Why are people messy

Psychology Behind Messy Rooms | Alpine Maids

• February 23, 2021

The modern world holds many new and interesting things, most of which we are still learning to live with. Different people have different ways of dealing with their problems, and having a messy home just might be one of them.

There are various causes for being messy, both good and bad, however, you should really stop and think about your own state of mind. Are you messy because you’re a creative genius, or are you a depressed introvert who desperately needs help? Is a messy room a sign of depression? Should you seek help?

Adolescence Messiness During Puberty

The first time a person really gets in touch with messiness is when they hit puberty. They are not children anymore, not grown-ups either and they don’t know what comes next, so it’s only natural to be confused. If you consult messy rooms psychology, it would say that this is a completely normal phase at this age. Confusion in their heads equals confusion in their living space, so try to be supportive and helpful if you have an adolescent in your home, they will appreciate it soon enough.

Personal Traits

Real-life and many studies show that messiness is actually a very common personality trait. In some cases, people are simply uninterested in cleaning up the mess they are living in. The fact that they are not bothered by it is a sign they simply got used to living that way. This often stems from the traits they picked up during adolescence continuing into adulthood.

On the other hand, there are people whose messiness shows their ingenious and creative side. What does a messy room say about you and your personality? It shows that you have increased creativity and are more willing to try new things, but also that you don’t like to follow rules. It’s an interesting concept, and if you really want to know more about it, start reading.

Depression and Other Problems

Sometimes, however, this is not the case. Is a messy house a sign of mental illness, you might ask. Psychology says that messiness can indeed be a sign that a person is having trouble.

Just like someone who is suffering from OCD and has to control everything, being a messy person might show that they are dealing with depression or some other mental illness. The people who are depressed have a hard time getting out of bed, let alone cleaning their room. Messiness and hoarding might be their coping mechanisms, to the point that it will psychologically disturb them to try to remove anything.

Interestingly enough, cleaning your messy space can be one of the first steps of overcoming depression and even springboard somebody who is depressed into making progress.

Dealing with Your Messiness

When a person realizes they have a problem, the next step would be to do something about it. The crucial thing is to do something about the problem you might have. You have two crucial things to do: clean your room and clean your mind. You can do it simultaneously or you can decide to do one thing at a time – it’s completely up to you.

When you start cleaning up your mess, you might realize that getting rid of everything is harder than you thought. If this happens, think about hiring a professional maid service in Denver to help you spruce up your home and start getting better. Cleaning your mind might be a bigger and more serious challenge, so talking to a psychologist or therapist could be very good for you.

Messy rooms might be a sign of many things, both good and bad. If you recognize this in yourself, try to see if you’re being untidy simply because you’re lazy or if there’s something more to it. Listen to your mind and take care of your home.

Why are some people messy?

Lifestyle
Health & wellness
Wellbeing

This was published 5 years ago

By Sarah Berry

Updated January 21, 2017 — 1. 11amfirst published January 20, 2017 — 8.16am

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Rachel Hoffman is no Marie Kondo.

"I'm what I like to call a reformed messy person," explains the author of Unf--- Your Habitat.

Mess can be overwhelming, but it's manageable when we break it down.Credit:Stocksy

"I'm not naturally tidy, and cleaning has always been a bit of a chore for me. It's not something I feel like I have an innate ability to do, it's something I've needed to constantly work at."

Hoffman realised that "there are more people like me out there than there are domestically perfect homemakers" like the clutterless Kondo.

Try a 20/10 on your dirty dishes. Credit:iStock

But, aside from the moral judgments others make about it, living in mess can negatively affect our mental and physical health.

Dust, mold, and pet sheddings that collect in messy homes are all bad for allergies and asthma. Mess also makes it harder to relax, it can lead to anxiety and guilt, can inhibit creativity and affect performance.

"I think our environment can reflect a lot of what's going on inside of us," Hoffman says. "It's very difficult to be calm in the midst of chaos, and finding yourself surrounded by an overwhelming mess can be disheartening and depressing.

"So many of us see the state of our home as some kind of reflection of our self-worth (even though it's not!), and a mess can so easily make you feel like a failure. And for those who have mental illnesses, chronic illness, chronic pain, or disabilities, this can be even worse, because when you're not physically able to do a whole-house clean, it can all seem a little hopeless."

