Hi guys I’m obsessed with cleaning my house I use more detol and bleach then I can afford. I’m either cleaning or thinking of cleaning . I’m scared of germs or getting food poisoning. I have washed my hands and sprayed it with alcohol spray so much before I started to peel. It’s really starting to annoy my partner and I really feel like cleaning as taken over my life and I’m never fully relaxed I think the only Time I do stop is when asleep. anyone else that can relate?
Cleaning : Hi guys I’m obsessed with cleaning my... - OCD Support
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Cleaning
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Missy24
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Most bacteria are harmless or beneficial. The risk you take in obsessive cleaning with antibacterial agents is that you kill the good bacteria and leave a clear space for the bad bacteria. Being too clean can lead to autoimmune diseases, because your immune system needs to be strengthened by exposure to bacteria.
Food poisoning is unlikely as long as you take care with basic hygiene, particularly with things like raw chicken or seafood.
But I do know what it's like to wash and wash over and over. I have a hand washing habit which I think has partly come about because my house is cluttered, hasn't enough storage space and is difficult to keep clean. So I have 'clean' areas and 'dirty' areas and make sure I don't touch the 'clean' areas unless I wash my hands from the 'dirty' areas.
Perhaps try cutting down on the cleaning and washing. Perhaps if you could just use soap on your hands, and leave out the alcohol spray, wash down surfaces in your house with basic household cleaner and not bleach, and cut down gradually.
This is likely to make you feel uncomfortable, particularly to begin with, but bear with it as much as you can. Don't go over it in your mind, just tell yourself you can think about it later if you want, and you are then likely to forget all about it.
There are some excellent self help books which can explain the process and which include case studies and exercises you can adapt to your own use. I have been helped by Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and The OCD Workbook but there are others.
Hello Missy24,
I am not a doctor, just a wife who has seen her husband go down a very demoralising road. I can relate Missy24 and I know the compulsion feels strong but as Sallyskins says try to cut down gradually. Don't think things over. My husband has been suffering from OCD washing and cleaning for 3 years now and it started with a lot of sanitizer being used at work or in the public transport; the hands peeling has turned into eczema and his hands are red raw, it's up to his wrists now. It is very important if you can to try and cut the washing down little by little, otherwise it will escalate. You will resort to washing to relieve your anxiety, the more you wash, the longer your anxiety will take to go down. Those thoughts in your mind are not true, nothing will happen to you. Good luck Missy24, try little by little to reduce the washing and cleaning, you can do it. Take care Missy24,
Cat x
My hands look exactly the same. Too much washing and cleaning mainly my hands though not so much my house. I don’t know how to offer any help other than I do it too so I can relate. I’m trying not to but urges are so strong. I’m trying to fight this damn disease, keep resisting! I think I’m scared of getting ill but by doing this I am ill just in a different way. It could make me sick but I’d rather might be sick maybe one day then a lifetime of cleaning and anxiety.
Do deal with all that hassle. You can hire a junk removal service to take care of it. When I recently moved into my new place I was just like you. Thank god I had royal-junk.com/ to help me on my quest to get the whole place all nice and clean. For the cheap price, they did a superb job and I am no longer paranoid.
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