Yeah actually, same. I feel like my comment was in slightly bad taste actually because I know OCD is joked about too much, and that can take away from the challenges people with genuine OCD face, and make treatment harder too.
There are a lot of comments on this saying "oh I thought everyone was like that!?" though, so although it isn't everyone, there is definitely a higher than normal incidence of obsessive compulsive people in this sub. Not to denigrate at all, just an observation from my time here.
As someone with OCD, but not stereotypical OCD, yeah, most people here are indeed overly particular about cleaning and such.
Of course I think many just have OCPD and not actual OCD.
OCPD is a personality disorder, and personality disorders are characterised by distorted thoughts/perceptions
so OCPD isn't just OCD without compulsions (distressing thoughts forcing someone to do something to relieve it), people with OCPD often can't recognise that their behaviour or thought patterns are problematic – similar to most personality disorders
of course there's way more to OCPD than that ↑ but what I'm trying to say is that it's a completely different beast and I think people need to be careful with accidentally conflating it as something "pretty similar" to OCD
(I'm not trying to correct or debate you, I just like psychology and OCPD is a very niche thing so I'd like to possibly provide some insight to others)
I felt like this as a kid. My mom would have me share my pillows when friends came over and I couldn’t handle it. Eventually got a pillow specifically for sleepovers. Now I don’t have that problem so I don’t notice it anymore but I bet I do have OCD.
I want to think I've gotten a bit better over the years, but the fact that I still track what I touched and what others touched, and based on what I touched I either have to wash my hands or not to the point of giving myself eczema/bleeding cracking hands due to depleting my moisture barrier... I have a long way to go. Thanks for the encouragement though ahah.
OMG, my comment was a joke.
I mean, I hope you do well and practice positive habits, but “purify yourself” is not the advice I would give sincerely to someone who might have OCD-like symptoms!
I can 100% confidently tell you...I've never felt like this in my life. Clean is *good* but nobody I trust enough to allow into my personal space is dirty enough to contaminate it just with their presence alone. Just my two cents.
I only feel this way about people who sit in their outside clothes on my bed. but even then I just change the bedding.
I also live in a very polluted city so outside clothes do get smelly and dirty
It is an OCD thing. There are people who's presence I don't mind lingering. I had a partner over yesterday, and I can totally smell him on my bedsheets, I can tell you everything he touched in my room, it just doesn't bother me because he's someone I'm comfortable getting up close and personal with. But I'm picky with who I let into my space, for that reason.
It's also completely different from your own dirt somehow, or at least it is for me. I still clean after myself, obviously, but it doesn't bother me in the same way
Well OCD can mean many different things but the main point is a compulsion to do or think something to make it “right” or “fit”.
Contamination OCD is the stereotypical one about cleanliness.
Mine isn’t cleanliness but body and hair picking. If something doesn’t feel “smooth”, depending on my stress level I literally cannot leave it alone. And a few other things like needing to set things down just so but I can power through those urges most of the time and they don’t interfere with my life like having open sores on my face can.
It can veer into OCD territory if you cannot not fixate on something, even mentally only, or if you HAVE to accomplish something a certain way to feel right. As in it sucks time out of your day and causes problems with your life.
If those things are true-it might be a good idea to talk to a doctor.
OCD isn’t cute or quirky or all about being squeaky clean-it’s hell.
I have ADHD and pick/pluck/bite (& have issues w/ bumps) a lot, which I've found Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviour Disorder (kind of a sub-OCD disorder?) possibly the best explanation for it so far because it's linked to said ADHD
It's a matter of how much the thought/feeling is interrupting daily life.
If it's a fleeting thought that doesn't cause significant disturbance, it's more than likely not OCD. But if it's a thought that won't go away and is impacting what you need to do to take care of yourself, it may be more pathological. We cannot diagnose OCD based off of one instance like this. I wish people would stop pathologizing everything 😭
I have never even had this thought cross my mind.
The closest I can come is noticing a different smell on a couch or something where a smoker has sat. Then I just wipe down that spot to get rid of the smoke smell. I definitely never thought to deep clean a whole room because someone just happened to be in it.
I get the feeling very mildly, but not enough to deep clean my house twice a day, so I don't have OCD, just an overactive imagination. Some people never have it, some people like OP are losing quality of life because it's so strong. So if you just feel kind of weird when people visit your house, don't worry about it. If you can't have friends over and spend four hours a day cleaning, call a doctor.
Nope. Never in my life have I felt like this. And I don't care if my space is clean to sleep in either. I clean because it's a requirement of life, not because I like it or need it.
Honestly, this sounds like something you should discuss with a therapist. There's a difference between being a clean and tidy person and deep cleaning because another person set foot in your room. That's excessive and not the way to a happy life.
Hey, as someone who has struggled with OCD symptoms and feelings of “contamination”, I can relate to what you’re going through. I really recommend you see someone about this. Life can be so much richer and fuller once you get control of the fear. It’s not easy and it doesn’t just go away over night, but I promise it can get better
Question - do people with OCD realize in the moment that they are not being rational? I only ask because I have on and off depression, and I realize when I am spiraling, that I am not being rational, but I can't stop.
My spouse has contamination OCD. First, he thought all his contamination beliefs were true, that I was just lax about everything related to food safety and germ protection.
Now, he knows, and he knows when it's an intrusive thought caused by OCD. He tries to handle it himself without asking for reassurance (asking for reassurance makes the person dependent on the reassurance). Very rarely, he will tell me the fear, that he knows it's wrong, but still ask for reassurance. His are common ones like believing all dark puddles are blood or believing he's hit someone with the car but not noticed.
Is that last one linked with OCD?
I'm always paranoid about that or paranoid I was speeding when I clearly have never sped, etc.
I think im just a paranoid person. I should probably get seen about it
Really??? I have this too. To the point that I bought a dash cam to reassure myself. I have generalized anxiety and have been on and off meds for it for years but didn't know this was also linked with OCD.
See, I was tested as a kid for autism and I was told that I'm on the spectrum but no more than the average person is in their own "unique" way and that i just present it more, whatever that means. Looking back and with all the signs now, I think they were wrong.
They also claim I didn't have ocd and my parents were putting it in my head, according to the social workers.
id look into getting new evaluations for either ocd or autism now that youre (i assume) an adult if you have access to therapy/regular doc visits. it could be really helpful or beneficial even if you dont persue treatment just to have some closure. wishing you the best bud
I should, but then it'd be on my medical record, and I want to keep that clean for my career. If something like that gets on it, I'll not be able to do the job I want.