Often messiness is simply a quirk that needs putting in its rightful place.Credit:iStock

A Marie Kondo approach is unrealistic – even overwhelming – for many people. But Hoffman believes that becoming too minimalist and obsessive about decluttering can be as unhealthy as clinging to stuff.

"When you're constantly focused on paring down and throwing away as much as you can, or 'decluttering' until you reach some ideal state of minimalism, you're not really interacting with your space and your stuff in a healthier way than if you were constantly focused on keeping everything you've ever known," she says.

"There's this idea that minimalism is something everyone should strive for; that it's better and healthier than everything else. But that's not true for everyone."

Rather, when deciding what to keep or throw away she suggests asking these questions:

When was the last time you used something (if you can't remember then you don't need to hang on to it)
Are you going to need it in future (some phases – like the bell-bottoms – are best left in the past)
Are you keeping it in case you need it (you have a camping kit that you've never used and you don't like bugs or sleeping rough, but might use it one day? Forget it)
Do you feel guilty for spending money on it in the first place (keeping something indefinitely when you don't use it isn't going to get your money back)

But, "stuff" is OK, she insists.

"I feel that it's far better to try to work with the stuff you have and need and enjoy, to try to make your home an environment that you can relax in and enjoy, rather than being on a nonstop quest to get rid of everything you own."

So how do we do this and have a healthier relationship with our stuff?

"I think the best way to have a healthier relationship with your stuff is to exert some control over it," says Hoffman, whose insightful, frank and entertaining book, is based on her eponymous blog. "When you're surrounded by a mess, a lot of the time, it feels like the mess is in charge. We personify it, we let it make us upset, we let it affect our happiness and self-worth.

"Cleaning is mostly just moving stuff from the wrong place and putting it in the right place. It doesn't have to be this huge thing that takes over our lives. By making a few small, positive changes as often and as consistently as possible, we have the ability to start to enjoy our stuff again, rather than feel like we're drowning in it. "

One way to avoid drowning in mess is to forget marathon cleaning efforts and opt for 20/10s.

"A 20/10 is 20 minutes of cleaning, followed by a 10-minute break," she writes in the book. "The break is not optional. Breaks are important for a number of reasons, mainly to show that you can stop when you need or want to, and also because they interrupt the thought process that wants to turn a cleaning session into a marathon."

She adds: "How many you need to do is determined by the size of the task; a large project many require many of them, broken up over several days' worth of work. One of the good things about 20/10s is that you can decide how many you want to do at any given time. Had a long day at work and don't feel like having to spend a lot of time maintaining your house? One or two 20/10s will keep things neater without driving you completely over the edge."

As well as offering general tips on how and when to clean and setting mini challenges (set a timer for five minutes and gather as much rubbish as you can to throw away before the timer goes off), Hoffman gives perhaps the most important reminder of all: "You do not have to unf--- everything all at once. "

Why are some people messy?

Messiness is often misjudged as laziness.

Messiness, in fact, is the natural state of all children until age 6 or so when they develop the requisite motor and behavioural skills to create order, according to Dr Theodore Shapiro, professor of psychiatry at the New York Weill Cornell Centre.

As for the rest of us, psychiatrist Marcia Sirota says there are two types of messy people: those who are disorganised and those who are suffering a psychological disorder.

The first type often become overwhelmed by "stuff" and, unsure of how to find a solution, allow mess to build up. They simply need help breaking it down into manageable chunks, a la Unf--- Your Habitat.

The second type of messy person may be depressed and feel helpless, suffer ADHD and not be able to cope with trying to stay organised or be a "chronic non-cleaner".

"Chronic non-cleaners are living in an unpleasant, smelly and unhealthy environment, but don't seem overly upset by this, which is in itself a sign of a serious problem," Sirota explains. "Many of these individuals have a mental disorder which allows them to create mess and then live in it without concern."

For most of us however, messiness is just a quirk that needs putting back in its rightful box.

"Most people find that when they exercise some control over their messy homes, even just a tiny bit at a time, they can start to enjoy being in that space again," Hoffman counsels, "and you'd be amazed at the effect that can have on your mood."

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Why some people are clean and others are dirty.

This old man is 80 years old, and he has not washed for 60 years, so he does not look like a person at all, but like an orc from the movie "The Lord of the Rings". He could have been in that kind of horror movie without makeup, because. his skin is covered with scales of exfoliating dirt, his eyes are almost invisible, and the stench from him is felt a mile away. This is what a person looks like who hasn't washed in over 60 years!

