my fingernails and toenails three or four times per week. That is extremely excessive, I know, but I have to appease that obsessive mind that controls these horrible urges! So right now, I am writing to force myself to keep from trimming my nails. And, so far, it's been working! I guess if I write about it, that might just let a little of the pressure out of my system for a minute. Maybe I'll be able to go four days this time without trimming! How about you? Do you have any obsessions like mine, or am I just some weird anomaly?