Having Anxiety Can Make People Obsessively Clean

May 08, 2019 by apost team

Anxiety is undue worry about a specific thing. You might have anxiety over a job interview. You could have anxiety about a roof leak in your house.

When your brain is worried about something, it can be difficult to think about other things. You might have a creative block. Your ability to concentrate on the task that you need to do could be negatively impacted.

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People with anxiety may have trouble staying tidy. They might hold onto things in case they need them sometime. They might worry that if they get rid of a specific item, then they will immediately regret it or need the thing. This could make it difficult to keep a tidy home.

Reducing clutter could help with anxiety symptoms. When you see so many things surrounding you, they may increase your level of distraction. You may feel like you need to attend to those things instead of the task that you need to do. The visual stimulation of all the clutter could be distracting.

On the other hand, some people with anxiety find it easier to clean. They feel like cleaning is a good way to escape the worries in their minds. They can do something about the disorder or dirty area. Cleaning may give a person a sense of control over the situation.

Researchers took a look at cleaning and people with anxiety. They separated people into a few groups. One group was given a stressor of an upcoming speech that they would have to make in front of a crowd of strangers. The other group was not given this stress trigger.

The researchers observe the cleaning techniques of people in each group. The people who were under stress were more effective at cleaning. Their work was more repetitive and meticulous. Those who were not stressed were less meticulous in their work. They used fewer repetitive motions.

What do you think about the research study? Do you clean more when you are stressed? Let us know in the comments and pass this along to your friends and family to see what they think, too!