Obsession with neatness: causes, characteristics and tips

What happens in the mind of a person obsessed with neatness?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychological disorder that shares many characteristics with anxiety disorders. anxiety disorders and impulse control disorders, characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive acts or behaviors (compulsions) that the person performs to avoid the discomfort (anxiety) that the 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 cleanliness disorderOne of the most common is the obsessive compulsive disorder for cleanliness, which we will focus on throughout this article, and which gives shape to the obsession for cleanliness when it reaches psychopathological extremes.

Characteristics of obsessive compulsive disorder for cleanliness.

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

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

In addition, the uncertainty of not knowing to what extent the hands are dirty enhances this discomfort, as it fuels concern and the need to pay attention to what is happening on those areas of the skin (in the absence of information, anxiety leads to assuming the most pessimistic possibilities). And this sort of paranoia focused on possible signs that the hands are contaminated often fuels a type of magical thinking as well.

For example, some individuals may have superstitious thoughts that cause them anxiety if they do not perform acts 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 take the order and cleanliness of the home to the extreme, as they continually seek symmetry of objects. Regardless of irrational thinking, the compulsion in this type of disorder will be characterized by cleanliness and hygiene behaviors.

These people suffer from repetitive thoughts that provoke anxiety. The 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:

• Intolerance of uncertainty
• Overestimation of threat
• Perfectionism
• Excessive responsibility
• Beliefs about the importance of thoughts
• Beliefs about the importance of controlling one's thoughts
• Rigidity of ideas

Beliefs about the importance of one's thoughts refer to the need to control all thoughts at all times. Subjects with OCD try hard to try not to think a particular thing or to eliminate certain types of thoughts, and this has the opposite of the desired result.This has the opposite of the desired result. A paradoxical effect is generated whereby the fear of not detecting in time the first signs that these thoughts are going to appear in the consciousness in a short time, makes these thoughts more likely to "invade" the person's mind, because more "mental routes" 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 severe cases, the help of a specialist should always be sought in order to manage the situation. But in less severe cases of the disorder, the following tips may be helpful. If you suffer from cleaning obsession, you can follow these tips:

1. Relax before cleaning

Any type of obsessive-compulsive behavior has its origin in the need to reduce the anxious symptomatology.. It may be due to superstitious thinking or the idea that if everything is not clean a disaster may 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 that psychologists help patients to test irrational thoughts, so that they can see for themselves that absolutely nothing happens when they are exposed to the feared situation. However, the exposure must be progressive. For example, you can first delay the compulsive behavior for 1 minute, then 2, then 3, and so on. Gradually you can observe that, in fact, the obsessive thinking is irrational and the catastrophic thoughts are not fulfilled, obsessive thinking is irrational and catastrophic thoughts are not fulfilled..

3. Don't be such a perfectionist

Sometimes obsessive-compulsive cleanliness disorder may indicate that the individual has a perfectionist personality. perfectionist personality. The perfectionism refers to the belief that perfection must always be achieved in everything that is done. This belief can lead to serious anxiety problems and, therefore, compulsive behaviors. Understanding that imperfection is common to all human beings can help reduce anxiety. If it is not possible to do this alone, a psychologist should be consulted, as perfectionism also affects health and well-being. also affects health and well-being.

Bibliographical 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.