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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To just want a normal life?

27 replies

kiggenpaws · 17/02/2018 07:19

My DH suffers from OCD with obsessive decluttering as a big part of it. I spend each day worried that he’s thrown away/given away/ebay’d something of mine or my DDs. When I can’t find something, he’ll deny all knowledge but then subsequently I’ll find it in a bag for a charity shop.

Jobs, like washing the dishes, don’t get done or finished because he’s obsessed with doing them ‘perfectly’. If I do them he’ll get annoyed that I’ve done it when he said he was going to (even when it’s been sat there for ages not done). He can literally take 2 hours to do a couple of plates and mugs. I think he’s just redoing them. He has a certain way of doing the clothes washing which takes ages too. I washed something of DDs the other day, went to get it & it had gone off the line. I found it back in the washing basket to be rewashed. When I asked him about it he said he’d put it in there ‘by accident’ which makes no sense at all.

If I say I’m going to do a job, he’ll quickly do it instead and then say he ‘forgot’ I said I was going to do it. But I know it’s because he thinks I’m not going to do it right. He’ll prioritise doing that over and above finishing what he’s started.

I just want a normal life where chores are done without drama or routines or methods. Where they are just finished in a reasonable amount of time. Where I’m trusted & respected to do the most basic of stuff. Where I can put something down & expect it to not go missing. Where I can buy my DD a present without feeling massively guilty that it’s going to upset DH because he’ll see it as more stuff. I’ve tried so so hard to support him but it’s causing me all manner of stress & upset. I don’t really know what I want from posting but I just need to get it out of my head. Sorry this is so long.

OP posts:
Bakedappleflavour · 17/02/2018 07:21

What is he doing about this? Is he getting professional help?

RefuseTheLies · 17/02/2018 07:21

Is your DH in therapy and getting treatment?

Countingsheeeep · 17/02/2018 07:23

Your dh has a mental illness and this needs to be treated. As someone who has suffered from medically diagnosed ocd, I can guarantee you that his life is about a billion times more stressful than yours, and he must be finding it really hard.

He needs cbt or similar in order to work through his rituals and obsessions in order to gain better control of his condition.

This should be your focus. I really feel for him.

Flomy · 17/02/2018 07:23

Does he get support from G.P etc?

RemainOptimistic · 17/02/2018 07:23

So DH knows he has a problem, he's admitted it to you? Get him down the GP ASAP for CBT and maybe anxiety medication to help in the short term. The CBT is what he needs to get his thought processes into a more healthy state.

OCD can be a very serious mental illness that hugely impacts on a sufferers life and family, not widely known how serious it can be. But help is available, get to the GP and be upfront about the huge impact it's having on family life. Don't minimizer.

Stella60 · 17/02/2018 07:24

Sounds very stressful -not only the practicalities of the situation but the denial. I think to find a way forward he first needs to acknowledge that he has a problem. Has he always been that way? Can you talk to his family about it?

Efferlunt · 17/02/2018 07:25

I think you could demand honesty from him on this. Lying and ‘forgetting’ to avoid confrontation with you on this won’t help.

speakout · 17/02/2018 07:25

This must be an awful atmosphere for your DD. Is your OH having treatment?

kiggenpaws · 17/02/2018 07:26

Sorry I should’ve said (thought I had- but sleep deprived). He’s getting therapy and he’s being honest in that so I’ve got my fingers crossed that helps. I realise it’s horrific for him hence why I’ve been supporting him. But I’ve got to think of my DD and my own mental well-being too.

OP posts:
kiggenpaws · 17/02/2018 07:32

I’ve tried to protect my DD from it as much as possible, and she’s quite young so not really been too aware of it. But as she gets older I’m worried about the impact it’ll have.

OP posts:
ChipVinegar · 17/02/2018 07:33

He needs ERP CRB therapy but it won't come fast

I know you feel betrayed and lied to and like he could just NOT do this... with OCD you cannot simply NOT do your compulsions though. Someone might die etc if you don't (you really are trapped as you know you're sabotaging relationships and your life but on the other hand... if you don't do your compulsive behaviours you're going to be responsible for something really awful, which may be worse than that iyswim)

Guilt 1000% more than your average person for things and the responsibility to prevent these things you feel cripplingly guilty for before they can happen is how I would describe OCD

I would have rather lost everyone I knew than be responsible for the harm I could cause if I didn't do my compulsions

It is stressful though and I'm sorry you can't have a normal life right now

Bakedappleflavour · 17/02/2018 07:33

Countingsheeeep

I also have OCD but we have to recognise it's incredibly difficult for the family members and friends who support us.