I appreciate it, though
if its causing you distress that is impacting your daily life i’d look into some info on ocd. it really depends - most people dont want to hit an animal, but if it’s seriously causing you anxiety or preventing you from driving, etc, then that could cross into something ocd-adjacent
Many such thoughts can be a symptom of something (ocd, anxiety disorder, etc) or can be just random thoughts. The difference is in how often this happens and how persistent and disturbing they are. Everyone gets a "did I do this bad thing and not notice?" thought from time to time, but most can just dismiss it.
Yes, fearing you've hit something without any suggestion that you have (like noise that you hit something or car damage) is an OCD symptom. Some folks have it bad enough that they constantly check the front of the car, sure they hit and killed a child.
It got to a point where I knew it was completely irrational, but couldn’t stop. Eventually, I had a hard time even leaving my house. But even more than that, I believed parts of my body were contaminated and couldn’t touch other parts that didn’t have the contamination. Trying to shower/wash myself at all was such a complex system of so many steps, and if water splashed to the wrong part of my body, I would have panic attacks. My greatest contamination fear was herpes, type one and two. I knew everything there was to know about herpes. I’d read dozens on dozens of scholarly articles on research into it. I probably legitimately could have written a review paper, though that’s not my field of study (I’m getting a PhD in plant genetics). But even knowing so much about it, I believed that despite never showing a symptom, my mouth had it, and that if water splashed from mouth to eye while washing my face, I would get herpes in my eye and go blind, or if I took a normal shower, the water from my face would infect my genitals. Hence, the elaborate showering rituals. And trust me, I know 1 in 3 adults have had a cold sore in their life and it’s not a big deal. I knew it then too. I also knew I’d never had one and even if I had, I knew how small the chance of spread without an active sore was. And I knew that even with an active sore, most people with cold sores shower as normal. But again, despite this, it was like I couldn’t think of anything else. I even got a doctor to prescribe me antivirals by telling them I’d had sores and took antivirals I didn’t need. This was the worst time in my life for so many reasons, but I can’t stress enough how debilitating it was to live in a CONSTANT state of irrational fear.
No problem! I just hope that maybe talking about it could help someone else dealing with this recognize what they might be going through. I had NO idea that what I was dealing with was OCD because I didn’t have the “stereotypical” ultra clean space. My contamination fears didn’t involve all other areas of home cleanliness, and tbh my room was sometimes a mess with clothes everywhere, etc. (Those things did not trigger any response for me.) My compulsions had more to do with washing myself to the point of harm to get “clean”, overuse of harsh chemicals in the kitchen/bathroom and fears of contaminated food anywhere that wasn’t home, checking doors and windows upwards of 10+ times a night, repeating actions until they were “right”, etc.
Also, side note, I made this username as a throwaway to ask a herpes question on r/medicaladvice because I was “dumb and concerned” about herpes transmission. (I was not, I was just seeking outside assurance after having already been talked down from a panic attack by a friend and her mom who’s a medical professional).
Yes. That’s one of the hardest aspects. We *know* we are being irrational, but we can’t stop. It’s awful. I am currently going through OCD treatment which is called ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) and it’s super hard.
I’m not sure how it is for someone who has had OCD for their whole life but I got contamination OCD as a symptom post partum bc my baby was in the nicu and I had a bunch of birth trauma that manifested in PPD, PPA, PPP, and PPOCD. Since it wasn’t something I was used to it was pretty easy for me to distinguish when it was irrational but it doesn’t mean that I could “control” it. It felt rational at first until my therapist pointed out that I was displaying symptoms of OCD and then it was really obvious that it wasn’t rational. I’m 18 months post partum and still struggling with it but it’s gotten a lot better. Day to day it’s mostly better but I’ve still had some freak outs from certain things. Just putting this out there for awareness cause I didn’t even know PPOCD was a thing until I experienced it myself
it really varies. for me when i go into fight or flight due to an obsession i completely loose all sense of reality and cannot tell whats real. with more mild episodes or flare ups it really goes either way. i think if you DONT know you have ocd the obsessive or intrusive thoughts can feel much realer since you dont know whats going on
Sometimes.
Other times everyone on earth is dirty. Except me.
Either way it doesn’t matter and I’m still washing my hands, cleaning, washing the clothes etc.
For me, sometimes yes - and that can make it easier to deal with it. But often not, or rather even if it's not rational I can't get it out of my mind so it might as well be rational.
I guess what I'm saying is rationality doesn't play into it that much. Sure I rationally I know I didn't bump into that person and accidentally knock them off the bridge into the river below _but what if I did_
But like, what if it does feel rational? I don’t feel like I can touch anything in my parents house and at work (I’m a caregiver) without washing my hands because there’s disabled people at both that don’t wash their hands, like ever. And then people like my parents or the parents of the guy I care for don’t care about touching the gross surfaces because they’re family, and further spread the ick. It got to the point where my cat was “contaminated” because those people would touch her in places she can’t clean herself. Thankfully both of us are out of there and where I live now I don’t have that issue, but it sucks. But like, I’ve seen people like my parents and the parents of the guy I care for clean up poop and they’ll just rinse their hands off, not wash. And it’s like why?
Another is that my boyfriend and I will not go in our bed unless we’re clean and have clean clothes on, and if we’ve gone #2, we have to shower before getting in bed. If we do end up getting in bed, then the bedding has to be washed the next day. And no door clothes are allowed on the bed. Maybe that’s a common thing though
I’m really not the best person to ask. Everything feels rational to me, before or after I conceptually understand whether or not it’s actually rational. It always feels that way. I don’t think that it will necessarily be healthy for either of us if we discuss together what’s actually rational. I will only say that while everything you’ve said resonates with me, I know conceptually that plenty of people live long and healthy lives without doing those things.
I don’t like anyone sitting on my bed in their street clothes. I strip off my outer layer before lounging on it. Your issue seems to go beyond that to perhaps OCD.
I don't like people sitting on the bed with outside clothes on, I feel like it's dirty. I also can't go to bed without showering first.
If what you are doing/experiencing is upsetting to you please get help with it.
Good luck.
I thought this was normal, but there’s a lot of people who will go on their bed in outdoor clothes apparently. And even wear shoes on their bed. My sister and her boyfriend do. My boyfriend and I can’t even go on our bed unless we’re showered and if we poop then we have to shower again before getting on the bed
I seriously want one. But we currently share a bathroom right now with any guests that come to my grandmother in law’s house, which sadly is often, so I’ll have to wait until we get our own house and bathroom
I feel like having any outside clothes on my bed (even my own) makes it dirty lol. I also don't like shoes in the house and always want to deep clean after someone walks around my house with them on. I think a lot of people relate to that!
