Can anyone relate to having OCD that does not at all make you a cleanly, organized person?

I swear it makes the few people I have told not even believe me.

Can anyone relate to having OCD that does not at all make you a cleanly, organized person? This is something so heavily attributed with the illness and I just do not experience that. My OCD actually makes me depressed and the last thing I want to do is clean. I do notice that a clean environment improves my mood, but cleaning is a chore for me rather than a compulsive action. I swear it makes the few people I’ve told not even believe me.

Discussion

Tyler Ann
I’m the cleaning person, but my mom also has ocd and she is not a cleaning type. She is a depressed hoarder type. So yes it is possible.

Frank Addelson
Yeah I hoarded stuff for years and didn’t clean much.

Brandi Gray
Common misconception abt OCD

Dimitra Škrekovski
Im not clean and Im not a hoarder but I have severe OCD. So severe I havent left the house for a year and almost died twice. This stereotypes are stupid af

Kota Smith
Dimitra Škrekovski I agree. The stereotypes describe one subtype and ignore all other symptoms, making it super hard to talk to anyone who doesnt have OCD about what I’m experiencing. If you ever need someone to talk to please feel free to message me. I appreciate your input so much and knowing I’m not the only one who isnt extremely organized does make me feel validated, after years of being invalidated by people who don’t understand this illness. So thank you for that.

⁠Trinity Morales
I have both. I like things in an organized way but then there are rooms that it’s complete chaos, but I know where everything is. This illness is exhausting.

Kay Gi
I felt this. When I got diagnosed I told my husband, “OF COURSE I have OCD and it’s not the cleaning kind 🤦🏾‍♀️🙄🤣 I can’t do anything right”
I’m a hoarder but I’m working on it!

Jennifer Manby
My OCD is mainly around food and eating and definitely not around cleaning and organisation. I have to put a lot of mental effort in to make things clean and tidy. Some people I’ve told don’t believe I have OCD because they have the misconception that OCD is a compulsive cleaning disorder.

Katie Lou
I am this way. I just roll with it, and understand I’m never gonna like cleaning stuff, it stresses me out if I can’t get things “just right”. So for me cleaning g is a type of ERP…necessary and difficult. Once, when my sin was learning how to put in shoes he said,”I can’t want to, Momma” and I was like I feel that soooooo hard…I tell myself (and him now that he’s 13) “you don’t have to want to, but you still have to do it”.

Kaytie Lup
A messy house is definitely a trigger for me, but I do not enjoy cleaning at all. I like the feeling of accomplishment after I clean, but I dread the actual cleaning. So I feel you there.

GiGi Bosko
the “being clean” is such a stereotype … so many with ocd don’t obsess over a clean home. I have horrible contamination ocd so I do obsess over a house that is clean but there are many people with ocd who do not.

Kristie Engler-Lynaugh
Of course. Thats a stereotype of ocd. Mine was praying, counting and touching

Jessica Wokovich
I have a messy house. It isnt hoarding, it’s just that things arent put away where they should go. Unpacked boxes, stacks of mail, art supplies, etc.

Naomi Biggin
I suffer from ocd with relationships. I have to clear my thoughts. I feel if I don’t tell every detail of something that makes me a liar or deceitful. Very difficult & distressing for me as you can imagine like other forms of ocd exhausting. X

Kota Smith
Wow guys thank u so much for sharing all this with me. I feel so less alone when reading through these comments.💕

Angelina Harvill
I’m the same way as far as cleaning. I’m picky about certain things, like I will take a shower 3 times in one day. But the dishes that don’t have rotting food on them but are dirty can stay by the sink for a month. I chlorox wipe my office chair every morning. Clothes and towels just go on the couch instead of being put away. I crochet so there is yarn everywhere.

Miranda Wright
I am struggling with cleaning because I never can get it clean enough. It’s not perfect. So I avoid.

Kota Smith
Miranda Wright yes. I think I’ve learned to ignore my surroundings as a coping mechanism. My ocd started at 4 with contamination OCD (except it was contamination as a 4 year old would see it. Butt germs were the worst germs so seats were super dirty). Now my OCD is entirely based around a fear of death, which sucks bc its not like it can be avoided forever.

⁠Kim Seymour
In the past I was always super messy because to get things where I want them to be is totally overwhelming. This has made me feel depressed in the past and I would hardly clean at all. Since having my kids and being diagnosed it’s flipped and I clean all the time. I never feel like it’s enough which is anxiety inducing. I find that staying as minimalistic as possible helps me.

Kota Smith
Kim Seymour I’ve definitely taken to the minimalistic lifestyle. And when I clean I purge any and everything I dont think I’d miss. Sometimes I end up regretting that lol. But I do have particular things that u like to look a certain way and it bring me some relief. I tried to train my brain to clean when I’m anxious, hoping to make my OCD work for me I guess. It was silly bc being already overwhelmed with emotion makes any physical task feel super overwhelming for me.

