Germphobic but have dog/messy house?

[Eryouwhat]

Just seen a Facebook post from a friend of a friend saying she has just done her first in store shop since March as she’s been avoiding shops as she’s so germphobic...

I know people with cleanliness related, diagnoses OCD who have managed to shop. This lady lives in a house with a lot of children and multiple pets and it was, quite frankly (when I saw it) unclean. How can she be germphobic? Am I missing something?

People with diagnosed OCD often have unclean or messy houses (speaking from my own experience with the illness).
The compulsions aren't logical, that's the point. So you may be unable to deal with the shop because of the worry over coronavirus but your own space (clean or not) is safe.

Phobias are an odd thing and are also quite different to OCD so I'd think it's best not to judge.

Phobias are tricky and not logical. She may feel home is her 'safe' area, so isn't afraid of germs there. You're being a bit judgemental.

It affects everyone differently. I had a severe case of ocd (under control now) I focused on the ‘wrong things’. For example, I’d be paranoid about handles, floors and kitchen surfaces but be more relaxed about my pets and children. Ocd doesn’t mean everything will trigger them, they can’t control it.
I’d often leave my bathroom a mess as it was hygienic but I’d ignore the dust or a bit of limescale, in my head it was totally fine but of course it wasn’t properly clean. I’m shockingly fine about the virus, with previous illnesses doing the rounds I’d bleach my whole house several times a day. I’ve never managed to stop the constant hand washing though, but I no longer see it as a problem. The virus is a different kettle of fish to dog hair. Be kind.

Germs and mess are two different things. My house is clean, but messy at the same time. She is saying she is germophobic and clearly referring to covid. You can have a messy house, pets etc, and still not want to catch germs.

If I were a good friend, I wouldn't be judging my friends on fb.. Especially in regards to a medical issue. Not that I use the god awful site anyway.

What on Earth has it got to do with you?

I always hear this but never understand how a house can be messy but clean? Surely if you have shit all over the place (on work surfaces/floors) you can’t clean aforementioned floors and work surfaces, therefore you have a dirty house?

I watched a programme about hoarders/hoarding once and a lot of the hoarders were diagnosed with OCD.

OCD doesn't necessarily have anything to do with cleanliness. The compulsions can be things like checking doorhandles, checking the oven is off, having lots of spare items in case one breaks etc.

It also has nothing to do with being phobic of germs.

"Ialways hear this but never understand how a house can be messy but clean? Surely if you have shit all over the place (on work surfaces/floors) you can’t clean aforementioned floors and work surfaces, therefore you have a dirty house?"

No, dirty means mucky stains etc that need wiping off. You can wipe a surface then put stuff on top, therefore clean but messy. I dont know how people dont understand that.

I think what you're missing is that you cannot generalise about people with phobias or conditions such as OCD.

There is no logic or pattern as to what will trigger people with such conditions or phobias and just because some people can do something doesn't mean others will be able to. Everyone is different.

If you have crap everywhere and can’t be bothered to pick it up and put it away, I doubt you are picking it up to clean under it to remove dust and dirt. If you have stuff on your floor, surely you have to move it to hoover? Just put it away? If you can’t be bothered to tidy up, I find it hard to believe that you can be bothered to clean.