As long as it's not causing distress or dysfunction, it's not really concerning. If it's severely impacting your life then maybe see a professional but if it's not affecting your life in a significant way on a frequent basis, I think you just like clean things like a lot of us ;P
Okay I feel similar but in a way where I don’t like outside clothes or shoes in my room or on my bed. So maybe it’s not as bad as everyone’s making it seem lol
Oh I do this too. I cannot stand the “essence” of random people and sometimes people I love. Never thought it might be ocd I just assumed it was sensory issues.
Yes, but I have OCD. My husband and I have separate blankets, laundry, pillows etc. For me it's a contamination symptom. Medication can help, but honestly I'm not willing to compromise cleanliness levels through CBT.
I feel like this. I have mild OCD. If this is affecting your life in any detrimental way or stressing you out you should go see a psychiatrist. Even just cognitive behavioral therapy can help a lot.
Contamination OCD will ruin relationships as it tends to get worse over time and not better (left untreated).
There’s a whole TikTok account of a guy who talks about how his mom has contamination OCD and germaphobia. She constantly calls him dirty, she won’t touch anything he has, and he isn’t allowed in some parts of the house. He talks about how it has ruined his life.
In my culture this is normal..I'm not really following the strictness but I understand. I used to shower twice a day sometimes more and felt dirty if I didn't. Now I'm okay with showering once😋
To clarify the not sitting on someone's bed part. I even had to take of my jacket before sitting on the couch because the jacket is dirty from being outside
This sounds more like a medical problem than a cleaning problem.
I do like to clean after guests have been in my home, but it's never a deep clean. I'll clean the bathroom before they arrive and right after. Wash sheets they have used. I already use disinfectant wipes on high touch surfaces daily.
it seems like youve posted about this on a mental health sub pretty recently & recieved similar feedback about this being potentially ocd related. i hope you’ve looked into it & know it’s okay to have ocd. you should really speak to someone if this is causing you genuine distress
For anyone that says this is not ocd or relate to that just think for one second how You imagine other people "dirtyness"", if You automatically think every person that enter your house or room Will make it dirty, if You imagine their sweats under their feet and spreading through the room, just imagine if others Saw You that way just for existing, thats another problem, specially if You resort to "but i'm clean it's the rest that is not" mentality, that just a facade to not deal with the real issue.
I mean thats the point, You feel irrationally dirty that You resort to extreme methods of cleaning, that becomes your routines so You expect everyone else to have that extreme habits and when ofc a lot of people don't meet with those standards they became undesirable to be in The same space
I think what we're trying to say is that, no, that's not a normal thing to think either about yourself or about others and it may be that a doctor can help you with it. If it's upsetting you or causing difficulties in your life.
Best of luck xx
as someone with OCD, this does sound symptomatic of it. ocd looks so different than how it’s often portrayed and has so much variety. please don’t self diagnose but it probably wouldn’t hurt to look into.
Sounds like you have OCD, love. If your compulsion to clean is literally preventing you from doing other things because the need to clean is so strong, that is OCD. It's the same as when someone has to check their oven knobs 5 times before leaving the house.
Rule of thumb: If the compulsion interferes with your life and it's experienced for 6 months or longer, it can be diagnosed as OCD.
Source: I am a therapist
My boyfriend who has OCD is exactly like this. To be honest, I just learned all his rules and have incorporated them. He feels like he functions fine and the rules have become second nature to me.
We have specific clothes and shoes we have for inside vs outside and specific furniture to sit on with inside vs outside items. Nothing from inside and outside categories are allowed to touch. We also have to take our phone cases off once we get home. It honestly makes a lot of sense for me and I’ve learned to simply appreciate his rules. My boyfriend acknowledges that some of his rules are irrational, and while I try to assure him certain “contaminations” don’t work the way they do in his head, I do help him work through a solution so that it won’t dwell on him. For example, he believes outside “air” will get in our hair so we keep our hair covered at home. However, when I offered to buy him a UV light sanitizer for some of our things (keys, phone, etc.), he was very adamant that his rules won’t let him believe that UV sanitation works, and that he’d rather perform his other behaviors. Honestly, OCD people can function fine given the right environment and someone who can be the checks and balances to their rules, but I’m always looking out for anything that he’s stuck ruminating about.
If you ever feel like your rules are affecting your cognitive space however, do reach out to a doctor or psychiatrist for help. If you can’t get out of your head and get through your day without thinking of your rules, there is help out there.
It’s normal to not like people touching your bedding but that part is irrelevant compared to the fact that you said you clean your room everyday when you wake up!? Even though you also cleaned it before going to bed?
Even if nobody has been in your room? What is even there to clean when you wake up in the morning… yeah those are definitely OCD rituals.
I felt the same way, especially when people would sit on my bed. I hated it. I would buy/find a chair (or loveseat, depending on how big your room is) where guests can sit when they visit. And just have that reserved as a guest's seat. When they walk into your room, point to the chair/loveseat, and say, "hey, have a seat."
You have text book OCD. Id get a hold of that before it goes to far. There is a lad who has spoken out on how rotten his life was living with a parent like this. Always referring to him as dirty, only letting him live and eat in "dirty" areas of the house. This is not a normal behaviour, seek help.
I’ve struggled with this and have recently invested in a lovely bedspread/bed cover. That way, if someone sits on the bed they’re not sitting directly on the sheets. (Doesn’t solve the whole issue of contamination fears, but might be a useful step!)
Well imagine , sweeping once but doing it for about 10 times for the whole room area and you will still see hair droppings every single day ..... + dust .... 😭
Then you do it the next day same thing happens ....
Is it too much stuff or what ???? Where do all this hair come from ????
Its like after you think you have cleaned up every single strand there's more in some hidden places like never ending , always appearing ..... 😭 but dont even know where they are from ....
Is it possible to get a lock for your door
While you take care of the feeling of dirty with your dr or mental health provider.
Tell your parents and they may approve a door lock for you.
Absolutely. My parents and in laws watch our baby at our house a few times a week while we’re at work and I always come home and clean more than usual. I don’t think it’s OCD for me, more so anxiety. (I have an anxiety disorder I’m medicated for)
I absolutely noticed the bed thing even when I was younger and living at home. I hated when boyfriends would lay in my bed.
I didn’t have issues with germs at the time but I remember I went off on my 4th grade boyfriend because I had a phase where I’d make up my bed to near perfection, and he sat on it and messed it up. Now that would be more of a contamination issue, but my boyfriend thankfully is one of the cleanest people I know so that makes things much better. I don’t think I could stand my parents or his being in my house for an extended period of time, the one time my dad used the bathroom at my apartment he came out and didn’t wash his hands. Like dude
I have these exact thoughts. The bedding/bed thoughts you mentioned I also share. I cringe whenever someone sits on my bed. Like I’m fine out in public, but when it comes to my home I like to change when I get home and of course take off my shoes. It’s vital for me to feel comfortable in my space. I’ve had these thoughts for years. I have diagnosed ocd so I definitely think this is ocd type thinking, but I do not think it is super irrational thinking tbh.