Here are 12 photographs of a man who has not washed for 60 years:

1. The main hobby of an unwashed person is smoking manure from a metal water pipe.

2. The hands were covered with scales from dirt and became like elephant skin.

3. A man who has not washed for over 60 years is Amu Haji, an 80-year-old Iranian vagrant.

4. This old unwashed vagrant lives on the outskirts of the Iranian village of Dezhga in Fars province.

5. A photographer taking pictures of an unwashed tramp treated him to cigarettes, but he immediately lit them with a bundle.

6. An unwashed person has been sleeping in this brick building for many years.

7. Most of the time Amu Haji travels to different places - sleeping or basking in the sun.

8. This is how a person who has not washed for 60 years spends the night.

9. Amu tries on an old helmet, it might come in handy.

10. Dirty tramp Amu eats dead animals, which he roasts on a fire.

11. Sometimes, an unwashed and smelly old man is still fed by local residents.

12. Amu looks at himself in the mirror, but he has not revealed his secret why he has not washed for more than 60 years.

It happens that your parents, or your beloved husband, or children or close acquaintances are pathologically dirty and sluts. Those who have faced this problem know from their own experience how unpleasant it is when your loved one considers it normal to scatter things and spread dirt throughout the apartment. And do not be surprised if you come to visit such a person, and in his room “stand” socks in a checkerboard pattern.

Often another symptom is a mountain of unwashed dishes or a centimeter layer of dust on cupboards and even on easily accessible surfaces. The floors were last washed last year before the arrival of long-awaited guests, food crumbs are scattered on the bed. The renovation in the apartment was last done about 15 years ago, and maybe even was once started, but was never completely finished, and the apartment is decorated with half-pasted wallpaper, and old plaster and dust are falling from the ceiling.

The picture is terrifying, isn't it? The trouble is that such a picture can be observed in many apartments of our fellow citizens, even in the center of the capital.

Is there a solution to the problem?

Living in the same apartment with a pathological dirty woman, you have several options for solving the problem:

1) Humbly follow your husband and pick up “delayed larvae” in the form of dirty socks.
2) To arrange endless scandals, thereby exhausting both himself and him.
3) Calmly and methodically explain that it is impossible to do this, as this is disrespect for loved ones, and “cleanliness is the key to health!”
4) Throwing dirty dishes, left anywhere, right into his bed to teach him a lesson.
5) Just score and regularly clean up in splendid isolation and turn into Cinderella.
6) Hire a cleaning manager, or simply in the people - a cleaner.
7) In principle, abruptly stop cleaning yourself and learn to enjoy the plaster and dust falling from the ceiling like the first snow and imagine that this fetid smell is not the smell of his socks, but the aroma of elite blue cheese.

All of these methods are temporary tools in the search for the optimal solution to the problem and most likely will not bring the long-term result you want. The reason for this behavior is not at all the lack of money and time, as many try to justify themselves. The true reason lies much deeper - in our mental unconscious.

Yury Burlan's system-vector psychology explains the psychological reasons for such a phenomenon as the spread of dirt. This type of behavior is characteristic of people with an anal vector. A vector is a set of desires and psychological properties of a person, given to him from birth, which have both a positive and a negative range of manifestation.

Representatives of this vector in potential - are the most faithful family men and friends, highly qualified professionals, patriots of their country, obedient, honest, executive and conscientious workers. If such a person develops and finds fulfillment in society, then he has the above qualities, but if he goes into a state of dissatisfaction with life, for example, due to the lack or loss of professional fulfillment, then a person develops a lack that will require filling even through negative manifestations of the qualities assigned to him.

Let's see how this happens with the example of dirt. As Yuri Burlan's System Vector Psychology explains, there is a quality that is inherent only to people with an anal vector - they look at the world through the category of "clean or dirty." And, depending on the state in which a person with an anal vector is, he will enjoy the first or second. That is, it will clean everything around, including an apartment, car, workplace, reputation, and so on, or, conversely, pollute everything around: your place of work or residence, as well as swear and “spill mud” on other people.

There may be several reasons for this state, ranging from the level of a person's development, which is determined by his upbringing and environment in childhood, to the realization of his properties today, including sexual satisfaction in a couple.

