Do we ALL have something wrong with us?  

What's So Wrong With OCD?
I mean this in all seriousness. OCD at least not in the extreme is not necessarily a bad thing. I have what I guess would be described as a mild case of OCD and it can be incredibly helpful. I live in a fairly large space (6400 square feet) and if I wasn't very organized as a result of this mild affliction I would waste half a day, every day looking for stuff, but with a place for everything and everything in it's place. I can achieve an awesome amount of things in any given day. I also am a creative type (full time painter/filmmaker since 1994) and while my style of working is very disjointed and to the outside observer probably a complete and utter mess I get a lot done making paintings and films, designing furniture, interiors, and landscapes. I would say that the condition as you outline can be summed up in one word "Passion" Besides who wishes to follow the herd, I say Viva la difference!

It is not hard to figure...
It is not hard to figure that out with me . all you have to do is check my post always something new around here on a weekly bases, in MY HOME I keep telling the wife i will go till no more money ...
with the price of oil at almost 100 barrel i think i am safe for awhile,

Its possible.
I think there is something true about the obsessive compulsive aspect. When I first stumbled onto Eames chairs I bought one. Then another. Then 5 more. Then another 8. Then 4 more... and so on. Its true that my house was almost devoid of any well designed furniture, which could account for the rapid accumulation of chairs. However, the fascination with design is much deeper - a desire, perhaps, for creating a better world? (in addition to being a DA I'm also fairly progressive in my politics, a conscious environmentalist, and a gay rights activist)
Perhaps design is a substitute belief system? A manifest proof that when things are done right they have a tangible benefit.
In any case, it is possible to obtain some stability. I, for one, took a job that centers around design - which allows me to eat, breath, and live design from 9-5. Then go home to my simple - but now well furnished - home and focus on other things of interest - art, politics, etc. I have to say its quite a relief from a year ago, when I worked in an art gallery - then designaddict in me consumed every non-work hour. Also - my new house is so small that I cant fit any new pieces in :-)...maybe the cure is as simple as that.

lusifersum
I started with those armshell chairs also, with one then 10 and then got into other chairs and then back to those.
I started a business cause i wanted to do something that i could have fun with and be involved with great furniture, and the Redo business was it, cause no one could figure out how to recover the chair with the cool maharam fabrics,
I have to say it is a obsession but it is a magnificent obsession and a lot of fun for me.
Kinda the kid in the candy store i get the first pick of a lot of cool stuff, ( just need to learn to turn loose of some stuff and sell it)

I think there is also...
I think there is also something about us that... we are probably more aware of our surroundings then others whom do not have the "affliction". The appreciation of good design can translate into lots of other areas. To some people a chair is no more then a place to sit, to a DA it is a piece of art. Form follows function and all that, but beyond that, an appreciation for when something is "just right". When the line, the essence of the thing rings true. Like in art, at least when making it, and perhaps just standing in front of it, one is constantly asking, Does it work? Does this picture have truth in it? By either brush stroke or subject matter, the same can be said of a well crafted chair, or dwelling. Is there the human component?
The great thing about good design is that it really knows no geographical boundaries, it just is. It doesn't care whether you are terribly religous or an atheist. Black, white, brown or green.
I think from reading a lot of these posts over the years that progressively aware, with human rights for all human beings I think these things go hand in hand with an appreciation of good design, at least that is how it seems "most of the time".
With respect to a progressive attitude, I don't think I know any real rabid right wingers that are also DA's, I'm sure there are, I just don't know any. Were not the early roots of MCM a striving for a more utopian society? Good design is a pretty good replacement for a lot of more harmful belief systems. Although that does sound a bit new agey, which is not my intent.

In a society(s) badly in need of fixing...
what could be a more logical response than wanting for it to be beautifully and effectively redesigned. Someone said in a world of liars, telling the truth is the most revolutionary act conceivable. Well, in a world of governments, corporations, schools, and products that don't work worth shit, the most revolutionary act conceivable is to redesign them well.

Hunger
I find I'm always thinking furniture and it hasn't seem to let up yet. I get a hunger for certain furniture and need it, you should see the list of stuff I'd like to put in our apartment. Sometimes I feel I may have a light case of OCD, but have never went to a doctor for it. It helped me to lose 200 lbs and become an addicted strong bicycle rider, It also allows me to think and work fast/efficient(although high stress is a drawback). What are common symptoms of OCD?

