Cleaning has become an addiction

QSince the pandemic I have become obsessed with cleaning; cleaning myself, cleaning the house, cleaning everything I touch. I have become extremely anxious about it and worry that if I don’t do it then we will all get sick. What is going on?

Philippa says

AThe COVID-19 pandemic has understandably made everybody feel anxious and affected people’s mental health and their cleaning habits. But it sounds like this has developed further for you. It appears you could be suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), where the obsessions are the thoughts about cleaning and worries about becoming unwell, and the compulsions are to clean. Please seek medical advice regarding this as both talking therapies and medications can be extremely effective. Good luck.