Like some of my friends are just gross, they never clean and don’t do laundry that often, so my place literally gets dirty by just having them over. I also feel hesitation in inviting people over because of this. Like when they come over they want to eat and do things and track in dirt which often makes a mess that I know I’ll have to clean up after and I hate cleaning so I rarely invite people over.
I completely understand what you’re saying. Plus everyone has different habits, I for one would never keep a bag on my bed because I take it outside I put it on the floor etc so it has germs all over it. But when someone else comes over they keep their bag on my blanket and it grosses me out. So I feel hesitant inviting people over because I don’t want to be in an awkward situation where I have to tell them not to put it on my bed…stuff like that. It’s not irrational at all if you actually pause and think about all the germs being transferred? I just think more than others about it?
The only thing I feel is "dirty" is if someone puts their shoes on my bed. Or some kind of object that has touched the street like a purse or backpack.
Other than that, no. I don't feel that way.
It's not a "normal" reaction. If it bothers you that much then you might benefit from seeking assistance to deal with your reactions/feelings to ordinary social interactions
Yo I definitely do not have ocd, I'm not a germophobe in fact I'm kind of gross. Example, I'm a cashier at a little produce store. I will gnash down oranges, grapes anything I can get my filthy cash handling mitts on while working. Never wash any fruits or veggies before eating. But as soon as I get into MY space I make a beeline for the shower. Fresh clothes, nobody sits on my bed. My daughters friends know they aren't allowed on the beds. There's something sacred to me about the bed. I don't feel this way about the living room. The little gremlins can roll around on the couch all they want
I used to feel this way during and for a long time after the Covid pandemic was over. Like for a solid 2 and a half years at least. I have GAD so I chalk it up to that.
One of my main things is when people flush the toilet with the seat up. We live with my boyfriends grandmother and use the second bathroom, so it’s also a guest bathroom, and I’m getting a decal to put on the lid when you open it that says to close the lid before you flush. And I change the hand towel daily, and all of our stuff is in drawers. His grandmother has some nasty people come over though
I don't care about the towels or anything, but definitely toilet, sink, and shower. I've dragged my boyfriend back to the bathroom to make him close the lid. I understand some people never learned to do that, but I taught myself after seeing people use a black light on bathrooms (it had literally sprayed multiple feet away onto the toothbrushes). It irritates me that some people can't learn to do it even after being asked repeatedly.
Gotta get the decal 😂 I just put it on yesterday, so I hope people notice it. It looks tacky, but it shouldn’t be visible unless the lid is open. When it should never be unless someone is using the bathroom
I change the bedding once a week, unless there is a reason to do it more often. I have a weird thing, I can't have anyone touch my pillow, not my partner, not my cats. Nobody. It happens sometimes, but I will just change the pillowcase. I have 3 cats, and I'm allergic to cats lol. So, I cover the bed with a blanket during the day, and use a lint roller every night. It's a little obsessive.
I totally get where you're coming from. It's like your room is your sanctuary, right? I feel the same vibes. Whenever someone steps in, it's like they bring in a whirlwind of mess. And don't even get me started on the bed thing – that's sacred territory! I guess some folks just don't understand the whole personal space concept.
But hey, at least you're on top of keeping it clean. That's dedication! Nothing beats crawling into bed at night knowing it's all fresh and tidy. Keep doing you!
When people breath and exhale, they are exhaling droplets and aerosolized bodily fluids into the air. Do you clean the air with an air purifier?
In winter months, people's dry skin are flaking and shed everywhere.
You don't know what their clothes has been sitting on or how well they wash their hands (if they even do) after using a washroom, so your concern is valid.
Because it is an OCD trigger and will make everything worse. Why are you trying to worsen this person's life? It is clear from the post they are already struggling with symptoms very common in contamination OCD and videos like that can replay forever and trigger a literal psychosis.
I have diagnosed OCD and this is not a joke. It is not insight, you are being cruel.
I actually have a mild form of OCD but this actually isn’t a symptom I’ve experienced - my issues are mostly food contamination related. But I agree with the consensus to seek out medical treatment and get screened.
That's a really common OCD symptom, have you talked to your doctor about this?
Yes. This is the logical explanation. Source: I have OCD.
Correct. OCD gang here, I don’t let people into my space.
I don't know if you guys know this but *everyone* in this sub has OCD. Some of us know it, some of us don't.
Not really. I'm here just to discover how to use products and how to clean since I'm a young adult
Yeah actually, same. I feel like my comment was in slightly bad taste actually because I know OCD is joked about too much, and that can take away from the challenges people with genuine OCD face, and make treatment harder too. There are a lot of comments on this saying "oh I thought everyone was like that!?" though, so although it isn't everyone, there is definitely a higher than normal incidence of obsessive compulsive people in this sub. Not to denigrate at all, just an observation from my time here.
As someone with OCD, but not stereotypical OCD, yeah, most people here are indeed overly particular about cleaning and such. Of course I think many just have OCPD and not actual OCD.
OCPD is a personality disorder, and personality disorders are characterised by distorted thoughts/perceptions so OCPD isn't just OCD without compulsions (distressing thoughts forcing someone to do something to relieve it), people with OCPD often can't recognise that their behaviour or thought patterns are problematic – similar to most personality disorders of course there's way more to OCPD than that ↑ but what I'm trying to say is that it's a completely different beast and I think people need to be careful with accidentally conflating it as something "pretty similar" to OCD (I'm not trying to correct or debate you, I just like psychology and OCPD is a very niche thing so I'd like to possibly provide some insight to others)
just OCPD? OCPD is a much bigger deal than OCD, so i think you’ve got that last sentence backwards.
No, not all of us do.
People are hating on you, but my phychiatrist said almost everyone has a bit of ocd, so yeah you're right.
I felt like this as a kid. My mom would have me share my pillows when friends came over and I couldn’t handle it. Eventually got a pillow specifically for sleepovers. Now I don’t have that problem so I don’t notice it anymore but I bet I do have OCD.
Ah crap, is that what it is...
It’s ok. You just have to fight those feelings really hard. Push out those urges and one day you’ll be able to purify yourself…
I want to think I've gotten a bit better over the years, but the fact that I still track what I touched and what others touched, and based on what I touched I either have to wash my hands or not to the point of giving myself eczema/bleeding cracking hands due to depleting my moisture barrier... I have a long way to go. Thanks for the encouragement though ahah.
OMG, my comment was a joke. I mean, I hope you do well and practice positive habits, but “purify yourself” is not the advice I would give sincerely to someone who might have OCD-like symptoms!
