Can a Person with OCD Clean Vessels? Understanding the Disorder beyond the Stereotypes - Ms. Sakthi Priya S / III B.Sc Psychology (2024 - 2025) / MKJC

 Can a Person with OCD Clean Vessels? Understanding the Disorder beyond the Stereotypes

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions. Often portrayed in popular culture as simply a “clean freak” personality trait, OCD is in fact a serious and complex psychological disorder that can significantly impair an individual’s daily functioning. A frequently asked question is: Can a person with OCD clean vessels or do household chores? While the answer may seem obvious, the reality is far more nuanced and rooted in the psychological dynamics of the disorder.

What is OCD?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by the presence of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that cause significant anxiety or distress. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to these obsessions, often in an attempt to reduce the distress or prevent a feared event. Although individuals with OCD may recognize that their thoughts and behaviors are irrational or excessive, they often feel powerless to stop them. OCD can significantly interfere with daily life, relationships, and work, and is not simply a preference for neatness or order, as commonly misunderstood.

Cleaning: A Symptom, Not a Solution

While cleaning is often associated with OCD in popular culture, it is important to understand that for many individuals with OCD, cleaning is not about hygiene or order but rather a way to manage overwhelming anxiety. The act of cleaning becomes a compulsion—a ritual meant to neutralize the fear triggered by intrusive thoughts, such as fear of contamination or illness. For example, washing a single plate may take an unusually long time, repeated multiple times until it "feels right." Instead of bringing relief, these compulsions often reinforce the anxiety and can leave the person emotionally exhausted. Therefore, cleaning in OCD is not a solution but a symptom of the underlying disorder, reflecting the person's struggle to cope with intrusive and distressing thoughts.

How OCD Affects Daily Life

OCD is not limited to cleanliness. It can also manifest in the form of checking (e.g., locking doors repeatedly), counting, arranging, intrusive thoughts (related to harm, religion, or morality), and mental rituals. These patterns can take up hours of a person’s day, severely interfering with work, studies, relationships, and self-care. When it comes to daily chores like vessel washing, laundry, or even cooking, people with OCD may either: Overdo the task due to compulsive urges, or Avoid the task altogether due to the anxiety it provokes.

This paradoxical pattern is part of what makes OCD so disabling. Simple activities become battlegrounds of anxiety and control.

Treatment and Support

It is important to know that OCD is treatable. The most evidence-based treatment approaches include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), especially Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): This involves exposing the individual to the source of their anxiety (e.g., unwashed vessels) and helping them resist the urge to perform the compulsion (e.g., rewashing)

Medications such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), prescribed by psychiatrists.

Supportive therapy and psychoeducation, for both the individual and family, to understand the nature of OCD and reduce stigma.

With the right treatment and support, individuals with OCD can regain control over their lives and daily tasks, including activities like washing dishes, without being overwhelmed by compulsions.

Moving Beyond the Myths

So, can a person with OCD clean vessels? Yes, they can—but it may not be simple, and it may not be without struggle. What seems like a normal household chore for one person could be a time-consuming and emotionally draining ritual for someone with OCD.

Understanding OCD requires us to look beyond stereotypes and recognize the inner turmoil many people experience. Greater awareness, empathy, and accurate information can go a long way in supporting individuals with OCD and reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health conditions.

A Blog By

Ms. Sakthi Priya S

III B.Sc Psychology

PG Department of Psychology

Marudhar Kesari Jain College for Women (Autonomous)

Vaniyambadi