Addiction to cleaning?

What do you have to do to manage it? Medications, or meditation?

I never knew that some things may not kick in until later on in life. My mom was talking to me about my grandmother and how she always swept the house when she was alive to help keep her calm. My mom tends to do that sometimes too. I just don't care for sweeping but I will when needed. I hate stepping on crumbs and toys since I like to wall around bare foot in the house.

The psychiatrist I was seeing wanted to give me a lot meds, things like seroquel, but with my history of drug abuse I knew it was never going to be a good idea. Plus the side effects of things like seroquel use long term are awful!

I'm not going to lie to you, when I was 18 my life changed so much... from that point til I was 24-25 my life was practically a hell governed by my OCD. I spent a whole year not leaving my mom's house because of my OCD... I reached the point I was too scared to have any kind of contact with surfaces... even the ones at home.

OCD is such an awful thing, can drive you directly to the mental asylum, I reached a point I thought I would. I had a moment of clarity... basically my OCD revolved around germs and contagious viruses and diseases. I had to use logic to fight it... it helped, but took me years to control it with no meds. I still have some bad days, but nothing compared to what I liked from 18 to 24... My OCD is nearly under control, I still get short panic attacks and obsessions, but they don't last long.

kudos for doing it med free! I'm on seroquel now(along with vistril, buspar, mirtazapine, amatryptalin, and paxil). I was on lithium before it almost killed me. that almost killed me. I'm bipolar with borderline disorder, but I can't do it med free. I've tried and couldn't get anywhere.

@LilAnn Going med free is not for everyone I think bipolar and borderline disorder really require a lot medication I was on lithium for a while as well, and I can do nothing but agree with you on how tough it is! It took me a while to reach this state I am in, and even some days is not good. I just try to be strong, a part of me wish I could go back to using meds because life seems a bit more easier that way, but I just stick to doing it this way. At least for as long as I can do it.

I'm not cured at all, but I can confidently say I no longer have the same awfully strong ''crisis'' I had before. OCD can be somewhat manageable depending on what your triggers are, but living with it is tough. As it is living with any other mental illness. By the way, how long ago were you diagnosed? Most psychiatric meds mess with my stomach and colon so much.

About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and dissociative disorder. But we never got anywhere with that. Then, about 8 years ago i was diagnosed with bipolar/borderline.

When I'm not on my meds I can't sleep. I would go days at a time with no sleep. I am a total introvert, anyway. No meds and I won't leave my house, or even be in the same room as someone else. I don't know if it was exhaustion or depression, but I wouldn't do anything but lay in bed and watch tv all day and night.

I finally started seeing my shrink that I have now about 3 years ago.. It was trial and error with the meds, but we finally have figured out what works. My last visit my BP was almost perfect. All it took was the right meds taken in the right way.

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Not being able to get enough sleep is awful!! I'd also take those meds in order to sleep if I was in that situation. But tell me... have you gained weight? I did while I was on amatryptalin for a year (to treat my anxiety and depression), I gained 35 kilos! Good thing back then my hormones were much more stable, insulin resistance hadn't kicked in yet... so I could lose the weight easily. Don't ask me how things are now... I have the hardest time losing weight.

I suspect I might suffer from borderline as well, but haven't talked about that with my shrink. I just go see him because that is one of the conditions for me to keep receiving free healthcare.

I'm glad those meds are working the way they should. I think sometimes we have no choice but take those meds. I'm just trying to delay things... because I know in the future I might have to take several meds as well

It could probably be a form of OCD as what others mentioned but I think there are many people in the same boat as you, and that includes me. I am not in any way diagnosed with OCD but I am a self-confessed Obsessive Compulsive at times.

I don't like it when the house is unclean or untidy. Even the food that me and my family eats, I usually don't eat them if I find even a tiny unusual thing about the food. I like working in an organized way and I love uniformity and constancy when it comes to things.

I guess we all have our different obsessions here and there but as long as these obsessions don't interfere or disrupt your daily life and ability to function well, then I see no problem with that. We just have our own ways of wanting things to be in order.

Obsessive cleaning could be a symptom of stress. Perhaps there are certain unresolved issues in the back of your mind that compel you to stay busy, in order to work out these issues.
I have noticed that when I feel "dirty" or "polluted" in some way, cleaning helps me to bring back a sense of "cleanliness" inside myself. For example, if I have to deal with certain people whose behavior and language I find somewhat basic, such as folks who swear a lot or have primitive habits, I occasionally feel "contaminated" and need to get rid of those "greasy" feelings in some way. During such times, cleaning helps me to restore my inner balance again.

I gained ~70 or so lbs on the lithium. I took myself off the seroquil (which is supposed to be a weight gainer, too). I've stopped weighing myself now, but I can tell by the shirt I'm wearing that I had to have lost some. Next time I go to town I may have to weigh myself. Luckily, though, when I gained 70 pounds, I was starting off about 20 or 25 lbs short of what I should've been. So I only actually need to lose 45-50 pounds. I don't know what that translates to in kilograms... according to bing I need to lose 22 kilos. That sounds a lot more encouraging than the number 50!! I just looked and we gained the same amount of weight. Is there any trick to losing it?

Of all the habits in the world.to have, I think a healthy cleaning habit would be a good one. It is healthy and you feel good when you have a nice clean house. I do a deep cleaning in my house every couple of months or so.