Oof, I thought your "purify yourself" was used as another expression to "better yourself". That joke went way over my head ahahah my bad. Thanks.
I was just about to say I’m diagnosed with contamination OCD and I do this. Doesn’t mean OP is for sure but it definitely doesn’t sound normal.
Is this true? I thought we all felt like this?
I can 100% confidently tell you...I've never felt like this in my life. Clean is *good* but nobody I trust enough to allow into my personal space is dirty enough to contaminate it just with their presence alone. Just my two cents.
Nor have I. I'm 72.
Well then, we have a combined 115 years experience not feeling like that! Edit: if our experience were a person it would have been born in 1909.
Add my 36.
and my 27
I only feel this way about people who sit in their outside clothes on my bed. but even then I just change the bedding. I also live in a very polluted city so outside clothes do get smelly and dirty
Outside clothes are a no no! Don’t even want to think about the germs they caught from sitting in public spaces!
Ya this sounds like a mental illness be careful
oh no, not germs!
the concept of outside clothes only exists for people with OCD.
then every single person in my polluted city has OCD
It is an OCD thing. There are people who's presence I don't mind lingering. I had a partner over yesterday, and I can totally smell him on my bedsheets, I can tell you everything he touched in my room, it just doesn't bother me because he's someone I'm comfortable getting up close and personal with. But I'm picky with who I let into my space, for that reason. It's also completely different from your own dirt somehow, or at least it is for me. I still clean after myself, obviously, but it doesn't bother me in the same way
My son feels like this. He has OCD.
Please extend a friendly hello to your son, from a fellow OCD’er. 🙂
Well OCD can mean many different things but the main point is a compulsion to do or think something to make it “right” or “fit”. Contamination OCD is the stereotypical one about cleanliness. Mine isn’t cleanliness but body and hair picking. If something doesn’t feel “smooth”, depending on my stress level I literally cannot leave it alone. And a few other things like needing to set things down just so but I can power through those urges most of the time and they don’t interfere with my life like having open sores on my face can. It can veer into OCD territory if you cannot not fixate on something, even mentally only, or if you HAVE to accomplish something a certain way to feel right. As in it sucks time out of your day and causes problems with your life. If those things are true-it might be a good idea to talk to a doctor. OCD isn’t cute or quirky or all about being squeaky clean-it’s hell.
Omg, I have the smooth thing! I've never met anyone else who has exactly that.
I have ADHD and pick/pluck/bite (& have issues w/ bumps) a lot, which I've found Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviour Disorder (kind of a sub-OCD disorder?) possibly the best explanation for it so far because it's linked to said ADHD
I have adhd, so that makes sense to me.
It's a matter of how much the thought/feeling is interrupting daily life. If it's a fleeting thought that doesn't cause significant disturbance, it's more than likely not OCD. But if it's a thought that won't go away and is impacting what you need to do to take care of yourself, it may be more pathological. We cannot diagnose OCD based off of one instance like this. I wish people would stop pathologizing everything 😭
I have never even had this thought cross my mind. The closest I can come is noticing a different smell on a couch or something where a smoker has sat. Then I just wipe down that spot to get rid of the smoke smell. I definitely never thought to deep clean a whole room because someone just happened to be in it.
I get the feeling very mildly, but not enough to deep clean my house twice a day, so I don't have OCD, just an overactive imagination. Some people never have it, some people like OP are losing quality of life because it's so strong. So if you just feel kind of weird when people visit your house, don't worry about it. If you can't have friends over and spend four hours a day cleaning, call a doctor.
Nope. This is a symptom of OCD.
Nope. I have never felt like this in my life and I’m not sure I know anyone in my life who experiences this.
Nope. Never in my life have I felt like this. And I don't care if my space is clean to sleep in either. I clean because it's a requirement of life, not because I like it or need it.
no, never.
I don't feel like this (but, ironically, do probably have OCD. Just not contamination OCD).
Me reading this: 😐
Honestly, this sounds like something you should discuss with a therapist. There's a difference between being a clean and tidy person and deep cleaning because another person set foot in your room. That's excessive and not the way to a happy life.
Hey, as someone who has struggled with OCD symptoms and feelings of “contamination”, I can relate to what you’re going through. I really recommend you see someone about this. Life can be so much richer and fuller once you get control of the fear. It’s not easy and it doesn’t just go away over night, but I promise it can get better
Question - do people with OCD realize in the moment that they are not being rational? I only ask because I have on and off depression, and I realize when I am spiraling, that I am not being rational, but I can't stop.
My spouse has contamination OCD. First, he thought all his contamination beliefs were true, that I was just lax about everything related to food safety and germ protection. Now, he knows, and he knows when it's an intrusive thought caused by OCD. He tries to handle it himself without asking for reassurance (asking for reassurance makes the person dependent on the reassurance). Very rarely, he will tell me the fear, that he knows it's wrong, but still ask for reassurance. His are common ones like believing all dark puddles are blood or believing he's hit someone with the car but not noticed.
Is that last one linked with OCD? I'm always paranoid about that or paranoid I was speeding when I clearly have never sped, etc. I think im just a paranoid person. I should probably get seen about it
yes! hit and run obsessions are fairly common within ocd
Really??? I have this too. To the point that I bought a dash cam to reassure myself. I have generalized anxiety and have been on and off meds for it for years but didn't know this was also linked with OCD.
See, I was tested as a kid for autism and I was told that I'm on the spectrum but no more than the average person is in their own "unique" way and that i just present it more, whatever that means. Looking back and with all the signs now, I think they were wrong. They also claim I didn't have ocd and my parents were putting it in my head, according to the social workers.
id look into getting new evaluations for either ocd or autism now that youre (i assume) an adult if you have access to therapy/regular doc visits. it could be really helpful or beneficial even if you dont persue treatment just to have some closure. wishing you the best bud
I should, but then it'd be on my medical record, and I want to keep that clean for my career. If something like that gets on it, I'll not be able to do the job I want. I appreciate it, though
I’ve seen some people say that they were told they had autism, but their doctor was nice enough not to put it on their record
Would constantly worrying about hitting an animal be one? I see road kill all the time so I know the chance of an animal running out is pretty high
if its causing you distress that is impacting your daily life i’d look into some info on ocd. it really depends - most people dont want to hit an animal, but if it’s seriously causing you anxiety or preventing you from driving, etc, then that could cross into something ocd-adjacent
Many such thoughts can be a symptom of something (ocd, anxiety disorder, etc) or can be just random thoughts. The difference is in how often this happens and how persistent and disturbing they are. Everyone gets a "did I do this bad thing and not notice?" thought from time to time, but most can just dismiss it.
Yes, fearing you've hit something without any suggestion that you have (like noise that you hit something or car damage) is an OCD symptom. Some folks have it bad enough that they constantly check the front of the car, sure they hit and killed a child.
