Mike Portnoy's Modern Drummer interview

[Mosh]

Pretty sure he meant ADTOE. The Enemy Inside would probably be his cup of tea, while ADTOE not so much.

[?]

Looks like MP replied to the first comment below the article...

I'm not really surprised to hear the new DT stuff isn't his cup of tea. It's clear that he was musically (and of course personally) drifting away from the other guys even when he was still in the band.

[Cable]

Ok, this is from the DSM IV-TR as I am not using the DSM V yet. As a practicing professional that has to use these diagnoses, I would never do so in this format for many reasons, starting with not enough information to ever do so with a public person. So please do keep that in mind, as this is purely for education and discussion sake, and not claiming something about anyone when that is not proper practice.

I did not include Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, as I did not want to type it, even though it may be more applicable.

As Madman Sheperd said, this convo was already had. But for the record...

Diagnostic criteria for 300.3 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

A. Either obsessions of compulsions:

Obsessions as defined by (1), (2), (3), and (4):
1 - 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      
2 - the thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real life problems
3 - the person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action
4 - the person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind (not imposed from without as in thought insertion)

Compulsions as defined by (1) and (2):
1 - repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsessions, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
2 - 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

B. At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable.   Note: This does not apply to children.

C. The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships.

D. If another Axis I disorder is present, the content of the obsessions or compulsions is not restricted to it (e.g., preoccupation with food in the presence of an Eating Disorder; hair pulling in the presence of Trichotillomania; concern with appearance in the presence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder: preoccupation with drugs in the presence of a Substance Use Disorder; preoccupation with having a serious illness in the presence of Hypochondriasis; preoccupation with sexual urges or fantasies in the presence of a Paraphilia; or guilty ruminations in the presence of Major Depressive Disorder).

E. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition.

Specify if:
With Poor Insight: if, for most of the time during the current episode, the person does not recognize that the obsessions and compulsions are excessive or unreasonable

---American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical
manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC.

[Zook]

1 - recurrent and persistent thoughts
3 - the person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action

I wish there was a way to cure this.

[Cable]

1 - recurrent and persistent thoughts
3 - the person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action

I wish there was a way to cure this.

Cure, no.
Manage, yes.

And I agree, I wish there were more that could be done.   

[eviljust]

I own more than 1500 DVDs, including all sort of big limited editions and stuff. I obviously tend to keep them all in a precise order, directors, genres, my personal rating and so on. You guys are telling me I have OCD as well? I think a lot of people have some kind of obsessive personality, it may be more or less accentuated, using the term "OCD" for that is quite disrespectful for people who actually suffer from it. That's only my opinion.

Anyway, I'm with the guys that stated something like pretty illogical he said that wasn't his cup of tea, as prog metal was a HUGE part of his career and no matter he was referring to ADTOE or DT12 or the new single only.

[hefdaddy42]

The interview confirms what I always assumed, that he just wasn't that interested in prog metal anymore. The shoehorned influences (Muse, blast beats, growling etc) of the late albums, and the fact that he hasn't really touched any prog outside Transatlantic since he left kinda made it obvious.

Pretty much this.  In fact, other than DT themselves, most prog metal leaves me kind of cold and uninterested too.

I like prog rock a lot, but most prog metal bands sound like DT-wannabes, with lots of chops but no soul.

IMHO

[efx]

Just to add to CableX's post.

MP's ways suggests that he has Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder which is very different from OCD. The wikipedia entry on it explains it pretty well:

"The main symptoms of OCPD are preoccupation with remembering and paying attention to minute details and facts, following rules and regulations, compulsion to make lists and schedules, as well as rigidity/inflexibility of beliefs or showing perfectionism that interferes with task-completion. Symptoms may cause extreme distress and interfere with a person's occupational and social functioning.[3] Most people spend their early life avoiding symptoms and developing techniques to avoid dealing with these strenuous issues."

As someone who has numeromania (a subset kind of of OCD where I have to count or do things a certain amount of times or I will get severe anxiety attacks) I know a little bit about this stuff. I think people like to just throw the OCD term around a little too loosely at times, not understanding what it really is and it's really clear to me that MP has not had this professionally diagnosed the way he applies it so liberally to himself, almost like a badge of honor at times.

