Lately, I have been finding myself cleaning every single nook and cranny here in my house. I have noticed that I have been getting restless whenever I see dust on a surface or a strand of hair on the floor, to the point that I clean a whole area of the house up until the wee hours of the morning. As the title suggests, I am genuinely curious if there is anyone who is addicted to cleaning? I do not know if this should really concern me, or I just love seeing my home pristine clean. Is this something that I should be worried about?
I think it's more of a habit rather than a serious addiction, and I don't think it's necessarily bad. It's always good to have a clean house but if you're going to go out of your way to clean something that isn't that important then you might want to consider what you're doing! Could you give us some examples?
I am like this too lol. Sometimes, I just cannot sleep knowing the bathroom is filthy or that our clothes cabinets are not in order. I get mad easily at my husband when he does not return things to its proper place. And I think my worst OC habit is not sleeping in the bed until I have fully cleaned myself. Especially if I went outside, I just cannot sit or sleep in the bed without taking a bath first lol. I think we have OC tendencies.
It's good to be clean but you should not spend a whole day just cleaning your house. You should spend atleast 30 minutes to clean your house so that you get time to perform other duties. How old are you? Do you go in work? That can also contribute to your habit.
@Theonewhoknocks: Have you been under stress recently, because anxiety and depression could lead a person to obsessive thoughts and it could become a major mental problem called OCD, since I suffer from obsessive thoughts I'd say that's not a road you would want to take. you could change this by thinking of something you enjoy doing while this thought of cleaning crosses your mind. Find out the root of the problem, what's causing you stress...a bit exercise could do a magic also...
I think that cleaning is a good thing. If you have not had any effects of stress or trauma of any sort, then it might just be a habit that shouldn't concern you too much. Unless you often clean to occupy your mind and escape from certain situations in your life, I see nothing wrong with cleaning. on the contrary, cleaning and other helpful activities could be helpful for someone who is on his or her way to recovery, to escape the urge to return to an addiction. I believe that cleaning for you is nothing but an altitude. When you practice certain things repeatedly, you end up getting used to them. Certain habits are not addictions. I have a habit where I stroll to get fresh air every evening. One could say that it is an addiction because I do it everyday, but the strolling keeps me in good health and serves me more positively.
It's just a habit that's all. Do you have any idea why you are so obsessed with cleaning? Are you just one of thosepoele who likes everything spick and span or are you convinced that someting shameful will happen if you don't clean. Is cleaning interfering with your everyday life at all. If it does, then it might be time to have a good think about things.
I'm not saying this is the issue, but it seems more likely a slight case of OCD than a "cleaning addiction".
This isn't a bad thing. There are a lot of people who like clean houses. I had a aunt that used to clean like that. Just as long as it's not disruptive to any body you should be okay. One thing is for sure you won't have people getting sick from germs in your home.
This could be mild OCD, or just tidyness. I have the same quirk. I can't sleep (or eat dinner sometimes) until some cleaning task is finished to my satisfaction. I have the irrational worry that people will judge me, even though I'm the neatest person I know haha.
I have seen About Schmidt where the wife of the husband had a cleaning obsession and would clean things again, which was strange at times as you would think there is nothing wrong with what is there in the first place, so it can be an addiction.I reckon that cleaning is something we could turn into an addiction very easily, if we are not careful which can cause some people to be stressed if they are obsessed with cleaning all the time. I reckon that we need to make sure we don't spend all our time doing it or we will neglect people or the things that should be important to us.
I can see it being a pretty big deal when you are losing sleep, or too busy to eat, or even just relax. Have you found any triggers or tricks to be able to take a break?
There is the obsessive compulsive disorder that falls into this category of when one is obsessed with cleaning or being clean. If it begins to disrupt your every day life to a point like where you can't get to work because you have to clean then you have a serious problem.
I would give almost anything for my house to be so clean. But I couldn't handle the disruption. Are there affective medications you can take?
I remember on TV years ago a lady that was addicted to cleaning and being clean. Before she would sit down on the chair on stage she used some type of Lysol and sprayed the chair before sitting down. And I agree with others, if it starts to disrupt your way of life then find a counselor.
Odds are you might suffer from OCD. I know because I suffer from that and that urge you feel sounds a lot like the urge I get to compulsively wash my hands after touching certain surfaces. Be careful, OCD can get worse if not addressed. Mine started to show its ugly face when I was 18 years old, I was so sick for several years... excessive cleaning is sometimes one of the many faces of OCD. I'd talk with a mental health professional about it.
I had no idea it could kick in later. I don't really know anything about it. I guess it makes sense. So many other disorders don't kick in until then, either.
I got it from my mother, it runs in her family. Her OCD is pretty bad, but has never been as bad as mine was when I was 21. She still obsesses about things, like for example cars parking outside her house. She'd spend the whole morning in the living room watching if people would park in front her house, if they did they'd ask them to move, lol. I think her OCD kicked in later as well. I think my OCD was already there since I was a kid, I always ate eggs and things in a certain order. Always taking bits of everything, I finished all at the same time And when I had eggs for breakfast I made sure to eat the white part first, then the yolk. I still do. OCD can get so bad if you let it D:
I have phases like that, where I just want to clean everything from top to bottom - and I have to say it does generally coincide with when I'm feeling anxious about something or other in life. I guess it's not the worst way to express anxiety - after all, the house is left looking fabulous afterwards!
If that is just in a certain times, I think that there is nothing to worry about. There are just people who like their places/areas so clean and they are not someone with phobia on germs. Just be careful not to overworked or stress too much because of the cleaning activities.