Tired of this suffering: "I hate you when you're... - OCD Support

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Tired of this suffering

Bela57 profile image
3 Replies

"I hate you when you're like this. You make everybody suffer" - This are my partner's words to me yesterday morning when we were getting ready for work.

Background story... I've been so tired from work the night before and I can say that I woke up feeling irritable. I went to the kitchen and saw my partner getting breakfast ready as normal. I usually clean up every night because I can't stand a messy kitchen. Actually, I can't stand any mess. Period. The aftermath of the kitchen after he's been there annoyed me so much and instantly I was in a mood with him. I didn't say much at breakfast and I knew that he knew that I was not happy with him. I was really angry about the crumbs on the counter, on the floor, the grease on the hub, everything! And I couldn't control how I felt and this is not the first time this happened. Sadly, it's the same scenario for most days. This is how we live everyday and I'm tired of it. I'm fed up of being like this. It doesn't get any better, only worse.

I'm not diagnosed with OCD but I have symptoms of obsession and compulsion. I've always been neat and tidy. I like order and I thought that's a good thing. I've always been methodical and practical too. It was only a year ago when I moved in with my partner that my condition (whatever this is) became worse. I couldn't cope with how he does things differently. He says that I have very high standard of neatness/cleanliness. It makes me so upset when we had an argument in the car because I was telling him off for having a messy car. He told me that it was his car and he's the one using it and he thinks that it's perfectly fine how it is. He doesn't say it in a rude way it's just him trying to make him realise that we're all different and what bothers me doesn't bother him and that's okay. But I couldn't let it go - not just the car mess but the fact that it doesn't affect him as much as things affect me.

I can't blame him for being how he is. I can't be mad when he does things differently. At one point he cried to me because he said he's tired of pleasing me and knowing that it's not good enough. He will do things to help me but all I do is criticise him. He even said to me that he thinks I'm not happy being with him. It is heartbreaking. I feel that our relationship is falling apart. I'm scared to lose him. This is not his fault AT ALL.

At first I thought it's too bad because he just doesn't realise how messy he is but actually I envy him because unlike me he is free and he doesn't worry. Unlike me, he's not trapped in his own mind. Unlike me, he's not a slave of his own compulsions.

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Bela57 profile image
Bela57
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3 Replies
Sallyskins profile image
Sallyskins

It could be worth finding out if you have OCD. There is still a myth that everyone with OCD is obsessively neat and tidy and is always cleaning. The fact is that OCD takes many forms, and the neat and tidy and obsessively clean is just one of them.

That doesn't mean you haven't got OCD though. There is being clean and tidy and hating mess, and there is an obsessive intolerance of it. I know people who are the former without having OCD but if it's making your life miserable it could well be OCD.

Living together can put stress on a relationship where your attitudes clash as to how you manage your living spaces but this shouldn't mean that you can't be happy together.

Try to accept that his spaces are his for him to manage as he pleases, if you want him to accept that yours are for you to stay clean in. Perhaps if you are diagnosed with OCD a course of CBT could help you be a little more relaxed about mess and dirt. This could leave you less prone to irritation at the least little untidiness.

There are upsides to being the sort of person who develops OCD. On the whole we are good at things that demand attention to detail and meticulousness. Do get help but don't lose those!

LuvSun profile image
LuvSun in reply toSallyskins

Very good advice Sallyskins.

Bela57 profile image
Bela57 in reply toSallyskins

Thank you Sallyskins. It's been a relief to be able to express my thoughts and feelings. Sometimes I find it difficult to stop worrying. It's like hardwired to my brain. I will consult to a professional to know what's going on.

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