His symptoms, if I may go by both his online persona and the times I've met and hung out with him suggest OCPD, not OCD.

[Cable]

Just to add to CableX's post.

MP's ways suggests that he has Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder which is very different from OCD. The wikipedia entry on it explains it pretty well:

"The main symptoms of OCPD are preoccupation with remembering and paying attention to minute details and facts, following rules and regulations, compulsion to make lists and schedules, as well as rigidity/inflexibility of beliefs or showing perfectionism that interferes with task-completion. Symptoms may cause extreme distress and interfere with a person's occupational and social functioning.[3] Most people spend their early life avoiding symptoms and developing techniques to avoid dealing with these strenuous issues."

As someone who has numeromania (a subset kind of of OCD where I have to count or do things a certain amount of times or I will get severe anxiety attacks) I know a little bit about this stuff. I think people like to just throw the OCD term around a little too loosely at times, not understanding what it really is and it's really clear to me that MP has not had this professionally diagnosed the way he applies it so liberally to himself, almost like a badge of honor at times.

His symptoms, if I may go by both his online persona and the times I've met and hung out with him suggest OCPD, not OCD.

I did mention OCPD before I defined OCD; just wanted to lay the official info out for that one  .
I do agree fully with you that the term "OCD" has become common lexicon much like ADHD, bipolar and even fetish. It has trivialized and watered down complex issues. Truth be told, although the definitions are changing again, my field tends to stay away from bipolar diagnoses because of the public stigma now attached.

Problem with OCPD  EFX is 1) MP in my view only meets 3 at most of the diagnostic criteria; needs to meet at least 4. 2) As the last part of the definition says, some OCPD is actually not completing tasks due to perfectionism or loss of focus. This only his family and close friends would know.

This is why diagnosing someone from a distance is not only unofficial and not right, but can be faulty. There is just more structured information and time I have with someone before ever claiming a diagnosis. Even then, I am not a huge fan of doing it.  MP saying he obsessed over details, and does everything for the band just shows he cares a lot to me, and works hard. I think many of us do that about many things. Might he have some disorder? Sure, considering his childhood and some adulthood. But we don't know because diagnosing is not done like this. As Theseoafs said, we have no idea if he has been diagnosed by a medical or mental health professional. Therefore, him saying he has it, or having similarities is unofficial and possibly following the common view of more complex conditions.

[Ravenfoul]

The interview confirms what I always assumed, that he just wasn't that interested in prog metal anymore. The shoehorned influences (Muse, blast beats, growling etc) of the late albums, and the fact that he hasn't really touched any prog outside Transatlantic since he left kinda made it obvious.

Pretty much this.  In fact, other than DT themselves, most prog metal leaves me kind of cold and uninterested too.

I like prog rock a lot, but most prog metal bands sound like DT-wannabes, with lots of chops but no soul.

IMHO

What're your thoughts on haken? I was really impressed by them. Also Arjen Lucassen's bodies of work are fantastic 

[rumborak]

Regarding the OCD discussion, my feeling is that if he actually had it, he wouldn't be so nonchalant about it. OCD is a disorder (that's after all what the D stands for), and there's nothing fun about it when you have it. In fact, I'm pretty sure it interfering significantly with your normal life is a requirement for it to be called OCD.

I don't think this is bashing, but I think everybody is aware of MP's flair for drama. He isn't just somebody who can't handle his liquor, he's an alcoholic and drug addict who writes about it for 5 albums straight. He doesn't just enjoy a memorabilia connection and keeps it in order, no, it's all because he has OCD. I have long learned that MP will describe everything in large and dramatic words.

[Lowdz]

Ok, this is from the DSM IV-TR as I am not using the DSM V yet. As a practicing professional that has to use these diagnoses, I would never do so in this format for many reasons, starting with not enough information to ever do so with a public person. So please do keep that in mind, as this is purely for education and discussion sake, and not claiming something about anyone when that is not proper practice.

I did not include Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, as I did not want to type it, even though it may be more applicable.

As Madman Sheperd said, this convo was already had. But for the record...