For example, he may be under pressure from social stress and lose a job where he received his professional fulfillment, honor and respect. He may not develop a relationship with the second half due to the lack of the same social realization or for some other reason, and as a result, he will experience sexual dissatisfaction. All these negative states push a person to the manifestation of negative qualities of a given range: from clean to dirty.

Why does this repair never finish?

As Yuri Burlan's System Vector Psychology explains, people with an anal vector - are people of traditions who live in the past. It is very difficult for them to change something in themselves, to start living differently, to adapt to the new and fast conditions of modern life due to their rigid psyche. For such people, furniture can stand for centuries in the same place and not budge.

It is also difficult for them to start any new business, for them it costs a lot of work. Despite this, in a realized state, such a person is able to start something, and having started, he will definitely bring the matter to the end, to the logical point. If, due to certain reasons and circumstances, he does not have the opportunity to complete what he started, then he will feel great discomfort until he finishes what he started - he does not even out the situation.

For example, in the absence of social realization, a person with an anal vector, already prone to slowness and indecision, will put off any business for later, never daring to take it on. Thus, burnt out light bulbs, unfinished cabinets and shelves, and other "needlework", including repairs, will remain "frozen" in time.

Why do something if they still don't appreciate it?

Yuri Burlan's system-vector psychology shows that categories such as gratitude and justice are very important for people with an anal vector. If he has done something, in return he expects that his efforts will be appreciated and expressed their gratitude. So he feels justice: how much he gave, so much he received back. If this does not happen, then this situation becomes a cause of resentment. And hundreds of grievances can accumulate throughout a lifetime, which can completely paralyze a person: "Why do something if I'm still not appreciated?"

Because of this, a person with an anal vector loses momentum to life, sits down on the sofa and begins to criticize the situation, instead of correcting the situation with deeds: wash the dishes, sweep the floors, finally hang up a shelf. In the meantime, a mountain of dishes and dust on the cabinets accumulates, as does a negative attitude towards everyone around, which can be poured out on others as criticism or even verbal or physical sadism.

How to help a loved one?

How can we help our loved one improve their psychological state and find harmony? This and many other psychological questions are answered by the system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan.
Only by understanding the reasons why your relatives or friends refuse to continue repairs or collect dirt around them, you can deal with the problem. No matter what excuses and rationalizations they may give you, the reason for our behavior is very often hidden from us. Already at the free online lectures on system-vector psychology by Yuri Burlan, you can learn a lot of new and interesting things about you, your relatives and friends, and how to build relationships with them.

The article was written using materials from

In the article "Clutter in the room from the point of view of psychology" we will tell you how you can deal with the mess in the room. One Bulgarian fairy tale tells about an old man who decided to marry his son, but for the girl to be hardworking and neat. Having loaded his cart with fruits, he went to the village and began to shout out the following phrase, which surprised many, he shouted: “I am exchanging fruits for garbage.” Many took advantage of this quirk and carried bags of garbage in exchange for fruit. Only one girl brought a very small bundle and complained that there was no more garbage in the house. So the old man sent matchmakers to her and was not mistaken in his choice, she turned out to be a wonderful hostess, and the young family lived in prosperity and joy.

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Photo gallery: Disorder in the room from the point of view of psychology

But when you enter a different house nowadays, you remember an old fairy tale. It is difficult to suppress a grin at the sight of many days of dust, unwashed dishes and scattered things. Probably, this family was created according to other principles of matchmaking. In another house, order reigns, which borders on such sterility that it is simply scary to move something or hurt something. It is difficult not to be glad for the well-being that reigns in the house and not to refrain from complimenting the hostess. And it happens that in a tidy house there is an atmosphere of discontent and tension. And in an uncleaned apartment, people are happy with each other and live in perfect harmony. Why is this happening?

The American psychologist William James believed that in addition to passions, beliefs and interests, the structure of the human personality should include what a person considers his own: things dear to the heart, everyday clothes that copy the shape of the body with folds, favorite books on the home shelf and more. The decoration of the house is an element of the physical self, and you can tell a lot about its inhabitants by looking closely at the dwelling. The first thing that catches your eye is disorder or order. What, from the point of view of psychology, disorder means, is a sign of general looseness, sloppiness and indiscipline. But the ideal order testifies to firm principles and spiritual harmony. But such an explanation is very simple to be true. Since at every step life tells us other ambiguous conclusions.

