A new type of obsessive compulsive neurosis has been named (by me, who else?). It is called Obsessive Compulsive Mobile Losing. Mobile phones have long been associated with a psychiatric disorders - addiction. There is even an obsessive compulsive disorder associated with it - that of peering into the mobile phone. There is a phobia of losing mobile phones. But the neurosis I am about to describe is the first time it has been reported in the world literature. I will give two examples of this disorder.
The first one is of a relative who loses his mobile phones in public places. The first time he lost it in a cab, when he placed it elaborately on the seat next to him, along with a small packet of some food article he had purchased. While getting down, he carefully picked up the packet and left, leaving the phone behind. He never found it again. At another time, he was riding pillion with a friend on a bike. Over one of the potholes found all over the city roads, the bike jumped quite a bit. The mobile phone from his shirt pocket jumped out, and landed on the road as the bike sped on. While he was telling his friend to stop so that he could go get it, a truck ran over it, and made it sort of flat. He had no heart to pick it up. He lost one more mobile in some equally exotic way, but did not get around to recounting the story to me.
The other story is that of a neighbor. He places his mobile in his trousers pocket. When the trousers are put into the washing machine, the mobile goes in, gets washed, rinsed and spun and does not recover from the insult. He has lost three instruments in this manner.
"I lose them to the washing machine" he says. "That is why I do not buy expensive ones."
I leave it to my psychiatry colleagues to analyze the underlying mechanism of this disorder. I have an idea, but am afraid of putting it down, lest I upset these two people, and more like them that must be about.
The first one is of a relative who loses his mobile phones in public places. The first time he lost it in a cab, when he placed it elaborately on the seat next to him, along with a small packet of some food article he had purchased. While getting down, he carefully picked up the packet and left, leaving the phone behind. He never found it again. At another time, he was riding pillion with a friend on a bike. Over one of the potholes found all over the city roads, the bike jumped quite a bit. The mobile phone from his shirt pocket jumped out, and landed on the road as the bike sped on. While he was telling his friend to stop so that he could go get it, a truck ran over it, and made it sort of flat. He had no heart to pick it up. He lost one more mobile in some equally exotic way, but did not get around to recounting the story to me.
The other story is that of a neighbor. He places his mobile in his trousers pocket. When the trousers are put into the washing machine, the mobile goes in, gets washed, rinsed and spun and does not recover from the insult. He has lost three instruments in this manner.
"I lose them to the washing machine" he says. "That is why I do not buy expensive ones."
I leave it to my psychiatry colleagues to analyze the underlying mechanism of this disorder. I have an idea, but am afraid of putting it down, lest I upset these two people, and more like them that must be about.