Kim Seymour
Kota Smith I can relate

Bee Taylor
I always say I’m messy but I’m clean. Which means everything is sanitized like the counters and the dishes, etc, but no way am I folding my clothes. LOL

Karen Llz
Altho I have contamination ocd…. I dont clean my room… Too much a chore….

John O’Kelly
Yeah, I’ve not cleaned my apartment in any sort of way in over a year.. depression, panic disorder and OCD take their toll and the simplest of things like hoovering become such a massive ordeal. I live alone so it only affects me

Kota Smith
John O’Kelly I can relate to this so much. It’s like the part of me that has any motivation to do anything is missing. And it’s hard bc I see it in other people and wonder how they work up ambition or energy at all and I rly do envy their ability to do so.

John O’Kelly
Kota Smith I even struggle so much to just shower these days. It’s ridiculous

Kota Smith
John O’Kelly a friend of mine suggested talking to my dr about a stimulant to help me. I really do not want to be medicated bc I’ve come so far without medication. OCD used to rule my every move and now I’m functioning. I’m just so extremely scared of messing with my brain chemistry.

John O’Kelly
Kota Smith I’m pretty heavily medicated, 5 meds, they don’t help me. The clinic really screwed me over with meds , it’s a long story. If you can do it without, I’d recommend sticking with that . Just my opinion

Kota Smith
John O’Kelly I had a therapist a few years ago that told me the same thing. I’ve seen people rly screw up their chemicals with improper medication and have such a hard time coming back from it.
Thanks so much for your input. If you ever need a listening ear please feel free to send me a message.

John O’Kelly
Kota Smith I appreciate that thank you

Tonia Alberry Matha
Kota Smith what have you done for help that you are functioning. I do not want to medicate my daughter

Kota Smith
Tonia Alberry Matha most importantly, therapy is so so helpful. If the therapist specializes in OCD, even better. My parents learned not to validate my compulsions by partaking in them when I’d ask them to touch something again or step in a certain place again. As I got older I learned what coping mechanisms worked for me. OCD still impacts my every day life tho. Every night I’m up for longer than I want to be checking appliances and doing rituals. I’m just able to function through every day life-hold a job, and such. When I was little though it was rly rly bad. It controlled my life. I think it got easier after I got thru puberty. Be gentle with her. Reassure her that everything is okay often. Answer her questions honestly and to the best of your ability. Ask her questions about how shes feeling. Those are just things I rly appreciate about my personal support system. I hope your daughter finds strength to overcome this. It’s not easy to live with.

⁠Cynthia Scarlett Mercati
Yes. Cleaning the kitchen becomes a massive ordeal. Thank you for the right words.

Emily Drahos
Cleaning is certainly a way I release my pent up stressful energy, but it’s interesting to note that this was a learned and reinforced habit that I’ve interpreted to be the “right”/only way to process my stress (almost any relative on my maternal side has OCD).
For years my OCD went undiagnosed because many of the compulsions, cleaning, organizing, list & calendar creation, etc. that’s I display do not help in elevating my anxiety, and arguably make things worse because they cause me to be late to events or late in delivering something I’ve promised to do – so I’ve always been treated for Generalized Anxiety Disorder with OCD tendencies.
It wasn’t until this past year that we were able to refine that a bit more, and so I’ve started seeing someone who helps to treat Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, which is a preoccupation with perfection and following rules & process. I do also have OCD, but it only becomes unmanageable when I get sick (I have an auto-immune disease) or am under extreme stress.

Rebekah Kate Walker
im the opposite, i have contamination ocd but i cant touch dirty things so cleaning is very difficult and my husband does most of it

Rebekah Kate Walker
opposite of the clean person i mean

⁠Lisa Curtis
I don’t have the cleaning obsessions either or cleanliness and when I tell people I have it (rarely bother to tell anyone at all actually) as they just look baffled and think they seem to know better than me about my own treatment and what goes on in my head x

Kota Smith
Red Curtis yes this is exactly my experience as well. that and people replying “I’m also a little OCD.” Annoying as hell. I keep it to myself as much as possible.

Missy Malinchak
No that isn’t true OCD has many variations no specific to cleaning or germ phobia. Your not alone!

Kota Smith
Missy Malinchak thank you so much. This is so extremely appreciated. Sometimes I wonder if I’m just crazy and convinced myself I have this illness. I found out a lot of people with mental illness have this same thought tho. It really isn’t something I can control without extreme feelings of distress.

Marcia Colsmith
Yes, me! Mine tends to be more about obsessing over online games, and spending all my time on the commputer. I WISH it made me want to clean my house! I do hang up my underwear to dry by color and some weird things like that, only get out of bed at auspicious times, etc