Parents of almost all teenagers complain about their sloppiness, that it is almost impossible to force them to keep order in the room. And the thing is that the interests of the younger generation are broad, directed to the outside world and little attached to the details of everyday life. Only when a teenager feels all the inconveniences that a mess brings, will he gradually become neat.

When phone numbers, such necessary ones, are written on some scraps of paper, when you don’t know where you put the necessary thing, when a place that is intended for meeting friends or for classes turns out to be littered with some things, then you inevitably begin to take care of the order . But only becoming a mature person, a person acquires real accuracy.

Does it mean that the mess in the house indicates that the hostess or the owner failed to grow up properly? Can and will be so a person to live and act in everything, like a little child. But the problem here may lie deeper. We all, in the end, understand that throwing things around is not good.

If a person is not able to put things in order in his house, then this only indicates a serious internal conflict. The accumulated garbage, scattered clothes, and so on, speak for their owner that he is not able to put things in their places.

A sink full of unwashed dishes, dirty linen accumulated for weeks, an overflowing trash can indicate that I am not able to set and systematically solve problems, I am not able to distribute my forces. If a person cannot organize his life, then serious tasks are not up to him.

Your affairs are not arguing, everything is not going as you would like, doesn't it seem to you that serious life situations are simply out of your control? Of course, I would like to overcome this unpleasant feeling. Start small, look at your home and find out for yourself where you need to clean up.

When you put your scattered things on the shelves, then you do much more, you learn to organize your problems, that is, put them on the shelves. Bring clarity to your “physical self” and then the results will not keep you waiting.

There is another extreme. As psychologists have noted, a strong commitment to order and cleanliness is a symptom of self-doubt, a symptom of inner weakness.

Arranging his physical world at home, a person, as it were, seeks to protect himself from the chaos of the big world, which is terrible and too complicated for him. Thus, a vicious circle of tension arises: some thing put by someone from the home in the wrong place brings grief and annoyance. Housework takes a lot of time and effort, leaving no room for other important things. And then, in this scraped shell, a feeling of loneliness arises.

Such a trap can be set up for you by a scenario that was learned in the parental family, when order became an important life goal and at any cost. One can only feel sorry for such a person, whose main task is a shiny parquet and snow-white towels. After all, order in the house is a necessary condition, and not a goal, for solving real serious life problems. If we understand this simple truth, then we will find the golden mean, which distinguishes true harmony - spiritual and material.

Each room in the house has some symbolic meaning and influences your subconscious mind. Rubbish and clutter in every room causes stagnation and inactivity in certain aspects of life.

Mess in the kitchen
The kitchen is called the "heart of the home" for a reason. Here you eat, stock up on some energy, even if you dine on thawed semi-finished products in the microwave. A dirty and sloppy kitchen creates difficulties in supply and nutrition, on a spiritual and physical level. How you take care of the kitchen, you can tell how you feel about sources of abundance, energy supply, and your own nutrition. A neat and clean kitchen opens up space for the comfort and protection you so desperately need.

Disorder in the dining room and living room
These are rooms where you gather with friends, with family, with people close enough to you. Here you are in contact with the outside world when you are at home, arguing with friends about politics at the dinner table, reading the newspaper, watching TV. Clutter will turn this space into a lair, and you may be so dirty that you do not invite friends over for years. Maybe you are hiding from others in a pile of garbage?

Mess in the bedroom
Bedrooms for adults are a place of intimacy and sleep, they should perform the function of renewing relationships and people. Clutter in the bedroom will not bring energy, but weakness. If you feel tired in the most intimate space, just clean up, and this will help you move away from stress and relax. And only then you can have a good time with your partner and have a sweet sleep.

Mess in the corridor
The corridor is the artery of your home. And the mess in your hallway is like a "traffic jam" on the road. It interferes with the interaction of different parts of your life and your home. Look at the corridor: is it so difficult not to stumble in it, is it easy to walk along it, is it well lit? If you have difficulty interacting with people and with yourself, between family and work, it’s probably time for you to clean up the corridor.

Mess in the bathroom
Body care and bathing is such a daily ritual. In daily life, you use this space so that you can prepare yourself to communicate with the world. Clutter in the bathroom indicates a lack of attention to yourself, and not only on a physical level, it also indicates low self-esteem. A well-decorated and clean bathroom can be a place to rejuvenate and take care of yourself, a serene and peaceful place. Decorate your bathroom, put things in order, turn it into a place where you can hide from everyone and be with yourself, where you will feel safe during the evening and morning rituals of washing.

