"Cleaning Obsession": The Link Between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Passover Cleaning

During Passover, most of Israel is busy with cleaning, renovations, and organizing the house. For almost everyone, Passover is simply an opportunity to do at home what we haven't done most of the year. But there are situations where orderliness and cleanliness become a problem. When does it become an issue? What is the boundary between Passover cleaning and the problem known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? What exactly is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? How is it diagnosed, and are there treatments available?

What is OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD in Hebrew) is one of the psychological disorders listed in the psychiatric diagnostic manual. In the latest edition of the psychiatric diagnostic manual (DSM-5), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) received a separate diagnostic category, which describes a variety of issues sharing common psychological, behavioral, and psychiatric structures.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involves distressing and unwanted thoughts and images (usually, but not always) causing agitation and distress in the person experiencing them.

To quiet this unrest, individuals often develop various behaviors they feel compelled to perform to achieve the longed-for calm.

Sometimes these rituals appear as repeated checks or behaviors, sometimes as mental rituals (conducted in the person's mind, such as repeated counting or word recitation).

Frequency studies show that two to three percent of the population suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. If similar disorders (body dysmorphia, trichotillomania, compulsive hoarding, etc.) are included, the number would be much higher.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is challenging to diagnose, mainly due to the variance in symptoms between individuals.

The most well-known example of the disorder is individuals who compulsively wash their hands an excessive number of times or avoid touching items and objects they perceive as contaminated or dirty.

Another familiar example is individuals who feel compelled to clean meticulously or arrange different items in a very specific way.

This example brings us to the topic of the article: the link between OCD and Passover.

What's the connection between OCD and Passover?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is divided into several main groups.

One group is related to obsessive order and cleanliness. The person suffering from OCD feels or thinks they must clean in a very specific way, or they experience severe distress or sometimes fear that some disaster might occur if they do not act in this manner.

The ritual behavior, supposedly meant to alleviate the distress, is specific order or thorough cleaning.

Passover is, after all, the holiday of cleaning and order, and culturally it's common and accepted that almost everyone undertakes cleaning during Passover. However, the essential difference is that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) does not appear only during Passover.

The problem is that during Passover, "obsessive" order and cleanliness are widely legitimized, and even those who clean obsessively late into the night or very meticulously are not regarded as suffering or abnormal.

• When does obsessive order become a problem?
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychological or psychiatric problem that does not appear only at specific times. Therefore, if rigorous cleaning and ordering continues throughout the year, there might be an issue.
• When orderliness and cleaning take too long, are done too meticulously and rigidly (exactly in this order and no other way).
• When the individual's functioning in other areas is impaired (either because they spend too much time cleaning at the expense of other activities or due to slowness caused by excessive attention to detail and more).
• When the person cannot relax in any other way and feels they must do things a certain way, or they will not find peace.
• And mainly when the individual or people around them experience distress due to these thoughts and behaviors.

It is important to know that sometimes people suffering from OCD are unaware of the problematic nature of their behavior, and it seems logical to them.

This does not mean that it is not a problem, but rather a fear of the individual to give up behaviors that supposedly calm them.

Is there a treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder that can manifest at very different severity levels.

Some people manage to live with it without significant interference in their lives, while others experience severe impairment and cannot function at all in any other area.

The treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is tailored to the individual, the severity of the problem, and how it manifests in them.

OCD is considered a chronic problem, but with the right and appropriate treatment, one can achieve significant relief in symptoms and their impact on daily life.

The recommended treatment, both by professionals and researchers in the field, is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

There is currently a very effective medication available for treating the disorder. It's important to note that medication is not a substitute for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy but an addition, as medication alone does not provide complete relief from the problem.

Orly Samira is a CBT therapist in the Nafshi in My Query department.

Struggling with depression, anxiety, and low mental state? Contact the "Nafshi in My Query" department at Hidabrut. For counsel, call 073-3333331 or email nafshi@htv.co.i