Oh you can't have OCD your house isn't tidy enough

[Normalisavariantofcrazy]

AIBU to have lost my temper with my mum when she came out with this gem?

I have OCD and have had for many years now, diagnosed by a psychiatrist, due to my obsessive thought patterns and daft rituals I build into my day (such as checking several times what time I'm meant to be somewhere or checking my handbag loads of times for my keys, replaying things I said wrong, even small things no one else would notice, hundreds of times in my head). It's only really a problem these days when my anxiety gets out of control and, as I'm managing both fairly well, it's reasonably in check.

Which is why i was able to challenge my mum when she came out with this having read something in a magazine or on facetwitter or some place othewise id have left her to it and stewed on it for months.

So AIBU to have challenged her and want to continue to challenge the perception of OCD?

That's just wrong - OCD isn't logical. It isn't about having a clean house (although my flat, when I was at my worst, was spotless).

Yadnbu at all.

Mine is part of pnd/anxiety and relates to checking my skin.

mykidsarebonkers, things such as repeating an action until it is 'right' and checking are common OCD symptoms (and intrusive thoughts are the very soul of OCD). Trichotillomania (hair-pulling) is on the 'Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum'. If you are having problems with your symptoms, you should try to arrange to have CBT (a partictular type called ERP has been shown to be effective in treating OCD).

I have not been formally diagnosed but believe I have OCD and it does manifest in cleaning.
My house isn't spotless by any means but there are certain things I HAVE to do every day, Hoover right through, Hoover sofa and wash floors if I don't do these then I feel terrible, heart pounding, tight chest etc

My sisters tell me to 'just leave it ' because I have to do it before I go anywhere but they don't understand that I can't, the few times a tried I just couldn't have a nice time because of the constant thinking about it.

I Hate it I wish I didn't have it, I want to spend more time with my DCs and less time cleaning but I just can't I think I need to look into CBT I don't want tone like this any more

thankyou badtime. I think ill make an app with gp and try and get a referal xx

Thanks for all your support on this! As others have said programmes like obsessive cleaners doesn't help matters!

I like hearing that others feel that hoarding is on the same spectrum, it makes sense really that it is

I'd love mine to manifest itself in a clean house and not instead, tapping things a certain amount of times in public and checking my son is asleep every hour at night (has got better from half hourly)!

Also a CBT gem for those that worry if they have unplugged certain electrical items: press the three pronged plug, hard into the palm of your hand so it hurts and leaves a mark. This will be you reminder when you leave the house. It has seriously stopped me jumping off the tube and returning home in a panic.

Hoarding is a form of OCD. As are many other behaviours. Many people are ignorant of what OCD actually is and i think those tv shows are partly to blame as they seem to only portray OCD as obsessive cleaning when it can manifest itself in various other ways. (I swing between hoarding and obsessive germ hunting.)

I get so angry when i hear people say "i'm a bit OCD haha" what, you're a bit obsessive compulsive disorder? Really? That's like someone saying "i'm a bit depression/autism" it makes no fucking sense!

Just to point out, it's probably just as offensive to people who suffer with contamination and cleaning OCD to say we wish we had that rather than checking OCD. They suffer just as much as we do and I doubt the sparkling house afterwards is a source of pleasure or pride.

Whoops. Didnt read all the posts and see most if what i said has been covered.

This has interested me - I have read all the comments about OCS being different for different people which prompted me to read up about it and i think that i might have OCD myself. One of the comments on one of the sites really hit home about instrusive thoughts. Most days i will imagine something dreadful happen (i have a really preoccupation about losing my feet at the moment) and then say to myself "that won't happen now i have thought about it".

Yanbu. Very disappointing that your own Mum isn't better educated about this condition.

Yanbu, and your mum should be supporting not questioning you.

OCD is terrifying, I had a lot of CBT once diagnosed and would recommend it x

ocd isnt all about cleaning mine was counting if i walked on a different coloured path my feet had to make contact evenly or i felt off balance and had to even up!

Yanbu it is incredibly annoying. I have obtrusive thought OCD, I rarely tell people but when they say things like "oooo you must be dead clean" (nope).

I also get annoyed when people declare themselves OCD because they just had a good clean. Knobs

Intrusive on obtrusive

DSD mum has OCD and her house is dirty, I feel so sorry for her because she is terrified of moving the germs. She won't have a bin, mow the lawn or open the windows and only eats food from packets. This is all after she went to rehab a few years ago so it was much worse before.

I have anxiety issues and like making lists to help me feel more organised, cleaning makes me feel calm. I don't have to leave the house (always a bonus when you suffer from anxiety!) and I can tick everything off when it's done. I cant cope with DSD's mums house at all and don't go in anymore.

Your mum is being very ignorant, maybe explain to her how your OCD effects your life

A friend of mine drives me bonkers with her "I'm so OCD me" bullshit.

She likes a clean and tidy house, she does not have OCD. She came round my house once and ran her finger along my blinds checking for dust. "oops sorry that's my OCD that is hahaha"

No, you're just fucking rude.

YANBU. I also have OCD which doesn't result in a sparkling house. It does have to be 'just so' but not immaculate unfortunately.

YANBU :)

It is the same when people claim " Oooh, I had a real panic attack when I couldn't find my keys this morning"

Isn't hoarding a kind of OCD?