Mess in the toilet
When you fill the toilet with rubbish, you suppress your insight and intuition. A dirty toilet indicates problems that make it difficult to develop in relationships and work, make it difficult for you to develop in life, problems that you are not really aware of. When the toilet door is tightly closed, this does not mean that you have gotten away from problems.

Mess in the garage
Your car is a symbol of independence and mobility. If you have a dump of things in your garage, your car can hardly fit there, then you need to be very careful, and it is very difficult for you to move through life.

Now we know what a mess in a room is from the point of view of psychology. Don't think of cleaning as something terrible. Every shirt you give to a new owner, every book you take to the library. And also, every sheet of paper and magazine that you turn into waste paper will create space in your life for events, joy and new energy.

When faced with such a symptom, immediately, automatically, I want to attribute it to obsessive-compulsive disorder. The picture of such obsessive washing, in which a person, for example, washes his hands every 15-20 minutes and does it very carefully, is associated by many with the fear of pollution: otherwise, why on earth would a person begin to wash constantly? However, as is often the case, in practice, a similar symptom can mean something completely different.

I was once approached by the parents of a 13-year-old girl who developed compulsive handwashing. Every 15-20 minutes she washed her hands, every day she washed in the shower for almost an hour. If she restrained herself and tried not to wash her hands, she said, she developed internal tension, which disappeared for a while after washing. Gradually she stopped attending school; you can’t always ask for leave from one lesson, then from another, to wash your hands.

The parents were at a loss, they feared a psychiatric illness, and eventually turned to a psychotherapist. At the request of the parents, psychotherapy took place at home. Our first meeting with a patient (let's call her Nina) was in her room. Nina sat as far away from me as possible and with all her appearance and behavior showed complete unwillingness to talk.

First meeting passed, second...nothing changed. Nina spoke extremely reluctantly. It was impossible to learn anything from her about the causes of her symptom - at least some of her assumptions, experiences.

During the next few meetings, I told Nina a variety of stories, taken from real life or made up. I was hoping that one of these stories would evoke an emotional response in Nina that I could use to speculate about the cause of her symptom. But no matter how hard I tried, nothing worked. Nina listened to my stories with great indifference.

Then, following some wise advice, I asked Nina for help in order to get Nina talking. I told her that I have a 16-year-old niece who doesn't know how to meet young people. My niece asks me to help her solve this problem, and I do not know what to answer her (it was all fiction). Could Nina help me and tell me what methods she uses to get acquainted on the street?

At first Nina did not believe me and remained suspicious, but I spoke very sincerely and convincingly, and eventually Nina started talking. She told me how to attract the attention of young people, then we talked about her life, school, and her symptom.

During the conversation, Nina said: “It seems to me that if dad would rent me a separate apartment, then everything would be fine with me. ” Now I don’t remember all the details - this happened quite a long time ago, but then, in the context of our communication, this phrase caused me a kind of insight: I can’t explain why, but I suddenly realized that the main function of this obsessive handwashing is protection from parents.

Nina's parents were quite strict, and each of them put some pressure on her. Due to her nature, Nina could not enter into a direct confrontation with them. When she developed this obsessive symptom, the pressure of her parents became much weaker. Moreover, she had a reason not to go to school.

Once the function of the symptom was understood, a treatment plan emerged. In the next session, I began to tell Nina about those patients in my practice whose condition looked especially pathological and unpleasant. I tried to do it in such a way that, on an unconscious level, she would create an association between what was happening to her and what was happening to these patients.

For example, I told her about a man who spent seven years sitting on the couch without getting up from it in the literal sense of the word. On this sofa he ate, slept, went to the toilet. The story caused a violent emotional reaction: apparently, unconsciously, Nina really drew a parallel. At this point, I asked her how much she wants to get well? Nina confirmed her most ardent and resolute desire.

Then I told her that recovery would happen if she completed the task I had given her, but that she had to promise to do it before she knew what the task was. After some hesitation and my assurances that this task would in no way humiliate her human dignity, Nina agreed.

The task was as follows: it was necessary to take a shower twice a day for an hour, setting the time on a timer. Her hands had to be washed with the same frequency and in the same manner as she did herself, but in addition, it was necessary to wash them for an additional ten minutes whenever her parents came to the kitchen.

In addition, we agreed that Nina would not demand any additional explanations and would not discuss this task with anyone.

