Is there an addiction to cleaning?

The Earth is surrounded by microorganisms invisible to the human eye that allow the stability and development of ecosystems in the long term.

It is estimated that the mass of carbon (organic matter) of the planet amounts to 550 million tons (Gt) and bacteria contribute about 70 Gt, that is, 15% of the total. These microorganisms are crucial for the conversion of matter and chemical reactions in the environment, so without them, life would not be possible.

Nor is it necessary to go very far to verify the importance of those misclassified as "germs". Without going any further, 100 billion bacteria (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and other genera) live in our intestines that help us to digest plant cellulose, activate our immune system in the first vital stages and protect us from the colonization of microorganisms pathogens. It is estimated that there are 10 bacteria in our body for each cell in the body, so we are not lying when we say that we are our microorganisms.

Unfortunately, all of these concepts can be overwhelming, difficult to understand, and even dangerous for women. people who cannot fully internalize the role of prokaryotes in the ecosystem and in the body of beings alive. Based on these premises, we ask you the following question:

Is there an addiction to cleaning? Let's see what that discomfort associated with dependence on cleaning behavior that many people suffer from consists of.

• Related article: "Addiction: Disease or Learning Disorder?"

Is it possible to be addicted to cleaning?

We will be direct: although this application requires nuances, the answer is no, this type of problem are part of a set of psychopathologies separate from addictions, as we shall see. Addiction is conceived as a chronic and recurrent disease at a physiological level characterized by the search relief and / or reward by taking substances or performing certain activities (such as gambling random). As we will see below, compulsiveness when cleaning cannot be included in this category.

What is an addiction?

To elucidate all the issues on the table, we are going to use as a reference the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in the year 2013. This book on psychological diagnosis lays down a lecture on what is or is not considered a pathology and what its limits are.

In the addictive mechanism, there is a clear physiological response that is described in all classic cases: the dopaminergic circuit. For example, when a human consumes nicotine, the cholinergic nicotine receptors are activated, producing the release of neurotransmitters. dopamine, GABA, serotonin, norepinephrine, opiate peptides, vasopressin, and endorphins. The release of dopamine produces a transient state of euphoria that, unfortunately, only lasts for a few seconds.

As the substance is consumed, a clear resistance to that psychoactive element develops (or activity) to which the patient is addicted. The nucleus accumbens and the neural reward circuit play essential roles in this mechanism, but in In summary, we are left with that "the more you consume, the more you need to feel the same peak of euphoria".

According to the APA, you can develop addiction to 10 different types of substances, such as alcohol, nicotine, muscle relaxants or the most famous drugs, such as cocaine or opiates (heroin, among others). As far as activities are concerned, the only one that we have found to be truly classified as an addiction is gambling, since the The reward circuit for winning a prize money in these patients is similar to that experienced by an addicted patient with a dose of cocaine.

Compulsive shopping, excessive video game consumption, pathological exercise and many other acts are outside this classic definition that we could consider as “addictions” and that are part of separate psychological disorders (and that also imply the need to attend therapy). Of course, the obsession with cleanliness cannot be clinically encompassed within addictive mechanisms, and the underlying psychopathology is of another type that we will see next.

The real answer: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

What can be mistakenly conceived as "cleaning addiction" is, in many cases, another clinical sign that the patient has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD or OCD). This is a type of psychological disorder characterized by the appearance of recurrent, intrusive and persistent thoughts that cause restlessness, fear, worry and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) in the patient focused on reducing anxiety.

A patient with OCD has obsession, compulsion, or both. The obsession is established with the appearance of recurring and persistent thoughts, in the form of urges or impulses, which are perceived as unwanted and which cause a great deal of anxiety in the patient. The key to this pathology at the conceptual level is that the person with OCD tries to suppress these unwanted thoughts and feelings with repetitive rituals, that is, compulsions.

The compulsions themselves are the way to channel the obsession, through the execution of rituals with a marked controlled procedure that is carried out in a meticulous way. The goal of its performance is to reduce the burden of anxiety that the person is experiencing, but actually these acts are not correlated with the real source of distress in any reality. As you can imagine at this point, excessive cleaning of the hands, nearby surfaces, or the body can be a compulsion in an OCD patient.

At the neurological level, it has been observed that people with this disorder show abnormal activity in various areas of the brain, such as the caudate nucleus and orbital convolutions. Hyperactivations and hypoactivations of certain neuronal groups occur during the performance of these compulsions, but clearly, the goal is not to reach a peak of euphoria (as it is during the mechanism addictive).

However, it should be noted that some treatments with positive results have been associated with greater amount of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a structure that also participates in the reward mechanism of the addicts. This evidence could indicate that differences in dopamine signaling could partly explain the OCD, but of course, the correlation is much more diffuse than in the mechanisms described previously.

• You may be interested in: "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): what is it and how does it manifest itself?"

Washers and OCD

Although we are reductionist (due to the complexity of the pathology), various sources catalog patients with TOC in washers (cleaners), checkers (controllers), doubters (distrustful) and counters (obsessed with symmetry). As you see, many of the patients with this disorder channel their anxiety and stress into absolute neatness, are obsessed with the idea of ​​presenting germs on their surface and are afraid of being infected with any pathogens that exist.

In conclusion, More than talking about addiction to cleaning, we can affirm that this behavior is a typical compulsion in patients with OCD, whose objective is to reduce anxiety immediately (caused by a traumatic thought / event). The mechanisms of addiction are very different from those of OCD and, therefore, compulsive cleaning is not may be considered addictive, although it is still a problem that must be treated with help professional.

If you are looking for psychotherapy services or psychiatric assistance in the face of these types of sources of discomfort, please contact us. On CITA Clinics We have been helping patients with all kinds of disorders related to addictions and poor impulse regulation for many years.