With over 18% of Americans suffering from anxiety disorders, it's no wonder that the internet has been plagued with the trend of "Oddly Satisfying" videos. If you aren't familiar, these 30-second nuggets of pleasure cover everything from paint freely dripping off of a canvas to perfectly stacked wooden logs are pleasing to the eye and the mind of an individual with an anxiety disorder. These small, yet soothing acts can put any Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-struck brain at ease, presenting a nearly perfect scenerio that appeals in both sizing, color, and so much more. For real-life OCD sufferers, watching these handy little videos takes the place of therapy sessions, popping medication, or the hours it can take to bring themselves down from those God-awful panic attacks. And that, to an anxious person, is a true blessing. In honor of this cool and calming new trend, here are 18 things that can oddly satisfy your OCD side:
1. Calligraphy videos
Proving that this ancient art of writing is not dead, calligraphy videos are popping up all over Instagram.With their smooth pen strokes and inspirational messages, watching the vibrant ink flow gracefully on parchment is both mesmerizing and addicting. Seriously, once you watch one of these bad boys, you'll find yourself scrolling into a two-hour time hole and your phone on 8 percent battery life. Personal experience.
2. Totally effortless lipstick applications such as this one
Did anyone else believe that lipstick went on this perfectly solely because of this scene in Mulan? I mean, look how intricately the red rouge is applied to Mulan's lips? I seriously wish that makeup was this simple to paint on.
3. These perfectly sharpened pencils
When your pencils are so perfectly sharpened that you refuse to use them ever for the fear of making one of them *gasps* blunt. Side note: if that not sharpened black colored pencil caught your eye, then you know exactly how satisfying these things can be.
4. Anything being covered in chocolate
Not only is chocolate dripping on things delicious, but it also makes for undeniably beautiful photography such as this. Who knew that smothering random foods in milk, dark, and white chocolately goodness could be so relaxing?
5. Perfectly swirled ice cream cones
Instagram-worthy cones such as this would make any perfectionist's heart sing. Not only is it the ideal size, but the chocolate and vanilla are so harmoniously twisted.
6. Anything colorized
Literally anything. From flowers to food to objects such as these balls, it's the organization of these items in a color-coordinated fashion that makes this an oddly satisfying picture.
7. DIY jelly bottles
Jelly bottles have been taking over YouTube by storm with their insanely fun variations and creative designs. The fact that you can make a gelatin-molded version of your favorite drinks is not the oddly satisfying part of these videos, however. The real magic is when you cut into these suckers with a serated knife, like so. Soooo cool.
8. Flawlessly circular pancakes
Pancakes as perfectly round and fluffy as these should be framed, not eaten.
9. Extremely organized closets
Odds are, there's no closet in real life that is actually this organized.However, the idea of having enough organization skills to maintain a closet that is this level of OCD is enough to make any anxious person giddy with happiness.
10. This Tetris GIF
Psyche. In fact, this has the potential to be the greatest, most oddly satisfying GIF on the internet. Instead, whoever made it had to be a total jerk and infuriate millions of OCD sufferers with this grand gesture of humanity's evilness. And naturally, I had to add it in to make an example of him. You're welcome.
11. That feeling when you push the last piece of a puzzle in
Glorious, just glorious.
12. A truly seedless watermelon
Because you know there's a slight chance that the label could be a straight-up lie and you could be buying a watermelon that's chock-full of those pesky little black seeds.
13. Slow-motion videos
If you don't think these are some of the most incredible things on the internet, I'm sorry to tell you that you're very, very wrong. In fact, slow-motion videos are probably the most oddly satisfying thing on this list. Whether something is getting thrown, bounced, shot, or smashed to pieces, watching it happen in slow motion is just unnaturally soothing.
14. This beautifully ombre-d cup of coffee.
Truth be told, I'd order this just to stare at its perfection all day. In fact, I think every latte should be this perfect. Someone should start a petition for that. Thanks. -- Someone with OCD
15. The Magic Chocolate Ball
This dessert has made its way all around the internet, proving that the best type of physics is food physics. The swirling of the hot caramel, the melting of the hard chocolate ball, and the clean dish catching all of the gooey excess is more than oddly satisyfing. It's borderline art.
16. Mirror cakes
Speaking of art, these cakes are the newest thing to hit your news feeds. With its thick, shiny glaze dripping smoothly off of its surface, sans a knick or scratch, this cake is an OCD person's dream.
17. Using up your toothpaste until it's flat
For a perfectionist, this is actually #toothpastegoals if there ever were such a thing.
18. Opening a new jar of literally anything
This is beauty in its purest form. You know, until your siblings go looking for a midnight snack and stick a few tablespoons into it. But, for the time being, it's beauty.
It's these oddly satisfying things that make life just a little bit easier for people who suffer from OCD or any type of anxiety disorder. Whether it's a perfect latte or an unopened jar of peanut butter, these little things are just small reminders that sometimes it's the simplest things that can make a big difference to somebody. So, watch a video of chocolate being drizzled onto a cake for a few minutes. It may just give you some peace of mind.