Diagnostic criteria for 300.3 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

A. Either obsessions of compulsions:

Obsessions as defined by (1), (2), (3), and (4):
1 - 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      
2 - the thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real life problems
3 - the person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action
4 - the person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind (not imposed from without as in thought insertion)

Compulsions as defined by (1) and (2):
1 - repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsessions, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
2 - 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

B. At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable.   Note: This does not apply to children.

C. The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships.

D. If another Axis I disorder is present, the content of the obsessions or compulsions is not restricted to it (e.g., preoccupation with food in the presence of an Eating Disorder; hair pulling in the presence of Trichotillomania; concern with appearance in the presence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder: preoccupation with drugs in the presence of a Substance Use Disorder; preoccupation with having a serious illness in the presence of Hypochondriasis; preoccupation with sexual urges or fantasies in the presence of a Paraphilia; or guilty ruminations in the presence of Major Depressive Disorder).

E. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition.

Specify if:
With Poor Insight: if, for most of the time during the current episode, the person does not recognize that the obsessions and compulsions are excessive or unreasonable

---American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical
manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC.

If JP reads this we have the lyrics for a track off DT13 right here! 

[noxon]

I honestly don't put too much into the choice of word, it's the same as people calling their kids hyperactive or people selfdiagnosing as sociopaths or aspbergers or whatnot, or schizo or paranoia and anxiety etc. Plenty of real mental disorders that we've appropriated into our everyday vernicular to describe a personality trait we have.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

^ That is very true.

[snapple]

I honestly don't put too much into the choice of word, it's the same as people calling their kids hyperactive or people selfdiagnosing as sociopaths or aspbergers or whatnot, or schizo or paranoia and anxiety etc. Plenty of real mental disorders that we've appropriated into our everyday vernicular to describe a personality trait we have.

Eh, it's pretty disrespectful to the people who actually have those disorders.

[Lucien]

Well, you certainly don't have to be diagnosed to know you have a mental disorder. I know I have synesthesia. However, even if you are diagnosed with something doesn't mean you actually have it. I've been diagnosed with ADD, but I don't have it.

[PROGdrummer]

alot of people forget that Transatlantic's "The Whirlwind" came out the same year as Black Clouds. Maybe Portnoy WASNT the main driving force of the ballsy metal side of new DT and he missed the older, more (musically) colorful days of Images, Awake and Falling into Infinity. Like, yeah, Mike was in Avenged and Adrenaline Mob, but he also did Flying Colors and Winery Dogs, and nows hes going to be a part of Bigelf.

Maybe, just maybe, Portnoy had more of an influence on the aspects of Dream Theater that we actually enjoy and not so much to do with the crazy heavy shred wankery the band has become since the SC that everyone around here loves to hate.

Thoughts?

[Lucien]

Or maybe he's not such a huge influence on the sound of the other bands you spoke of?

[PROGdrummer]

Or maybe he's not such a huge influence on the sound of the other bands you spoke of?

He was most definitely directly involved with the writing of Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and Winery Dogs. Yet, at the same time, he never wrote anything with Avenged, and he was wasnt even on board with Russell Allen and Mike Orlando until pretty far into the writing process of A-Mob. In those acts, he was "JUST THE DRUMMER", as he even said so himself. Besides, most of the shredding in DT is done by Petrucci and Rudess, is it not?

I think that says something to be honest.

[MoraWintersoul]

This is why diagnosing someone from a distance is not only unofficial and not right, but can be faulty. There is just more structured information and time I have with someone before ever claiming a diagnosis. Even then, I am not a huge fan of doing it.

Yes. I've always thought that MP brings up examples of his collection-organizing or band-detail-overseeing not as exhaustive "evidence" of him having OCD, but just examples of his OCD that he usually talks about in interviews because they're going to ask him about his band activities in inties, so then a mention of it ties into what he's saying. He's certainly not going to have to answer a question that allows him to mention "rituals" like washing his hands 20 times or whatever, it's just that there's aspects of his public persona that are affected by his OCD that we get to read about.

People who misuse words for mental disorders are definitely annoying, but it's also not in our hands to hand out diagnoses and erase a person's claim to having one just because other people have misused the word before. None of us knows whether he's been diagnosed by a professional or whether his personal life is affected enough by it for him to confidently self-diagnose himself.