I would say the same thing, but thats probably because I'm not OCD. @Tremmie, correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the idea that even after the house is spotless, when everyone else would sit down and enjoy, the people with this affliction, or disorder, or addiction can't. They're still going at it. I believe thats the reason its called compulsion, addiction, and/or obsessive rather than a habit.

@LilAnn Some people have a thing for cleaning, some for germs, some seem to be troubled for everything, lol. My mom is OCD as well, when I made our meals she couldn't help but to do her dishes. Yeah, she did the dishes even if that meant her meal would get cold, she didn't care. To this date she still does that. OCD is so illogical! Same with cleaning... too clean is never enough, there is always something in the mind of the OCD sufferer, even if the house looks spotless, in their mind it might now.

I lost those 35 kilos so easily after coming off my meds I had no hormonal issues back then, so the weight came off easily, but now... I gained 15 kilos last year! if you have no issues with insulin resistance, then you shouldn't have any issues losing weight. Just make sure you are not eating less than 1,200 calories per day. I made that mistake, I didn't lose a single pound. It's hard, but you need to find your own balance.

I recently read a study... it seems those who skip breakfast lose more weight than those who don't. Intermittent fasting seems to be a great option for people like us. I might actually start doing it next week, I'll let you know how it goes! Just keep track of what you eat. If people with insulin resistance can lose weight, so can we!! Specially you, because you don't have that. Use ''MyFitnessPal'' app to track your calories.

Definitely let me know! I have been trying to keep track of my calories, myself, but I'm really bad at it. I am willing to fast, exercise, diet... whatever it takes. I've been like this for WAY too long. I'm not going to kid myself about getting as skinny as I was. But if I could just lose enough to not look as wide as I am tall, I'll be happy.

You seem to handle it okay, from what I can tell. And thats really good. Sometimes being crazy is as bad, or maybe even worse, than any addiction. (Well, any addiction other than Krokodil). I get to say that because I got diagnosed with a case of "crazy", too. We crazies have to stick together lol

Hahahaaha! Yeah! I handle pretty well, I think, my fiance doesn't even know I suffer from OCD (I told him once, but maybe he thought I was joking) because I don't show the symptoms I did before. But if he had a good eye... he'd know I am pretty OCD about many things. Hahahaha, yeah and mixing drugs and ''crazy'' is the worst combo ever D: It's always nice to meet other fellow ''crazy'', lol.

Lol, I know right? At this point we are willing to bargain just to lose some pounds! I know I'll never be as skinny as I was years ago, but gosh... I swear I would be so damn happy if I could weigh as much as I did last year!!

bargaining is right! If I had the opportunity to sell my soul, don't think I wouldn't be tempted.

Obviously, I can't tell you if he forgot or whatever. But I know people who like to claim the are OCD, when they aren't. Its almost become trendy. My MIL (yup, same one), has decided she's depressed, severe anxiety, bipolar, possible brain tumor, epilepsy one time in high school, and of course OCD. Say she cleaned a shelf off. 2 months later she may see a piece of paper in it, covered in dust because its been there for so long. When she sees it, she starts talking about her OCD. I think it gets difficult to tell who really is, and who's a faker. When someone online says it, and can actually go into detail about it, its a lot easier to pick out who's telling the truth.

Lol, I feel the same way at times, it's so frustrating to do everything you think is the right thing and don't see the scale moving. It makes you just want to throw it against the wall, lol. Well, at least that's how I feel every time I weigh myself in.

Why does your MIL think she has a brain tumor? I can tell you having a brain tumor is no fun, even when it's a benign one. I tell you from experience. As for OCD, well, OCD it's very complex you see. Most people with OCD are compulsive cleaners, I on the other hand... I don't mind dust. My OCD was and still is focused at germs and infectious diseases. Hence I was so afraid to touch the surfaces of most things when going out in the past, and I couldn't use public restrooms, even if it was an emergency, lol. Doing that kind of things would cause me to go into panic mode, now I am much better. I still fear the worse and obsesses over symptoms when I get sick though, but is not as bad as it once was.

I don't understand why someone would want to make people think he or she is OCD Most doctors I have seen always use my mental issues as a scapegoat, just because they see I suffer from OCD, chronic depression and anxiety. Is not cool at all, I was complaining about chest pains some months ago, and the idiot who was seeing me said it was surely all in my head Wasn't! I had the worse GERD attack ever! Why would someone want the stigma that being diagnosed with OCD can bring into their life? Crazy. I actually try to hide my OCD as much as possible, my MIL would surely try to use that against me, maybe tell everyone I am crazy, lol. She is TOO dumb to try to use that against me.

She just uses these things for attention. She wants pity and for people to cry and tell her,"NOOOOOOO!!!!" Last week she went to the ER for a sore throat. Came home, in a great mood, feeling great and said she couldn't go to work that night because she had strep throat. How many people have you met who drinks wine and eats chips when they have strep? March 10, 2010 is the day I had my first seizure. 3 days in the hospital later I found out I have epilepsy. Thats when she suddenly remembered she had it in class for 45 minutes when she was in high school. When I was diagnosed as bipolar, she always had bipolar, they just didn't have a name for it then, (its name back then was manic depressive).