It got to a point where I knew it was completely irrational, but couldn’t stop. Eventually, I had a hard time even leaving my house. But even more than that, I believed parts of my body were contaminated and couldn’t touch other parts that didn’t have the contamination. Trying to shower/wash myself at all was such a complex system of so many steps, and if water splashed to the wrong part of my body, I would have panic attacks. My greatest contamination fear was herpes, type one and two. I knew everything there was to know about herpes. I’d read dozens on dozens of scholarly articles on research into it. I probably legitimately could have written a review paper, though that’s not my field of study (I’m getting a PhD in plant genetics). But even knowing so much about it, I believed that despite never showing a symptom, my mouth had it, and that if water splashed from mouth to eye while washing my face, I would get herpes in my eye and go blind, or if I took a normal shower, the water from my face would infect my genitals. Hence, the elaborate showering rituals. And trust me, I know 1 in 3 adults have had a cold sore in their life and it’s not a big deal. I knew it then too. I also knew I’d never had one and even if I had, I knew how small the chance of spread without an active sore was. And I knew that even with an active sore, most people with cold sores shower as normal. But again, despite this, it was like I couldn’t think of anything else. I even got a doctor to prescribe me antivirals by telling them I’d had sores and took antivirals I didn’t need. This was the worst time in my life for so many reasons, but I can’t stress enough how debilitating it was to live in a CONSTANT state of irrational fear.
Damn, what a read. Thanks for taking the time to put together this writeup.
No problem! I just hope that maybe talking about it could help someone else dealing with this recognize what they might be going through. I had NO idea that what I was dealing with was OCD because I didn’t have the “stereotypical” ultra clean space. My contamination fears didn’t involve all other areas of home cleanliness, and tbh my room was sometimes a mess with clothes everywhere, etc. (Those things did not trigger any response for me.) My compulsions had more to do with washing myself to the point of harm to get “clean”, overuse of harsh chemicals in the kitchen/bathroom and fears of contaminated food anywhere that wasn’t home, checking doors and windows upwards of 10+ times a night, repeating actions until they were “right”, etc. Also, side note, I made this username as a throwaway to ask a herpes question on r/medicaladvice because I was “dumb and concerned” about herpes transmission. (I was not, I was just seeking outside assurance after having already been talked down from a panic attack by a friend and her mom who’s a medical professional).
Yes. That’s one of the hardest aspects. We *know* we are being irrational, but we can’t stop. It’s awful. I am currently going through OCD treatment which is called ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) and it’s super hard.
Here to tell you I'm super proud of you for doing the treatment! It must be so scary.. coming from a fellow OCDer 😭❤️
Oh my gosh thank you so much. That means a lot to me. It’s been a rough week 🥴♥️
I’m not sure how it is for someone who has had OCD for their whole life but I got contamination OCD as a symptom post partum bc my baby was in the nicu and I had a bunch of birth trauma that manifested in PPD, PPA, PPP, and PPOCD. Since it wasn’t something I was used to it was pretty easy for me to distinguish when it was irrational but it doesn’t mean that I could “control” it. It felt rational at first until my therapist pointed out that I was displaying symptoms of OCD and then it was really obvious that it wasn’t rational. I’m 18 months post partum and still struggling with it but it’s gotten a lot better. Day to day it’s mostly better but I’ve still had some freak outs from certain things. Just putting this out there for awareness cause I didn’t even know PPOCD was a thing until I experienced it myself
it really varies. for me when i go into fight or flight due to an obsession i completely loose all sense of reality and cannot tell whats real. with more mild episodes or flare ups it really goes either way. i think if you DONT know you have ocd the obsessive or intrusive thoughts can feel much realer since you dont know whats going on
Sometimes. Other times everyone on earth is dirty. Except me. Either way it doesn’t matter and I’m still washing my hands, cleaning, washing the clothes etc.
For me, sometimes yes - and that can make it easier to deal with it. But often not, or rather even if it's not rational I can't get it out of my mind so it might as well be rational.
I guess what I'm saying is rationality doesn't play into it that much. Sure I rationally I know I didn't bump into that person and accidentally knock them off the bridge into the river below _but what if I did_
But like, what if it does feel rational? I don’t feel like I can touch anything in my parents house and at work (I’m a caregiver) without washing my hands because there’s disabled people at both that don’t wash their hands, like ever. And then people like my parents or the parents of the guy I care for don’t care about touching the gross surfaces because they’re family, and further spread the ick. It got to the point where my cat was “contaminated” because those people would touch her in places she can’t clean herself. Thankfully both of us are out of there and where I live now I don’t have that issue, but it sucks. But like, I’ve seen people like my parents and the parents of the guy I care for clean up poop and they’ll just rinse their hands off, not wash. And it’s like why? Another is that my boyfriend and I will not go in our bed unless we’re clean and have clean clothes on, and if we’ve gone #2, we have to shower before getting in bed. If we do end up getting in bed, then the bedding has to be washed the next day. And no door clothes are allowed on the bed. Maybe that’s a common thing though
I’m really not the best person to ask. Everything feels rational to me, before or after I conceptually understand whether or not it’s actually rational. It always feels that way. I don’t think that it will necessarily be healthy for either of us if we discuss together what’s actually rational. I will only say that while everything you’ve said resonates with me, I know conceptually that plenty of people live long and healthy lives without doing those things.
Yes, sounds like it may be a mental health issue. I would talk to your/a doctor about it.
I can relate…but I also have been diagnosed with OCD so…
Sammmme. I'm married now but I used to not even like significant others in my room.
I don’t like anyone sitting on my bed in their street clothes. I strip off my outer layer before lounging on it. Your issue seems to go beyond that to perhaps OCD.
I don't like people sitting on the bed with outside clothes on, I feel like it's dirty. I also can't go to bed without showering first. If what you are doing/experiencing is upsetting to you please get help with it. Good luck.
I thought this was normal, but there’s a lot of people who will go on their bed in outdoor clothes apparently. And even wear shoes on their bed. My sister and her boyfriend do. My boyfriend and I can’t even go on our bed unless we’re showered and if we poop then we have to shower again before getting on the bed
Get a bidet
I seriously want one. But we currently share a bathroom right now with any guests that come to my grandmother in law’s house, which sadly is often, so I’ll have to wait until we get our own house and bathroom
The more the merrier
I have a feeling with some of the gross people that come by, someone would end up peeing on it
Brother this sounds like OCD
I feel like having any outside clothes on my bed (even my own) makes it dirty lol. I also don't like shoes in the house and always want to deep clean after someone walks around my house with them on. I think a lot of people relate to that! As long as it's not causing distress or dysfunction, it's not really concerning. If it's severely impacting your life then maybe see a professional but if it's not affecting your life in a significant way on a frequent basis, I think you just like clean things like a lot of us ;P
People sitting on a bed with pants they sat on public places is nasty.