I explained to Nina's parents that the task she would be doing was not a joke, and that doing it would guarantee a thousand percent cure for the symptom. And therefore, they must take Nina's assignment absolutely seriously, without any sarcasm and with understanding. And the parents were imbued with the seriousness of the task.

At the next meeting, which took place a week later, I learned that Nina began to wash like all ordinary people. What happened? Firstly, to wash according to the scheme that was prescribed to her, this is a difficult test, it is tiring and causes a desire to give up excessive washing, that is, to give up the symptom.

Secondly, the very fact that some psychotherapist told her what to do causes protest, which also motivates her to stop washing too much. But the most important thing is a change in the reaction of parents. If earlier, when Nina was intensively washing, her parents' anxiety increased, now, watching Nina complete the task, they relaxed more and more; now the intensive washing prescribed by the doctor meant recovery for them.

And the symptom ceased to be a means of emotional control over the parents, that is, it lost its function.

During the last two sessions, Nina unleashed a stream of aggression on me, ridiculing my appearance, manners, results of psychotherapy, and so on. Perhaps it was the aggression that Nina wished she had but could not express to her parents.

Perhaps it was justified anger at the therapist for depriving her of such a good way of self-defense. Thus, at the final stage, I played the role of a lightning rod.

So, on the surface, one could consider this case as an obsessive-compulsive disorder with a fear of pollution. In essence, rather, we are talking about a disorder of a demonstrative type. The fear of pollution, which may have been, is of very little importance, since the main function of the symptom was emotional control over the parents and protection from their pressure.

A year later, Nina's mother told me that Nina was doing well and had no more problems, and that she and her husband had divorced six months ago. Probably, this was the very case when the symptom of a child holds the family together.

On the other hand, living without a symptom is much better and healthier than living with a symptom. And if we consider this a success, then, without a doubt, it belongs primarily to Nina herself: if she had chosen life with a symptom, then nothing would have happened.

The desire for cleanliness in one's home has always been considered a positive trait, but if a person is literally obsessed with perfect order and strives to sterilize and disinfect everything that is possible, then experts say that this is already a mental illness called ripophobia. An individual suffering from this phobia is constantly afraid of various pollution, prefers not to touch the objects around him, especially outside the home. Ripophobia is often observed in housewives, when the obsessive desire for perfect cleanliness turns into a fixed idea.

A person suffering from ripophobia constantly washes his hands, fearing that pathogenic microbes and dirt accumulate on them. But in reality, psychologists say that at such moments the patient does not think about possible infections, the very factor of washed hands is important for him. This action calms him somewhat, although for a rather short time. The desire to avoid contact with foreign objects is so great that the ripophobe tries, if possible, not to leave his apartment in order to minimize the need to touch various foreign objects.

It is also reliably known that basically all ripophobes know that there are also useful bacteria that are simply necessary for a person to digest food, and not just salmonellosis and E. coli. However, the sufferer of ripophobia always overestimates the negative impact of various microorganisms, and is sure that they are dangerous under any potential impact. Ripophobia is a common symptom of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which are associated with violent acts and unwanted thoughts. In some cases, ripophobia is associated with hypochondria - when there is a strong fear of contracting some kind of infection. In most cases, ripophobia is treated as a specific phobia.

Basically, such an attitude towards the environment and an excessive fear of dirt and microbes are formed in childhood, and the parents of the child play a significant role in this. Of course, accustoming to cleanliness is an integral part of education, but sometimes parents focus too much on this area of the baby's attention, making him afraid to touch other people's toys, books, and so on. Ultimately, the unstable children's psyche begins to falter, and the baby learns only one thing - bacteria, dirt and danger are all around.

Also, the cause of ripophobia is often a negative individual experience gained already at an older age, as a result of a certain traumatic event associated with pollution, dust. Sometimes it is not even necessary to have your own negative experience, it is enough just to know that one of his acquaintances has received serious problems associated with the lack of cleanliness and germs.
Particular attention is paid to television programs and films. Sometimes a completely harmless, and moreover, invented plot can be a trend towards frustration, causing a depressive state and frustration.

Many psychologists believe that the sharp rise in ripophobia seen at the end of the twentieth century is often caused by people's concern about serious illnesses such as AIDS. It is known that ripophobia has a strong distribution in America. There, more and more people use portable belts for the subway, purchase a huge amount of disinfectants, and pay great attention to the hygienic processing of food.