Yes I agree
The design addicts' tendency to view the redesigning of governments, corporations, and schools to be related to the act of designing chairs and buildings is what is strange.
Many people start off with something as simple as a fiberglass Eames chair and end up morphing into a tree hugging, pinko liberal know-it-all. An addict often finds himself walking about judging things with his/her aesthetic "enlightenment." This helps an addict feel just as special as when he/she is able to publicly display their superior politics.
A butterfly just flew out of my nest.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
I would rather not discuss my symptoms, so here is an explanation from wikipedia:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric anxiety disorder most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or "rituals") which attempt to neutralize the obsessions.
The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has worked its way into the wider English lexicon, and is often used in an offhand manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause (see also "anal-retentive"). Such casual references should not be confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder; see clinomorphism. It is also important to distinguish OCD from other types of anxiety, including the routine tension and stress that appear throughout life. Although these signs are often present in OCD, a person who shows signs of infatuation or fixation with a subject/object, or displays traits such as perfectionism, does not necessarily have OCD, a specific and well-defined condition.
To be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, one must have either obsessions or compulsions alone, or obsessions and compulsions, according to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria. The Quick Reference to the diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR (2000) describes these obsessions and compulsions:[1]
Obsessions are defined by:
Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality.
The tendency to haggle over small details that the viewer is unable to fix or change in any way. This begins a mental pre-occupation with that which is inevitable.
Compulsions are defined by:
Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive.
In addition to these criteria, at some point during the course of the disorder, the sufferer must realize that his/her obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive. Moreover, the obsessions or compulsions must be time-consuming (taking up more than one hour per day), cause distress, or cause impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning.[1] OCD often causes feelings similar to those of depression.

new name design addiction ...
new name design addiction and we are all design addicts
but the best thing about this thread is that we are not alone, we could start our own self help group, as the similiaries are there,
I feel sorry for you youngsters just starting out, like I said in a earlier post I have collected for over 30 years, from fine art work,to 19 and early 20 century quilts, bakelite, glass paperweights, and clocks and now mid century furniture, all expensive, cause i hate to say i had to have it all, Out hunting for the best of the best, but i do remember along the journey i would buy some things that were not the best, just to fill the desire, of acquiring the item in the group that i was collecting,
then unhappy that i bought that one

To Whitespike
When you put it that way... perhaps, and I'm only talking about MCM here, that the disorder be renamed "PCD" or Possessive Compulsive Disorder: the need to possess various well designed items. True OCD is certainly nothing to trifle about. Perhaps this thing is more compulsion with obssession versus the truly clinical description of OCD. Whatever it is though, we do seem as a group, able to get a lot done, when conditions are kept in "check" and it does lend itself to a rather orderly existence. And I for one can't find fault with trying to find some order and precision in one's life when so much of the world seems to be in complete chaos.

This is really interesting...
Whitespike I very often see commonalities with your viewpoint and mine. We seem to see design and the greater world through the same type of glasses.
Yet...here I am opposite to what you all agree to above. I am forever editing, removing and refining what I own. If I buy something and it doesn't feel right, look right or do it's assigned task as well as I expected...Whoosh..it's gone.
I am even like this with my clothing. I wear only about 6 colors. No prints and only straight lines, no frilliness. I haven't touched an iron in years and never go to the dry-cleaners.
I think I am searching for a zen-like nothingness...or almost nothingness. I want only to own what I need and enjoy each piece. I want calm open space, no clutter minimal amounts of stuff. I would be in heaven in a John Pawson design. I don't want aceticism, but I do want aesthetic-ism.
But I am always wanting to make improvements beyond my own space. I want orderliness too! I get really frustrated with stupid design, inefficient government etc. I am the type of person who writes emails to companies complaining of stupid construction, poor ergonomics and wasteful packaging. I drive my workmates crazy when I point out illogic and inefficiencies.
I guess I have OSD, Obsessive Simplfying Disorder.

Olive
My thoughts on the subject are not so different. I am constantly getting rid of things and simultaneously accumulating. My main reason is replacing things that do not work as they should. I am ery much the same as far as my uptightness towards function. If something doesn't work, I can it. No matter how cool it is.
Over the last couple of years my clothing has been moving in that direction too. Simple colors, simple lines, well made with no logos.

return
I tend to get a craving for a piece of furniture(or light, ect.) and obsess about it. I will mentally move it around the house to where it may look good. It's almost like it will complete me, then when I order it I change my mind. I do this way too much, am I the only one who does this? I just ordered a Vitra Morrison cork stool and an Eames LTR last night, I'm a mess. 🙁