Could be personal annoyance as sometimes, when I tell people I have social anxiety, and then they tell me "nah you're just shy and blowing it out of proportion", I'm there thinkin', "what, do you want me to have a panic attack right here and now to prove my point? I had one last fucking week".

[Daso]

Or maybe he's not such a huge influence on the sound of the other bands you spoke of?

He was most definitely directly involved with the writing of Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and Winery Dogs. Yet, at the same time, he never wrote anything with Avenged, and he was wasnt even on board with Russell Allen and Mike Orlando until pretty far into the writing process of A-Mob. In those acts, he was "JUST THE DRUMMER", as he even said so himself. Besides, most of the shredding in DT is done by Petrucci and Rudess, is it not?

I think that says something to be honest.

You have a very fair point, but as MP responded in the interview, he doesn't play the leader role in any of those bands. He did in Dream Theater, and if he didn't intend for the band to stir in a certain musical direction, it most likely wouldn't. At least not fully, like it happened in SC and BC&SL, for example.

[425]

Yes. I've always thought that MP brings up examples of his collection-organizing or band-detail-overseeing not as exhaustive "evidence" of him having OCD, but just examples of his OCD that he usually talks about in interviews because they're going to ask him about his band activities in inties, so then a mention of it ties into what he's saying. He's certainly not going to have to answer a question that allows him to mention "rituals" like washing his hands 20 times or whatever, it's just that there's aspects of his public persona that are affected by his OCD that we get to read about.

People who misuse words for mental disorders are definitely annoying, but it's also not in our hands to hand out diagnoses and erase a person's claim to having one just because other people have misused the word before. None of us knows whether he's been diagnosed by a professional or whether his personal life is affected enough by it for him to confidently self-diagnose himself.

Could be personal annoyance as sometimes, when I tell people I have social anxiety, and then they tell me "nah you're just shy and blowing it out of proportion", I'm there thinkin', "what, do you want me to have a panic attack right here and now to prove my point? I had one last fucking week".

I agree completely with this. Right down to the part about social anxiety, since I also have that disorder. I don't like being told that I'm just shy, because I'm pretty conscious of what happens inside my head and the fact that it is not just shyness.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

but when I heard the new material, it simply wasn't my cup of tea. It's great, but I couldn't relate to it anymore.

This REALLY looks like he's talking about ADTOE, not the new album. Unless we know from a fact elsewhere that he has heard DT12, I get the impression that he's talking about ADTOE here.

Two things, he couldn't relate to it because the drumming style and sound so that can be understandable. But if he meant overall sound of new DT which, I think he talked about ADOTE, sounds more like old DT and saying that not my cup of tea is not logical. Of course if he isn't into prog metal anymore.

I know I (and plenty of others on DTF) didn't feel as much of a connection to ADTOE as what came before it, because it felt like it was missing something. Not hard to imagine MP feeling the same way, especially since he'd think that missing piece is himself.

[goo-goo]

It's just a bit annoying, especially when MP is more of control-obsessive than OCD itself. There's a difference in "I need to have this DVD to complete my collection" or "I need to do this because if somebody else does it, it will be wrong". That is what MP has.

I HAVE been diagnosed with OCD and social anxiety. It's tough to live with it sometimes. I know I drive my wife crazy when I relapse. I know I drive myself crazy. There are days when I want to cry because it's not cool spending 45 minutes in choosing a notebook (that happened a few weeks ago, when I needed a notebook for meetings. I couldn't leave Office Max with THE notebook if you know what I mean). Another example, I was cleaning my room in parents' house because I was about to get married and move with my wife. Guess what I found....a bag full of unused pens and blank notebooks. Tears ran up my face because those memories, those struggles came back. Yes, pens and notebooks are one of my OCD behaviors. Don't ask why. I haven't figured it out yet  . I have managed to get away from the meds where I can manage it, but there are days where I struggle sometimes. Not all of my behaviors are OCD, it's just a few. OCD affects your daily life, it affects the others around you. As I said, fortunately mine comes in episodes and not all the time, but I have met people that have it worse than me. And trust me, filling their DVD collection is nowhere near their daily struggle.

EDIT: By the way, I don't go and tell everybody that I have OCD. I don't pull that card almost anywhere

[Jaffa]

I think it's worth mentioning that not all cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder are equally severe.  Just because Mike Portnoy doesn't have severe and crippling OCD doesn't mean he doesn't have OCD. 