Is he on meds OP?

ChipVinegar · 17/02/2018 07:34

ERP CBT therapy I mean not CRB lol

MaxWeber · 17/02/2018 07:34

So - you're looking for permission to leave him?

speakout · 17/02/2018 07:35

Countingsheeeep I have no doubt that his life is about a billion times more stressful than yours, but we should not be minimising the impact that this is having on the OP.

This should be your focus.

And I totally disagree with this statement.
The OP's focus should be on her DD. She is powerless in this situation.
This man needs help, no doubt, but until he does get help the OP has to deal with the reality of the situation and do what she must for her and her daughter's self preservation.

speakout · 17/02/2018 07:37

OP- you are right in thinking of you and your DD. As much as you love him, this is your OHs problem.

I say that as someone who walked out on a terminally ill husband.

kiggenpaws · 17/02/2018 07:40

no Max not at all. I love him very much, & will absolutely stay and support him as I want to be with him. But I’m frustrated for him, my DD and myself that life has had to take on this very difficult dimension.

OP posts:
Anditstartsagain · 17/02/2018 07:41

I've no advice but I feel for you it's hard being the support when your not the one with the 'problem' you tend to be forgotten and are expected to have endless patience and understanding when your only human and bound to be stressed with it.

I hate when people say the person your supporting has it worse, yes they do but that doesn't mean you aren't struggling too your allowed to find it hard and frustrating.

MaxWeber · 17/02/2018 07:43

OK, fair enough. The answer to your question then is no, you're not unreasonable to want a normal life, but as long as your husband is suffering from OCD you're not going to get one Flowers

Countingsheeeep · 17/02/2018 07:45

@speakout @bakedappleflavour in no way am I saying it's not stressful for op, or that the focus shouldn't also be on the DD, however, a mental illness does not go away on its own. The quickest route to a solution for all is to focus on the husband being treated for what can be a very serious mental illness.

I have no doubt it is stressful for all parties, but it isn't a choice that dh has made, he is unwell, he needs professional help (which was not mentioned by op until after my post) and therefore at that point it was not clear whether or not he was actually receiving any.

ChipVinegar · 17/02/2018 07:52

Yeah you won't get a normal life for the foreseeable future, you may never depending on how effective treatment is for him

YANBU to wish you could have one though

Is it possible to consider staying together but living apart if it worsens?

I think it might help to see your life being disrupted by OCD rather than by your husband. Resentment towards him rather than his illness alone will doom your relationship

I've had family members get mad at me and tell me how selfish I am for doing things my OCD makes me do, how I simply don't care enough or I just wouldn't, how I'm harming my DS by not being stronger... and I feel so utterly helpless because I fucking feel that way too but I have no magic wand to stop it and they don't understand what could happen even though I know it's not totally logical if I don't do the things I need to

Stompythedinosaur · 17/02/2018 08:01

That sounds very difficult. Is living separately from your dp until things are better a possibility? It might be less stressful for you both.

AnnieAnoniMouse · 17/02/2018 08:03

I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, live like that. We would have to live apart until he recovered enough to stop throwing things out and redoing things I’d done (like DD’s dress) that hugely impact others. I couldn’t cope with him throwing things out and I’d be terrified it would lead DD into being a hoarder when she’s older. What your DH is doing, is the kind of thing that makes hoarders, hoarders.

I’m ‘bad enough’ myself with needing things done in a certain way (especially in the kitchen) and things being a certain way/in a certain place, checking I’ve turned the oven off, locked the door etc and I detest clutter, so I’m a bit off a ‘tidier upper’ & ‘nag’ for others to put stuff away.

I do feel for your DH , OCD must be awful, but you need to prioritise your DD and your own MH. You can’t help him if you have a breakdown.

CrabappleBiscuit · 17/02/2018 08:04

Honestly, I lived with my dh for a year while he went through a severe depressive episode, if he hadn’t started to get better (drugs, counselling, exercise, friends....time) I’d have left.

It was having a huge effect on my mental health and well-being. You need to be well in order to cope with him. You have to think about yourself and your daughter.

What helped me was knowing he had support from his family, using my friends as support, getting my own space when I could ( I could use work), but you really have to look after yourself...

kiggenpaws · 17/02/2018 09:34

Thanks for the replies everyone. Finances/circumstances mean we can’t really afford to live separately. I just hope the cbt/therapy helps him.

OP posts: