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Obsession With Cleaning

Daydreamer

Cleanliness bothers me. It’s a huge obsession of mine, a mix from the autism, anxiety and OCD. Specifically the OCD I think. It’s why I don’t sit down in a shop or cafe, or on a bench, or in someone else’s house. I’m always anxious that it hasn’t been cleaned properly and isn’t sanitary. At home I’m cleaning all the time. Dust every day. Hoover every day. Clean every day. The idea of dirt and dust and grime is overwhelming to me. Luckily my home isn’t massive, but it is a 5 bedroom house, so it’s a mornings work of cleaning for me. I’m happy to do it though. I like a clean house. Hand washing is one of my biggest struggles. I’m washing my hands all the time! I counted at least 40 times in less than half an hour on one day. My hands always feel dirty and look dirty so I wash them and then scrub them with a flannel, which can be very uncomfortable for me.

Do you think this is an autism thing or is it just me being weird?

  • I think it depends, if you get satisfaction from cleaning it’s fine. If you are compelled to clean without an end because you think something horrible will happen to you is could be problematic. 
    I have very similar issues, cleaning and lining stuff up. I have come to terms with the fact I like cleaning things and putting things in line. 

  • I think it depends, if you get satisfaction from cleaning it’s fine. If you are compelled to clean without an end because you think something horrible will happen to you is could be problematic. 
    I have very similar issues, cleaning and lining stuff up. I have come to terms with the fact I like cleaning things and putting things in line. 

  • I'm sorry to hear you struggle with this. I'm much the same. Always obsessing whether something is clean and then when I get home I wash my hands like crazy. I get sore hands, sometimes they bleed. Have you got a cream for yours? You can pick them up from the chemist if you need to. I clean my house all the time as well, try to keep it as spotless and germ free as possible.

    I'm sorry I can't help you with this but I thought it might help if you know you're not alone with this.

  • I really struggle to deal with it so I try as much as possible not to touch things in public and try to keep a divide between "clean" and "dirty" things. Like public transport is important for me to do anything or go anywhere because of where I live and standing up is even more difficult to do without touching anything, so I basically consider the back of my shirt and shorts/jeans dirty and don't touch them at all since they were touching a seat. 

    My brain wants me to wash my hands all the time, but my hands crack and bleed if I do so the less dirty things I touch, the less I will feel compelled to wash them. 

  • in reply to Chloe Mod

    Hello  

    Thank you for replying. This is something which I really do struggle with so thank you for your help with it and for the links as well. Both are really useful for me :) 

  • Hello

    I'm sorry that you have been experiencing this. You may like to have a look at the mental health section of our website which has useful links to information and advice about a range of mental health issues: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health  

     The information on this page may be of particular interest:

    https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/ocd 

    I hope this helps,

    ChloeMod