I myself have never been diagnosed with OCD, but I've got my suspicions.  Just last night I lied awake in bed tossing and turning for half an hour because I had the nagging feeling that I'd put a CD away in the wrong order.  Eventually I had to get up and check, because I couldn't seem to get it out of my head.  Got to sleep pretty soon after checking.

Now, for me to say that I like having my CDs in a specific order, that's not indicative of OCD at all.  But for me to say that if I don't keep my CDs in the correct order it keeps me up at night?  I don't know.  As I said, I've never been diagnosed.  But when I'm literally losing sleep over something as stupid as whether or not I accidentally put Between the Buried and Me before Avenged Sevenfold, I think I might be a bit obsessive. 

So, yeah.  From my perspective, if he feels like he has to keep his DVD collection complete or it will bother him, that could very well be a symptom of a minor case of OCD.  If, on the other hand, he just keeps his collection complete because he doesn't want to miss anything cool from his favorite directors, that's another story. 

Anyway, just my two cents. 

[rumborak]

I think one aspect of calling it OCD, as opposed to say "I'm just really anal about XYZ" or "I don't trust others to do a good job at it" is that OCD makes you look like a victim, something outside your control, whereas the other wordings suggest you could do it differently if you actually wanted to.
I mean, that's why a lot of people use "ADHD" as a euphemism for their overt indifference, or stuff like "lol, that's my Italian side" for simply being a loudmouth. By attributing it to something outside your control it gives you permission (or so you think) to continue the undesirable behavior.

[KevShmev]

Or maybe he's not such a huge influence on the sound of the other bands you spoke of?

He was most definitely directly involved with the writing of Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and Winery Dogs. 

Okay, but I think it is common knowledge now that most (see: NOT all) of his "writing" is arranging songs and piecing albums together, not really writing melodies or riffs.

[gmillerdrake]

I think one aspect of calling it OCD, as opposed to say "I'm just really anal about XYZ" or "I don't trust others to do a good job at it" is that OCD makes you look like a victim, something outside your control, whereas the other wordings suggest you could do it differently if you actually wanted to.
I mean, that's why a lot of people use "ADHD" as a euphemism for their overt indifference, or stuff like "lol, that's my Italian side" for simply being a loudmouth. By attributing it to something outside your control it gives you permission (or so you think) to continue the undesirable behavior.

[PROGdrummer]

Or maybe he's not such a huge influence on the sound of the other bands you spoke of?

He was most definitely directly involved with the writing of Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and Winery Dogs. 

Okay, but I think it is common knowledge now that most (see: NOT all) of his "writing" is arranging songs and piecing albums together, not really writing melodies or riffs.

fair enough. But going off of that, the main composers for DT are JP and Jordan, so why dont they get just as much of the blame for all the ballsy metal and wank in SC and BC&SL as Portnoy does. Like, sure, Mike was the one who did the "ROOUUUARRRR" and the angry guy vocals on those albums, and yes, he was basically in control of the band at that point in a leader role. But even still, JP is the one writing all the heavy riffs and lyrics about "Dark Masters". Why does everyone throw the blame at Portnoy. All I'm saying is, maybe the aspects of modern Dream Theater that everyone hates doesnt really have much to do with Portnoy as you all might think. Could it possibly have been the OTHER members of the band as well?

No? alright then...

[Jaffa]

I think one aspect of calling it OCD, as opposed to say "I'm just really anal about XYZ" or "I don't trust others to do a good job at it" is that OCD makes you look like a victim, something outside your control, whereas the other wordings suggest you could do it differently if you actually wanted to.
I mean, that's why a lot of people use "ADHD" as a euphemism for their overt indifference, or stuff like "lol, that's my Italian side" for simply being a loudmouth. By attributing it to something outside your control it gives you permission (or so you think) to continue the undesirable behavior.

This is a fair point, but I think it's important to keep in mind that there are also people with legitimate cases of ADHD. 

All I'm saying is, maybe the aspects of modern Dream Theater that everyone hates doesnt really have much to do with Portnoy as you all might think. Could it possibly have been the OTHER members of the band as well?