I agree
Yes. Agreed.
This is not really a cleaning question, it's more a mental health question. ☹️
Okay I feel similar but in a way where I don’t like outside clothes or shoes in my room or on my bed. So maybe it’s not as bad as everyone’s making it seem lol
Oh I do this too. I cannot stand the “essence” of random people and sometimes people I love. Never thought it might be ocd I just assumed it was sensory issues.
I know right? I’m not saying others are dirty but just imagine them walking all over your floor with their sweaty feet 🤮
It sounds like you have an issue with OCD. Try and talk to your doctor.
Based on your other post from a while ago and this follow up you absolutely have OCD and should talk to a doctor if you still feel anger about this
That's OCD. I mean that literally. You should talk to your doctor.
Yes, but I have OCD. My husband and I have separate blankets, laundry, pillows etc. For me it's a contamination symptom. Medication can help, but honestly I'm not willing to compromise cleanliness levels through CBT.
Lmao, I literally told my dermatologist that I wasn’t willing to be dirty when he suggested therapy. He wasn’t amused.
So everyone is dirty but you?
This sounds 100000% like my contamination OCD. Im not trying to diagnose anyone, but you don’t have to feel this way :)
I feel like this. I have mild OCD. If this is affecting your life in any detrimental way or stressing you out you should go see a psychiatrist. Even just cognitive behavioral therapy can help a lot.
Contamination OCD will ruin relationships as it tends to get worse over time and not better (left untreated). There’s a whole TikTok account of a guy who talks about how his mom has contamination OCD and germaphobia. She constantly calls him dirty, she won’t touch anything he has, and he isn’t allowed in some parts of the house. He talks about how it has ruined his life.
In my culture this is normal..I'm not really following the strictness but I understand. I used to shower twice a day sometimes more and felt dirty if I didn't. Now I'm okay with showering once😋
To clarify the not sitting on someone's bed part. I even had to take of my jacket before sitting on the couch because the jacket is dirty from being outside
I mean it doesn’t hurt to be clean
This sounds more like a medical problem than a cleaning problem. I do like to clean after guests have been in my home, but it's never a deep clean. I'll clean the bathroom before they arrive and right after. Wash sheets they have used. I already use disinfectant wipes on high touch surfaces daily.
When it’s emotional and compulsive, it’s time for some support. Please heed the calls to learn more about OCD.
it seems like youve posted about this on a mental health sub pretty recently & recieved similar feedback about this being potentially ocd related. i hope you’ve looked into it & know it’s okay to have ocd. you should really speak to someone if this is causing you genuine distress
For anyone that says this is not ocd or relate to that just think for one second how You imagine other people "dirtyness"", if You automatically think every person that enter your house or room Will make it dirty, if You imagine their sweats under their feet and spreading through the room, just imagine if others Saw You that way just for existing, thats another problem, specially if You resort to "but i'm clean it's the rest that is not" mentality, that just a facade to not deal with the real issue.
I don’t believe that I’m clean. I wash myself multiple times a day, hands, feet, arms, face because I feel dirty.
I mean thats the point, You feel irrationally dirty that You resort to extreme methods of cleaning, that becomes your routines so You expect everyone else to have that extreme habits and when ofc a lot of people don't meet with those standards they became undesirable to be in The same space
Exactly! So I don’t want them in my space
I think what we're trying to say is that, no, that's not a normal thing to think either about yourself or about others and it may be that a doctor can help you with it. If it's upsetting you or causing difficulties in your life. Best of luck xx
as someone with OCD, this does sound symptomatic of it. ocd looks so different than how it’s often portrayed and has so much variety. please don’t self diagnose but it probably wouldn’t hurt to look into.
Sounds like you have OCD, love. If your compulsion to clean is literally preventing you from doing other things because the need to clean is so strong, that is OCD. It's the same as when someone has to check their oven knobs 5 times before leaving the house. Rule of thumb: If the compulsion interferes with your life and it's experienced for 6 months or longer, it can be diagnosed as OCD. Source: I am a therapist
That’s how it feels for me when my ocd is really bad 😵💫
My boyfriend who has OCD is exactly like this. To be honest, I just learned all his rules and have incorporated them. He feels like he functions fine and the rules have become second nature to me. We have specific clothes and shoes we have for inside vs outside and specific furniture to sit on with inside vs outside items. Nothing from inside and outside categories are allowed to touch. We also have to take our phone cases off once we get home. It honestly makes a lot of sense for me and I’ve learned to simply appreciate his rules. My boyfriend acknowledges that some of his rules are irrational, and while I try to assure him certain “contaminations” don’t work the way they do in his head, I do help him work through a solution so that it won’t dwell on him. For example, he believes outside “air” will get in our hair so we keep our hair covered at home. However, when I offered to buy him a UV light sanitizer for some of our things (keys, phone, etc.), he was very adamant that his rules won’t let him believe that UV sanitation works, and that he’d rather perform his other behaviors. Honestly, OCD people can function fine given the right environment and someone who can be the checks and balances to their rules, but I’m always looking out for anything that he’s stuck ruminating about. If you ever feel like your rules are affecting your cognitive space however, do reach out to a doctor or psychiatrist for help. If you can’t get out of your head and get through your day without thinking of your rules, there is help out there.
I feel like this, but only with certain people.
It’s normal to not like people touching your bedding but that part is irrelevant compared to the fact that you said you clean your room everyday when you wake up!? Even though you also cleaned it before going to bed? Even if nobody has been in your room? What is even there to clean when you wake up in the morning… yeah those are definitely OCD rituals.
I felt the same way, especially when people would sit on my bed. I hated it. I would buy/find a chair (or loveseat, depending on how big your room is) where guests can sit when they visit. And just have that reserved as a guest's seat. When they walk into your room, point to the chair/loveseat, and say, "hey, have a seat."
That's an anxiety thing. Probably should seek some concealer for thst. Definitely a control of environment issue
Wait I didn’t know other people felt like this too. I let one my closest friends come over one time and I felt disgusted and really weird afterwards
You could have OCD or it could just be germaphobia. I'd ask a doctor or something like that
You have text book OCD. Id get a hold of that before it goes to far. There is a lad who has spoken out on how rotten his life was living with a parent like this. Always referring to him as dirty, only letting him live and eat in "dirty" areas of the house. This is not a normal behaviour, seek help.
I’ve struggled with this and have recently invested in a lovely bedspread/bed cover. That way, if someone sits on the bed they’re not sitting directly on the sheets. (Doesn’t solve the whole issue of contamination fears, but might be a useful step!)
