The couple who attended my clinic a few weeks ago were in their early thirties. The wife spoke first “I am only trying to keep the house clean, all I am asking is that he showers every time he gets home so am assured that no germs get into the house, and he drags me to see a psychiatrist for this?”
The husband interrupted, “You are doing more than that. The whole time you are worried about germs, and the house smells like a hospital from the strong cleaning detergent. Doctor, can you believe that I am not allowed to have a key to our house?
She insists on observing me have a shower the moment I step into the house and change into clean clothes then wash the old ones and every time. “I touch something she comes behind me and cleans it with sterilizing wipes. I cannot take it anymore”.
The wife explained that she has thoughts about keeping the house clean all the time and she is unable to rest or do anything apart from cleaning because of these thoughts.
According to psychology, an average person can have four thousand thoughts a day, and not all of them are useful or rational. Sometimes irrelevant words, phrases, names, and images flash into our minds, or we remember songs or musical tunes that get played repeatedly in our heads. Such things are usually experienced when performing a routine task such as driving long distances.
Some people are preoccupied with the seductive question ‘What if?’. What if I were to jump in front of that bus? What if I were to punch that person?
These thoughts are more common than we realise yet they can be temporary and do not impact our daily life.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious condition in which a person experiences uncontrollable and recurring thoughts (obsessions), engages in repetitive behaviours (compulsions), or both.
People with OCD have time-consuming symptoms that can cause significant distress or interfere with daily life. OCD is the fourth most common mental disorder and according to the WHO. Its impact is worse than diabetes since it begins usually in the early teens or late adolescence and early adulthood and affects the person’s ability to study, work, or enjoy life in general.
People with severe OCD are more likely to be unemployed and single and if do get married they are more likely to divorce. The theme of the obsessions varies but most commonly revolves around contamination and germs where a person has recurrent thoughts that he is not clean or the place around him/her is not clean and ends up cleaning for a long time.
Obsessing about religious matters is also common when a person doubts that he is not clean enough to pray or that he did not pray well so he ends up washing for hours before prayers or repeating his prayers.
Other themes include fear of leaving the door unlocked or not disconnecting the iron.
OCD is a treatable condition, and most patients can live a normal life with the help of medication and behavioural therapy. Yet one needs to seek professional help early before the symptoms impact their daily functioning.
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