OCD Action

MaxineRyder
Member

Popular thought seems to think that hoarding is OCD. But what about clutter phobia?

I am clutter phobic and feel that we get way too little attention, recognition and acknowledgement for our intense suffering.

In my case, my clutter phobia manifests itself as follows:
1) I need to have minimum things in my home.
2) I need to have specific numbers of everything that I do have in my home.
3) Everything must fit into a category, or I cannot have it at all
4) Everything has a very specific place.

The OCD part is the constant editing. Is this the right shelf for my
books, why do I have 6 pairs of trousers, maybe I should have five? A
screwdriver doesn't fit into any of my acceptable categories, so i wont
have one even if it means constantly bothering the neighbor to borrow
theirs.

It is important to note that clutter phobia has NOTHING to do with
contamination OCD (cleaning). And that just like cleaning and checking,
clutter phobia can stand alone and cause plenty of distress as is.

Because my brand of OCD never appears in any of the textbooks, I
permanently felt isolated.

Hoarders have a name for their brand of OCD, clutter phobes do not. If
there are enough of us out there, we need to get together and
raise some pretty serious awareness about our suffering. Perhaps it is far
less interesting or scandalous than hoarding, but it is pure torture, as
only a sufferer of OCD can know.

Time for us to come out of the empty closet.

Maxine xxxx

Tue Nov 1 2011 4:11:03 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hi Maxine -

I would say that you are suffering from a somewhat diffuse symptom category of OCD, which is in the textbooks all right. But since its boundaries are unusually wide, it's harder to recognise than is pure hoarding or checking. I would say that counting, ordering, and a strong need for symmetry, tidiness, and things being 'just right' apply to you.

The categorizing, counting, and doubting that you do all point into this direction. It can constitute an enormous burden in everyday practical life, because nothing is done spontaneously anymore, and it's so time consuming. I personally know of a very similar case of a lady in Canada, who, after a painful divorce, developed these symptoms and forced them upon her children (e.g.: not more than one toy in their room).

I'll make a comparison with the category of sexual and religious obsessions, to make a point: here also symptoms may vary wildly, and so therapists have a hard time recognising them at all.

In your case, an ignorant outside observer could think: well, the woman keeps a very tidy house, and its sparseness, spartan-ness is a true sign of a highly modern taste.

Which is, of course, a wrong interpretation. And that is why OCD and its many symptomologies need be brought to attention time and time again.

I hope to put articles on the various symptom categories of OCD up in a forthcoming new section on this site, so that patients can get a grasp of how the disorder can present itself.

Hope this helps, and PM me if you feel like it, ciao from:

Cuthbert in the Netherlands.

Tue Nov 1 2011 10:02:43 #
Tess
Member

Hi Maxine
I feel much the same as Cuthbert, the 'clutter phobia' you describe sounds like just another variation of OCD and you are not alone. Each and every OCD sufferer is unique in the way their OCD affects them but we all share a commonality in the way the OCD makes us think and tries to make us behave. I think many sufferes will relate very strongly to the way you describe your thoughts. Whether contaminator, clutter phobic, hoarder, etc, etc. we all go through this process which you describe as a constant 'editing' of the things which are worrying us. The only difference between you and a hoarder is that with the hoarder the fear is about throwing things away wheras your fears are about things being in specific numbers and order. I remember my son having massive problems when he bought something like a CD because he couldn't feel right until he had bought the entire set. Then when he found that there were some items in the set he didn't want or didn't have a use for he tried giving them away but was left with a feeling of deep dissatisfaction and distress because the set was incomplete. Your problem sounds very similar to me but you have made the choice not to keep any items which cause the distress.
We share a commonality in the way our thoughts and anxiety affect us but again we each have an individual response as to how we deal with it.

Tue Nov 1 2011 10:30:41 #
Unregistered

Hi Maxine,

re: your post, it's worth noting that OCD obsessions can take a million different forms. I've noticed that in each OCD book I read, there's at least one new "type" of obsession that isn't mentioned in any of the other books.

In a way, it doesn't matter WHAT the instrusive thought is. Whether it's a fear of germs, a fear of stabbing a loved one, a fear of shouting out an obscenity in the office, or a fear of clutter (to name just a few common obsessions), it's the same process every time. The OCD sufferer becomes aware of an intrusive, disturbing thought...they try to push it away, or they carry out a pyhsical or mental compulsion...and they start to create a worsening cycle of obsessions and compulsions. So the person who is disturbed by clutter is exactly the same as the person who is disturbed by having to throw possessions away -- they're both OCD sufferers. It's just the form (or content) of their instrusive thoughts that differs.

It's interesting that there often seem to be two different directions that the obsessions take among OCD sufferers. There seem to be two different "types" of OCD sufferers, in relation to a lot of obessions.

For example, with driving, Type 1 is the sufferer who gets an urge to run over a cyclist, and tries to stop themselves from doing it. Type 2 is the sufferer who gets an intrusive thought that they might have ALREADY run over a cyclist, and tries to remember (or prove) that they haven't already done it. (Two different obsessions, both relating to driving and cyclists.)

In relation to sexual thoughts, Type 1 is the sufferer who gets an urge to touch their child / colleague / relative inappropriately, and they try to "stop" themselves from doing that. Type 2 is the sufferer who gets an instrusive thought that they might have ALREADY touched a child / colleague / family member inappropriately, and they focus on trying to remember / prove that they didn't actually do it. (Two different obsessions, both relating to sexual thoughts or urges.)

And with clutter and mess, Type 1 seems to be the sufferer who gets intrusive, disturbing thoughts if they try to throw away any objects piled up in their home. (The hoarder.) Type 2 seems to be the sufferer who gets intrusive, disturbing thoughts when they try NOT to tidy up excessively. (The clutter-obsessive.) So you have 2 OCD sufferers, one who can't bear to throw anything away, and another who can't bear to have any mess or clutter around them.

For the record, in my life I've experienced both an inability to throw things away (hoarding), and also a distress at things being messy / cluttered / out of place. So I guess that makes me a Type 1 and a Type 2 as well! (I'm an OCD sufferer who sometimes hoards, and sometimes tidies up too much!)

All the best,

OCD Londoner.

Thu Nov 3 2011 15:49:32 #