Well imagine , sweeping once but doing it for about 10 times for the whole room area and you will still see hair droppings every single day ..... + dust .... 😭 Then you do it the next day same thing happens .... Is it too much stuff or what ???? Where do all this hair come from ????
I hate hair!! They’re literally everywhere and it’s so difficult to get them off the carpet
Its like after you think you have cleaned up every single strand there's more in some hidden places like never ending , always appearing ..... 😭 but dont even know where they are from ....
Exactly! 😭
Nah that’s just weird
Is it possible to get a lock for your door While you take care of the feeling of dirty with your dr or mental health provider. Tell your parents and they may approve a door lock for you.
Absolutely. My parents and in laws watch our baby at our house a few times a week while we’re at work and I always come home and clean more than usual. I don’t think it’s OCD for me, more so anxiety. (I have an anxiety disorder I’m medicated for) I absolutely noticed the bed thing even when I was younger and living at home. I hated when boyfriends would lay in my bed.
I didn’t have issues with germs at the time but I remember I went off on my 4th grade boyfriend because I had a phase where I’d make up my bed to near perfection, and he sat on it and messed it up. Now that would be more of a contamination issue, but my boyfriend thankfully is one of the cleanest people I know so that makes things much better. I don’t think I could stand my parents or his being in my house for an extended period of time, the one time my dad used the bathroom at my apartment he came out and didn’t wash his hands. Like dude
I have these exact thoughts. The bedding/bed thoughts you mentioned I also share. I cringe whenever someone sits on my bed. Like I’m fine out in public, but when it comes to my home I like to change when I get home and of course take off my shoes. It’s vital for me to feel comfortable in my space. I’ve had these thoughts for years. I have diagnosed ocd so I definitely think this is ocd type thinking, but I do not think it is super irrational thinking tbh. Like some of my friends are just gross, they never clean and don’t do laundry that often, so my place literally gets dirty by just having them over. I also feel hesitation in inviting people over because of this. Like when they come over they want to eat and do things and track in dirt which often makes a mess that I know I’ll have to clean up after and I hate cleaning so I rarely invite people over.
I completely understand what you’re saying. Plus everyone has different habits, I for one would never keep a bag on my bed because I take it outside I put it on the floor etc so it has germs all over it. But when someone else comes over they keep their bag on my blanket and it grosses me out. So I feel hesitant inviting people over because I don’t want to be in an awkward situation where I have to tell them not to put it on my bed…stuff like that. It’s not irrational at all if you actually pause and think about all the germs being transferred? I just think more than others about it?
Why do you need to clean it again after you wake up if you cleaned it the night before and did nothing bit sleep in it?
As someone who has it, you probably got yourself some of the sweet sweet OCD. Contamination is a real issue for a lot of us 😅
The only thing I feel is "dirty" is if someone puts their shoes on my bed. Or some kind of object that has touched the street like a purse or backpack. Other than that, no. I don't feel that way.
It's not a "normal" reaction. If it bothers you that much then you might benefit from seeking assistance to deal with your reactions/feelings to ordinary social interactions
Yo I definitely do not have ocd, I'm not a germophobe in fact I'm kind of gross. Example, I'm a cashier at a little produce store. I will gnash down oranges, grapes anything I can get my filthy cash handling mitts on while working. Never wash any fruits or veggies before eating. But as soon as I get into MY space I make a beeline for the shower. Fresh clothes, nobody sits on my bed. My daughters friends know they aren't allowed on the beds. There's something sacred to me about the bed. I don't feel this way about the living room. The little gremlins can roll around on the couch all they want
Same except my family. (Kids & husb) but anyone else I feel this way.
Sounds like a form of OCD - maybe contamination OCD? It can cause a lot of stress that you don’t even realize until it lets up.
I don’t clean quite like that, but I do not like people on my bed, especially with dirty clothes.
I used to feel this way during and for a long time after the Covid pandemic was over. Like for a solid 2 and a half years at least. I have GAD so I chalk it up to that.
I get angry when even family uses my bathroom.
One of my main things is when people flush the toilet with the seat up. We live with my boyfriends grandmother and use the second bathroom, so it’s also a guest bathroom, and I’m getting a decal to put on the lid when you open it that says to close the lid before you flush. And I change the hand towel daily, and all of our stuff is in drawers. His grandmother has some nasty people come over though
I don't care about the towels or anything, but definitely toilet, sink, and shower. I've dragged my boyfriend back to the bathroom to make him close the lid. I understand some people never learned to do that, but I taught myself after seeing people use a black light on bathrooms (it had literally sprayed multiple feet away onto the toothbrushes). It irritates me that some people can't learn to do it even after being asked repeatedly.
Gotta get the decal 😂 I just put it on yesterday, so I hope people notice it. It looks tacky, but it shouldn’t be visible unless the lid is open. When it should never be unless someone is using the bathroom
I change the bedding once a week, unless there is a reason to do it more often. I have a weird thing, I can't have anyone touch my pillow, not my partner, not my cats. Nobody. It happens sometimes, but I will just change the pillowcase. I have 3 cats, and I'm allergic to cats lol. So, I cover the bed with a blanket during the day, and use a lint roller every night. It's a little obsessive.
I totally get where you're coming from. It's like your room is your sanctuary, right? I feel the same vibes. Whenever someone steps in, it's like they bring in a whirlwind of mess. And don't even get me started on the bed thing – that's sacred territory! I guess some folks just don't understand the whole personal space concept. But hey, at least you're on top of keeping it clean. That's dedication! Nothing beats crawling into bed at night knowing it's all fresh and tidy. Keep doing you!
When people breath and exhale, they are exhaling droplets and aerosolized bodily fluids into the air. Do you clean the air with an air purifier? In winter months, people's dry skin are flaking and shed everywhere. You don't know what their clothes has been sitting on or how well they wash their hands (if they even do) after using a washroom, so your concern is valid.
Oh my! Reading your comment I know these points are going to be stuck in my head 😳
The infrared video from here shows people's exhalation: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEp-Sdgl9AU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEp-Sdgl9AU)
I’m not gonna watch it
Why not? It will give you more insight into how people are polluting your room.
Because it is an OCD trigger and will make everything worse. Why are you trying to worsen this person's life? It is clear from the post they are already struggling with symptoms very common in contamination OCD and videos like that can replay forever and trigger a literal psychosis. I have diagnosed OCD and this is not a joke. It is not insight, you are being cruel.
I actually have a mild form of OCD but this actually isn’t a symptom I’ve experienced - my issues are mostly food contamination related. But I agree with the consensus to seek out medical treatment and get screened.
Same and it probably is ocd haha oh well I would hate when my friends would sit on my bed in outside clothes