Obsession With Cleanliness: Causes, Characteristics And Tips
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychological disorder that shares many characteristics with anxiety disorders and with impulse control disorders, which are characterized by generating recurrent intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive acts or behaviors (compulsions) that the person carries out to avoid the discomfort (anxiety) that obsessive thoughts cause.
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 on which we will focus throughout this article, and which shapes the obsession with cleanliness when it reaches psychopathological extremes.
Characteristics of obsessive-compulsive cleaning disorder
What in principle can be a good thing, since cleaning can be positive to avoid diseases, OCD due to cleaning becomes a problem for people who suffer from it. 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 they have a series of characteristics in common. Among them is the anxiety felt at the idea of ​​having dirt or germs on your hands, parts of the body highly exposed to external “pollutants.”
Furthermore, the uncertainty of not knowing to what extent the hands are dirty increases this discomfort, since it fuels concern and the need to pay attention to what is happening in those areas of the skin (in the absence of information, anxiety leads to assume the most pessimistic possibilities). And this kind of paranoia focused on possible signs that 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 take actions to reduce their anxious symptoms, others may think that everything is contaminated and if they do not clean themselves they will suffer serious illnesses, and others may maintain order and cleanliness. from the home to the extreme, as they continually seek the symmetry of objects. Regardless of irrational thinking, the compulsion in this type of disorder will be characterized by cleaning and hygiene behaviors.
These people suffer repetitive thoughts that cause anxiety. Compulsive behavior only serves to calm them down for a short time, which ends up producing a vicious circle, as the irrational thought reappears again and again after the compulsive behavior.
Cognitive variables related to OCD
There are multiple cognitive variables related to OCD. According to the Obsessive-Compulsive Cognitions Working Group (OCCWG), the most important are:
Beliefs about the importance of one’s thoughts refer to the need to control all thoughts at all times. Subjects with OCD They make an effort to try not to think about a specific thing or to eliminate certain types of thoughts and this has a result opposite to the desired one. A paradoxical effect is generated by which the fear of not detecting in time the first signs that those thoughts are going to appear in consciousness shortly, makes those thoughts more likely to “invade” the person’s mind, because more “mental routes” will lead to the concept of what one is afraid to evoke.
How to stop the obsession with cleaning
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 handle the situation. But in less severe cases of the disorder, the tips below may be useful. If you suffer from an obsession with cleanliness, you can follow these tips:
Any type of obsessive-compulsive behavior It has its origin in the need to reduce anxious 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, practicing Mindfulness, yoga or listening to a relaxation CD.
2. Break the obsessive routine
It is common in anxiety disorders for psychologists to help patients test irrational thoughts, so that they can see for themselves that absolutely nothing happens when they are exposed to the feared situation. Of course, the exposure must be progressive. For example, you can first delay compulsive behavior for 1 minute, then 2, then 3, etc. Gradually you can see that, in reality, obsessive thinking is irrational and catastrophic thoughts are not fulfilled.
3. Don’t be such a perfectionist
Sometimes, obsessive-compulsive cleaning disorder may indicate that the individual has a perfectionist personality. He perfectionism It refers to the belief that perfection should always be achieved in everything one does. This belief can cause serious anxiety problems and, therefore, compulsive behaviors. Understanding that imperfection is common in all human beings can help reduce anxiety. If it is not possible to do so, you should only go to a psychologist, since perfectionism It also affects health and well-being.
