Paper Peviews

Nobody likes a germ, that’s for sure. But some people can take matters a little too far. It’s probably wise to make sure the Toilet paper dispensers and Hand dryers you use are clean, and you might even want to get Microfiber cleaning cloth to make sure they stay that way. But often a dislike of germs can become a little too serious, and obsessive-compulsive disorder comes about.

Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, isn’t limited to just germ phobia. Other issues such as needing to switch lights off and on a certain amount of times before entering and exiting a room, being scared of stepping on cracks or lines in the road, and other strange behavior are all signs of the possibility of OCD.

Why has such a disorder been created? In cave man ages, it was unlikely those with OCD could have lived for very long. The fact is that after some amount of time, they just would have had to get over it. This is not the way things are today. In fact, we’re supported through advertising and the media to avoid as much germs as we possibly can. This means that although in older times dirt was just a reality that had to be put up with, someone who has gotten a fear of germs now can easily alter their lifestyle so that coming into contact with dirt will never be an issue.

But something occurs when a person is afraid of germs, then manages to remove them out of there life. The desire to be free of germs isn’t actually dependent on if any germs are actually around. So although the house might be germ free, the urge to clean and avoid sickness will remain. So the tendencies of those who still want to get rid of the invisible germs grow and grow. Each cake of soap can only be used once, gloves have to be warn before turning taps on and off, and very few other people can enter into the clean house.

What can those who have OCD do to help themselves with this problem? An insensitive bit of advice would be to say, “Just get over it”. Unfortunately, even if a sufferer was to try their absolute best, getting around OCD is a deep psychological issue, and a change in intentions is not enough to solve the problem. Drugs are also an often proposed solution, and psychiatrists will often prescribe drugs to OCD sufferers. But drugs only smooth over the symptoms of OCD without properly getting at the heart of the problem.

One way to solve this issue is to have the person address the way they are conducting their life. How much television, with its ridiculously clean environment, are they consuming? How much advertising, always enforcing that we are not clean or good enough, are they exposed to? With this constant barrage of people telling us how to live, shouldn’t it be reason for surprise that we’re not all totally crazy?

By looking at some of these issues, a real solution to OCD may reveal itself to us.