Could be.  But a lot of people feel ADTOE was a step in the right direction.  If the 'bad stuff' stopped when MP left, it makes sense to suggest that he had a lot to do with the 'bad stuff'. 

[nicbor87]

Regarding the OCD discussion, my feeling is that if he actually had it, he wouldn't be so nonchalant about it. OCD is a disorder (that's after all what the D stands for), and there's nothing fun about it when you have it. In fact, I'm pretty sure it interfering significantly with your normal life is a requirement for it to be called OCD.

I don't think this is bashing, but I think everybody is aware of MP's flair for drama. He isn't just somebody who can't handle his liquor, he's an alcoholic and drug addict who writes about it for 5 albums straight. He doesn't just enjoy a memorabilia connection and keeps it in order, no, it's all because he has OCD. I have long learned that MP will describe everything in large and dramatic words.

This. OCD or not, I don't like how he keeps throwing it at peoples faces in every single interview he gives. Like he's just waiting for the right question to make drama about his mental issues. I'm surprised he didn't mention his alcoholism in this one.

I'm not a Portnoy hater at all, this is just a recurring thing that bothers me.

[efx]

I think one aspect of calling it OCD, as opposed to say "I'm just really anal about XYZ" or "I don't trust others to do a good job at it" is that OCD makes you look like a victim, something outside your control, whereas the other wordings suggest you could do it differently if you actually wanted to.
I mean, that's why a lot of people use "ADHD" as a euphemism for their overt indifference, or stuff like "lol, that's my Italian side" for simply being a loudmouth. By attributing it to something outside your control it gives you permission (or so you think) to continue the undesirable behavior.

I think this gets  the point I was trying to make across a whole lot better. Well said!

[ariich]

I think it's worth mentioning that not all cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder are equally severe.  Just because Mike Portnoy doesn't have severe and crippling OCD doesn't mean he doesn't have OCD. 

I myself have never been diagnosed with OCD, but I've got my suspicions.  Just last night I lied awake in bed tossing and turning for half an hour because I had the nagging feeling that I'd put a CD away in the wrong order.  Eventually I had to get up and check, because I couldn't seem to get it out of my head.  Got to sleep pretty soon after checking.

Now, for me to say that I like having my CDs in a specific order, that's not indicative of OCD at all.  But for me to say that if I don't keep my CDs in the correct order it keeps me up at night?  I don't know.  As I said, I've never been diagnosed.  But when I'm literally losing sleep over something as stupid as whether or not I accidentally put Between the Buried and Me before Avenged Sevenfold, I think I might be a bit obsessive. 

So, yeah.  From my perspective, if he feels like he has to keep his DVD collection complete or it will bother him, that could very well be a symptom of a minor case of OCD.  If, on the other hand, he just keeps his collection complete because he doesn't want to miss anything cool from his favorite directors, that's another story. 

Anyway, just my two cents. 

Very well said, and Milena was also bang on as she normally is.

Yes, some people keep their DVD collection organised for practical reasons or because they just prefer it. Some people do it because they feel genuinely uncomfortable if they don't. The latter is clearly an obsessive compulsive tendency.

And as has been said, MP talks about these things because they tie in easily to the interviews about his music. Nobody here knows whether he has been diagnosed, or whether he has other aspects that affect his personal life, so it's pretty rude to speculate and insist that there is nothing wrong with him.

[Cruithne]

Maybe, just maybe, Portnoy had more of an influence on the aspects of Dream Theater that we actually enjoy and not so much to do with the crazy heavy shred wankery the band has become since the SC that everyone around here loves to hate.

The aspects of DT's output that had, as far as I'm concerned and in varying degrees, soured their albums from ToT through to BC&SL disappeared on ADTOE and having followed DT reasonably closely over the years it wasn't a surprise that that happened given MP's exit. Crazy heavy shred wankery wasn't on my list of issues with those albums.

After BC&SL I was pretty much done with DT. After ADTOE I'm excited to see what's coming next.

[puppyonacid]

Remember folks, we're all on the spectrum somewhere!

Kind of off topic to the OP but this is relevent to where the discussion has been going:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYemnKEKx0c

It's a long (18 mins)TED talks video but for those with an interest in psychology it basically underlines the idiocy of current diagnostic criteria.