Simple test reveals if you are obsessive about the holidays
Dr. Howard Rosenthal
You just might be obsessive about the holidays. Do you have thoughts that completely occupy your mind about experiencing the perfect holiday season? Take this dynamite little test I’ve created and get instant feedback about your personality. Okay, here goes:
If your family decorated your Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush and you secretly snuck back in the middle of the night while the family slept to make sure each ornament was picture perfect then you just might be obsessive.
If you dusted your home a second time while standing on a step stool because a few tall people might be visiting your home for a holiday gathering . . . well, you just might be obsessive about the holidays.
If you shopped at a dozen stores to get the cheapest price on a holiday gift and then returned it because you saw the item for 39 cents less on the Internet, you just might be obsessive. (By the way, does the word “postage” ring a holiday bell here?)
If you wolfed down a prophylactic dose of statin drugs and a handful of antioxidant vitamins before eating your turkey dinner, for fear that your cholesterol might shoot up a point, you just might be obsessive.
If you built your last snowman using a bubble level then you just might be obsessive. (It’s also called a spirit level, but believe me when I say that this behavior isn’t remotely related to a healthy spirit of the holidays.)
On the other hand, if you give your Uncle Henry the same bottle of Hai- Karate Cologne with rust particles on the metal cap that he gave you as a gift in 1967 when the product was released, you just might not be obsessive. Just keep doing what you are doing.
Here’s to a great obsession free holiday season.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal is Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and a multi-book author. His website is www.howardrosenthal.com. Copyright Howard Rosenthal 2006.
