Healing, Hope, and... Starships?

A sci-fi staple provided an unexpected remedy.

Speaking about my OCD and expressing my love for science fiction are familiar topics for people who have followed my work.

I’ll spare regular readers the full backstory, but - in short - sci-fi stories helped me divert my attention away from compulsions and ruminations at the height of my OCD.

Before I truly appreciated the more nuanced themes present in Star Trek and Star Wars, one of the biggest draws for ‘young Jay’ was the presence of incredible starships. Hey, some people dig cars, but - for me - it’s fictional space ships!

Even as I grew older (I hesitate to say I ‘matured,’ as that is up for debate) and finally grasped the depth of Star Trek’s utopian ideals and Star Wars’ exploration of good vs. evil, my zeal for starships remained.

When my OCD was at its worst, I found that channeling my energy into the series and films I adored was an excellent way to occupy my mind and find some semblance of relief.

As a bit of a ‘hobby,’ I also began to keep a record of every starship that was seen or mentioned in those projects. I went so far as to take screenshots of fleet scenes (I’m looking at you Deep Space Nine and Return of the Jedi) so I could count every vessel and identify their classes.

I even included starships that I categorized as ‘implied’ ships - if dialogue indicated this character visited that planet a decade ago, a ship must have taken them there!

A strange hobby, I know. Yet it gave me an outlet where I could focus on what I loved and apply that enthusiasm outside of simply watching the shows and films.

Plus, I actually enjoyed it! I’ve even kept up with the personal project (I have charts!), updating my lists as my two favorite franchises have released even more stories for us to enjoy. After cataloging over 900 television episodes and two dozen films, handling 20-30 new episodes a year is a breeze!

So, there’s my secret. I’m not just a sci-fi nerd, I’m a sci-fi nerd who loves starships.