OCD/ anxiety before baby arrives

[JuneBaby20]

Hi..
I’m 35 weeks pregnant and the closer I get to the due date the more anxious I get. I also started ‘nesting’ and want EVERYTHING in my house to be super clean and tidy. I always joke that I have OCD (never been diagnosed) but is this really just a silly joke?!
important : I am aware of what OCD really is and do not want to upset anyone who has it! I know that OCD is not ‘just a joke’ ..

I also can’t stop thinking about my childhood and that my mother was never there for us. Is anxiety to be a good mother and my crazy ‘nesting’ normal or do I need to seek professional help? I’m always overthinking things...

OCD is not just a cleaning fetish. What is your motivation to clean? Is it because you have catastrophic thoughts that you will seriously harm or kill your loved ones if you don’t? Because that’s what OCD is.

I always joke that I have OCD

Please stop doing this. It is incredibly hard for sufferers to hear and reinforces the misconceptions about the disorder.

Thanks for your reply. First of all I am sorry if I upset you! This is not my intention at all. Like I mentioned above.

I’m pretty sure there are different types of OCD. I don’t know much about it but I can imagine that I have this OCD where I need everything to be at the right places in the house and very clean and tidy. I feel really anxious otherwise and can’t relax. I obsess over having a tidy house soo much that I feel like I’m no where near ready of having my baby. Does this make sense to you?

Please try not to worry about this
Obsessional thoughts are IME common around the birth time and simply a manifestation of understandable anxiety about the wellbeing of yourself and your child
OCD is different

This isn’t necessarily OCD - I have OCD and am also pregnant, it isn’t really a clean everything in sight kind of thing. I would imagine most people expecting a baby would want to clean. OCD doesn’t come into it really - anxiety in pregnancy is normal...OCD is a much more extreme thing.

Hi OP, many congratulations on your pregnancy. I do think that you've correcly identified that you're suffering from anxiety during this pregnancy. All the cleaning and the inability to relax are symptoms of this anxiety as you realise yourself. Maybe talk to your GP and ask to be referred to a counsellor for help and reassurance.

To me, though, this does not sound like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which can be a hugely debilitating mental health condition. As @Haretodaygonetomorrow says it involves obsessions (eg the conviction that your family will die) and the compulsion (eg cleaning) must be carried out to prevent this from happening. I'm not sure of course, but what you describe above doesn't sound like this. Importanly, OCD doesn't just mean that a person's obsessed with cleaning. To use it to describe a sense of wanting/needing everything in its place, neat and clean, minimises the trauma this condition brings. To HAVE to perform ritualistic behaviour, often against your own will, to prevent something terrible from happening is what OCD is about. However, I do think you should seek professional advice to assess and treat your anxiety properly. Best of luck OP.

Thank you all for your replies. You all seem to be more clued up than me.

Don't worry at all. Believe me, a lot of us who know more about OCD, and what it entails, wish we never had to have that knowledge