Cleaning obsession: causes, characteristics and tips

The obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychological disorder that shares many characteristics with anxiety disorders and with impulse control disorders, characterized by recurring intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and acts or repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that the person performs to avoid the discomfort (anxiety) that obsessive thoughts provoke.

Within this phenomenon it is possible to find several types of OCD, depending on the type of obsessions and compulsions that the person develops. One of the most common is obsessive compulsive cleaning disorder, which we will focus on throughout this article, and which shapes the obsession with cleanliness when it reaches psychopathological extremes.

• Related article: "The 16 most common mental disorders"

Characteristics of obsessive compulsive disorder by cleaning

What in principle can be a good thing, since cleaning can be positive to avoid diseases, OCD due to cleaning becomes for people who suffer from it a severe disorder that negatively affects your well-being.

The irrational thoughts that can lead to the act of cleaning are usually different from person to person, but have a number of characteristics in common. Among them is the anguish that one feels at the idea of ​​having dirt or germs on the hands, parts of the body that are highly exposed to external "pollutants".

In addition, the uncertainty of not knowing to what extent the hands are dirty potentiate this discomfort, since it feeds the concern and the need to pay attention to what happens in those areas of the skin (in the absence of information, anxiety leads to assuming the most pessimistic possibilities). And this kind of paranoia centered on the possible signs that the hands are contaminated usually also enhances a type of magical thinking.

For example, some individuals may have superstitious thoughts that cause anxiety if they do not perform acts to reduce their anxious symptoms, others may think that everything is contaminated and if they are not cleaned they will suffer serious diseases, and others can take the order and cleanliness of the home to the extreme, since they continually seek the symmetry of the objects. Regardless of irrational thinking, the compulsion in this type of disorder will be characterized by cleanliness and hygiene behaviors.

These people suffer repetitive thoughts that cause anxiety. The compulsive behavior only serves to calm them for a short time, which ends up producing a vicious circle, as irrational thinking reappears again and again after the behavior compulsive.

Cognitive variables related to OCD

There are multiple cognitive variables related to OCD. According to him Obsessive-Compulsive Cognitions Working Group (OCCWG), the most important are:

• Intolerance of uncertainty
• Threat overestimation
• Perfectionism
• Excessive responsibility
• Beliefs about the importance of thoughts
• Beliefs about the importance of controlling your own thoughts
• Rigidity of ideas

Beliefs about the importance of one's thoughts refers to the need to control all thoughts at all times. Subjects with OCD strive to try not to think about a particular thing or to eliminate certain types of thoughts, and this has the opposite of the desired result. A paradoxical effect is generated by which the fear of not detecting in time the first signs that these thoughts will appear in consciousness shortly, makes those thoughts more likely to "invade" the person's mind, because more "mental paths" will lead to the concept of what is feared to evoke.

How to stop the obsession with cleanliness

Any form of obsessive compulsive disorder can have different levels of severity. In very serious cases you should always seek the help of a specialist to be able to handle the situation. But in less severe cases of the disorder, the tips below may be helpful. If you are obsessed with cleaning, you can follow these tips:

1. Relax before cleaning

Any type of obsessive-compulsive behavior has its origin in the need to reduce anxiety symptoms. It may be due to a superstitious thought or the idea that if everything is not clean, a disaster can occur. The intention of the compulsion is to reduce anxiety, but there are other ways to relax. For example, practice Mindfulness, yoga or listen to a relaxation CD.

2. Break the obsessive routine

It is common in anxiety disorders for psychologists to help patients test thoughts irrational, so that in this way they can see for themselves that absolutely nothing happens when they are exposed to the dreaded situation. Of course, the exposure must be progressive. For example, compulsive behavior can be delayed first for 1 minute, then 2, then 3, and so on. You can gradually see that, in reality, obsessive thinking is irrational and catastrophic thoughts are not fulfilled.

3. Don't be such a perfectionist

Occasionally, obsessive compulsive cleaning disorder may indicate that the individual has a perfectionist personality. The perfectionism refers to the belief that perfection must always be achieved in everything that is done. This belief can cause serious anxiety problems and, therefore, compulsive behaviors. Understanding that blemishes are common in all human beings can help reduce anxiety. If it is not possible to do so, you should only go to a psychologist, because perfectionism also affects health and well-being.

Bibliographic references:

• Doron, G.; Kyrios, M. (2005). Obsessive compulsive disorder: a review of possible specific internal representations within a broader cognitive theory. Clinical Psychology Review, 25 (4): pp. 415 - 432.
• Fallon, B.A.; Qureshi, A.I.; Laje, G.; Klein, B. (2000). Hypochondriasis and its relationship to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23 (3): pp. 605 - 616.
• Goodman, W.K.; Grice, D.E.; Lapidus, K.A.; Coffey, B.J. (2014). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 37 (3): pp. 257 - 267.
• Rezvan, S.; Bahrami, F.; Abedi, M.; Macleod, C.; Doost, H.T.N.; Ghasemi, V. (2013). A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Attachment-based Intervention on Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 4 (1): pp. 78 - 87.