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| Cats can be referred to as compulsive cleaners |
A place for everything and everything in it's place. possibly Benjamin Franklin
Years ago one of my friends started a business in our small town called "Compulsive Cleaners". I really laughed at the name but he explained that he needed the work and since he was a notorious neatnik the job was perfect for him. He, however, was not obsessed with cleanliness and being orderly, it didn't adversely affect his life.
Liberty of thought is the life of the soul. Voltaire
On the opposite end of the OCD spectrum from hoarders are the people who are compulsively clean and neat. I had a dear friend Mary* who had, no doubt, the most pristine, most orderly home I've ever been in. What made this more interesting was she had two lively little boys. It was a mystery to me how she was able to keep everything so perfect. At that time I also had two little boys and would have cheerfully let Mary stay for a week to help tidy and organize my home. Skip to years later, I visited Mary in her new condo [the boys were long gone] and it was remarkably similar, everything sparkled. I said, "Mary, your house is always so immaculate." "Susan," she said "I'm up past midnight every night cleaning, it isn't a blessing it's a curse."
Mary came by her OCD honestly. Her father was a terrible hoarder, famous for box cars he purchased to store all of his stuff. Don't think treasures, he collected things like 400 lbs. of rebar and 27 boxes of nails, car parts for cars he didn't own. He was a nasty tyrant and his wife and all his kids tip toed around him. No one dared suggest that he rid himself of any of his "goods". He was ill natured and had no nurturing skills. So, Mary's curse was her desire to be the exact opposite of her father: she was diligent about throwing things away. Mary's mind was never free to let things go or be, she was obsessed with order and cleanliness.Therefore, she was on the same spectrum of OCD and she showed me that OCD does indeed have a genetic component.
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| It takes incredible concentration to keep all those hoops in the air spinning |
This is when the new medications of anti-depressants came into flower, Prozac and the like. Hailed as miracle drugs for many [and before the long range studies showed the side affects hampering the miracle], these drugs were used with some success on people with OCD. The best example of that drug being miraculous was a client of mine who had body dysmorphic disorder. This man believed when he looked in the mirror that he was hideous. Untrue. He was not handsome but a very pleasant looking gentleman. His psychiatrist prescribed an SSRI and as soon as several weeks later his disorder went away completely. That was lovely. With OCD of the hoarding variety, I have not seen those startling results.
How on earth to 'fix' someone who the world appreciates as not broken? See tomorrow's post [or soon] about what therapy works the best for OCD and for that matter any of the clients on that spectrum.
susansmagicfeather copyright 2014 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved
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