To be very annoyed by “OCD Cleaners?”

[sweetkitty]

There’s a cleaning company local to me called OCD Cleaners presumably as a nod to the fact they clean as well as people with OCD.

I am really annoyed with this, I am a member of OCD-UK and know OCD is one of the most debilitating mental illnesses there is. It is so much more than just being super-clean. It is really debilitating and leaves sufferers feeling very isolated and shameful. There’s 6 different types and Fear of germs is just one type.

My 21 yo DD suffers from it and she literally has no life, she cannot work, go to college, care for herself and go outside without a parent. She feels an utter failure. I have heard so many sad, horrific stories from other parents of sufferers too.

I feel like contacting them and saying stop making light of a serious mental health condition you wouldn’t call a company Bipolar or Depression would you? Or would I come across as a bit of a Karen, am I super sensitive because of my DD?

Yanbu and I hate it when people throw about OCD. I find people who say it in a throw out comment don't understand so I doubt they'd care unfortunately.

But is it a company run by a couple of people with OCD who have used their particular compulsion to clean to their personal benefit?

I can see your point of view completely, but check what's behind the name first.

Maybe they have OCD. In which case, it's got nothing to do with you

my personal view is that most people know there is a big difference between what people call ‘a little bit ocd’ and having an OCD diagnosis, but they do have a mild trait. There are lots of things where people take something serious and use a term lightly. For some reason OCD seems to be the one people always ‘call out’.

‘Omg you’re gonna give me heart failure!’ ‘Haha I mean dairy not diary, I’m being dyslexic‘ ‘sometimes he’s a bit autistic in social situations’ ‘I’m so depressed about the football!’ ‘I saw him and almost had a panic attack!’ Etc etc

people can use language however they want and people obviously find a way to describe things as best they can.

This, maybe they have OCD so they are using that to their advantage and being the best cleaners?

I agree entirely with you about the company name. However, the bit I find ironic is you have mentioned coming across as a bit of a Karen. You are doing the same to people called Karen who do not fit the label you are attributing to them.

Absolutely no one suffering from OCD is ‘using it to their personal benefit.’ That idea is not just misguided, it’s offensive. OCD is a brutal, life altering condition. It’s not a quirky cleaning habit, it’s a relentless compulsion that can leave someone completely unable to function. You don’t claw your way out of that torment and casually start a business. This is exactly the kind of ignorance @OP is calling out. People simply do not understand the reality of OCD.

Contact them and tell them politely what OCD is really like. Maybe they just don’t realise.

If they don’t change the name there’s not much you can do about it though. I wouldn’t use a company with that name personally as it’s disrespectful (DC has OCD, it’s a brutal illness).
So maybe they’re losing customers too.

This

Are you sure they are using OCD in the way you think? Or could it be initials? Perhaps you are presuming the worst?
we used to have a business nearby called Dirty Dicks kitchens, what would your thoughts on that be? Offensive to those without showers? A dig at an STD sufferer?

Exactly this 🫣

My son 15 is waiting to become 17 in order to have ECT for OCD. He's tried everything and sometimes he just cries because it's unbearable. OCD is very debilitating and it takes way longer time for him to do something than his brother because he has to verify over and over again. So it's very disingenious for a cleaning company to call themselves that. What they are referring to is the stereotype of a very neat person who is said to "have a bit OCD" when in reality there is much pain and suffering involved and no efficiency at all.

Agreed.

Watch your own language before condemning others. Karen is a misogynistic slur.

Having experience in my life of loved ones with OCD, I still can't get worked up about this.

I suppose it isn't dissimilar to people getting a fright or knowing someone will be angry saying they nearly had a heart attack or someone is going to have an aneurysm. People throw those terms around but they intend no slight or to diminish the severity of these medical events

I think they should be applauded for turning their obsessions & compulsions into something positive - and they have certainly made money from it. Perhaps you & your daughter could take inspiration from that!

People who use someones name, which is deeply personal to them, as a slur I've got no time for. All the Karen's I know personally are wonderful, kind, caring people.

I thought that pot and kettle comes to mind.

It's maybe nothing to do with obsessive compulsive disorder and is a reference to the founders initials. Why not ask what the ocd stands for as a general question?

You lost any sympathy with your use of the term Karen.

I think they should be applauded for turning their obsessions & compulsions into something positive - and they have certainly made money from it. Perhaps you & your daughter could take inspiration from that!

I think it extremely unlikely they have OCD. It sounds like they don’t fully understand what it is.

I think you should absolutely call them out.

The ignorance around OCD is prevalent on SM and it is extremely detrimental to sufferers to perpetuate the myth that it's a cleaning quirk or a personality trait.

There's pure OCD, Harm OCD, Real Events OCD, False memory OCD, POCD, Somatic OCD etc.. Contamination OCD is just one subtype( not even the most common)
The WHO considers it one of the top ten most debilitating conditions.

It is a serious mental illness that people need educating about, not a "fun" name for a business.

I can assure you, if someone with germ or order OCD would never willingly choose to put themselves in those situations

There was a tv show called OCD cleaners and the cast were people with OCD...

Indeed.
Just to add an additional explanation…DC has contamination OCD. In his case it means he leaves a trail of mess in his wake. It doesn’t mean he cleans everything in the house (or indeed anything). Afraid of getting contaminated you see.

And my personal experience is that PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA!
I hear "a little bit OCD" so often. I have OCD. I count. I have rituals which have nothing to do with cleanliness.
It should not be a shorthand for excessive tidiness/germaphobia.