If ripophobia passes in a mild form, then a person is quite capable of controlling his condition, and not putting others in an awkward position by ignoring the outstretched hand for a handshake. But if an exacerbation occurs, then symptoms are observed that are characteristic of absolutely all phobias, although they can manifest themselves in various combinations. A panic attack is characterized by shortness of breath, nausea, and rapid heartbeat. Headache, dry mouth, difficulty breathing, and increased sweating may occur. Ripophobe feels suddenly ill, his hands are shaking, and there is a general weakness. Such a condition in a person suffering from this phobia occurs when he believes that he is contaminated.

It has been proven that ripophobia is a serious limitation of human communication, and has a significant impact on lifestyle. With ripophobia, the patient avoids touching door handles, railings in transport, seats on a bus or subway. He does not visit cafes, theaters, clubs, and other public places, as there are traces of touches of other people's hands everywhere. As a result, the individual agrees to any extreme measures. Just to avoid situations that stress him. Ripophobia is the cause of serious social consequences, besides, it is difficult for others to understand the ripophobe, they consider him an ill-mannered rude and hostile person, which contributes to their alienation.

But ripophobia, like most phobic fears, is treatable. Most often, doctors use the techniques used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorders and other types of phobias. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective. In this case, the impact is based on the fact that a person learns to contact his fear. For example, a ripophobe goes through situations such as shaking hands with another patient, touching dust, and so on. If the treatment is carried out correctly, then after a few months the person becomes completely healthy.

A doctor who has not bathed for five years. And he says it should be so

Margarita Rodriguez
BBC News Mundo

6 January 2021

Photo copyright, James Hamblin

Photo caption,

Hamblin described his daring experiment in his recently published book

"I Feel Great".

This is exactly how Dr. James Hamblin always answers the question of how he has not washed at all for five years.

"You get used to it and feel completely normal," says the 37-year-old Yale University School of Public Health professor who specializes in preventive medicine.

Dr. Hamblin is a regular contributor to the American Atlantic magazine, where in 2016 his article was published under the heading "I stopped washing, but life went on."

"We spend two years of our lives taking a shower or a bath. So how much time (as well as money and water) are we wasting?", he wrote then.

In 2020, he detailed his experience in the book Clean: The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less.

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Killer makeup: what bacteria are hiding in your cosmetic bag

Image copyright, Getty Images

Caption photo,

Do we really need to shower every day?

While Hamblin is a firm believer that we should never stop washing our hands with soap and brushing our teeth, he doesn't think we should be as careful with other parts of the body.

Soap avoidance experiment

The decision to stop washing was taken as an experiment.

"I wanted to understand what would happen," explains the scientist. "I know a lot of people who rarely bathe, but I wanted to experience it for myself and see what the effect would be."

And what was the effect when Hamblin stopped bathing in 2015?

"Over time, your body gets more and more used to it, and if you don't use soap and deodorant, you don't stink that much," he says. "And your skin doesn't get oily at all."

"Many people shampoo their hair to remove oil from their hair and then use a conditioner to work artificial oils into it. But if you interrupt this cycle, your hair will look exactly as it did before using these products," - adds the experimenter.

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

Hamblin says those who want to replicate his experiment should do things gradually and judge by how comfortable they are.

However, according to the doctor, it's a gradual process.

Hamblin began to use less and less soap, shampoo and deodorant and to bathe less and less. Instead of taking a shower every day, he began to do it once every three days, and then stopped washing altogether.

"There were times when I wanted to take a shower just because I missed it, I smelled bad and felt dirty," says Hamblin. "But it became less and less frequent."

According to him, the less water and detergent he used, the less he needed them.

Body odor and bacteria

As an American scientist explains, body odor is determined by bacteria that live on the skin and feed on sweat and other secretions.

Daily use of detergents changes the oil balance of the skin and disturbs bacteria.

"During vigorous showering, you destroy entire ecosystems," he wrote in his article in 2016, "the niche, of course, is filled, but more and more with those types of microbes that create bad smell. "

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

Less shower - less shampoo - more savings

Well, if you don't wash, the doctor says, then the process of self-regulation of these ecosystems starts, they stabilize, and we stop smelling bad (stink) .

"Of course you won't start smelling like cologne, but you won't, you'll just smell like a normal person," says Hamblin.

Body odor in our lives

In an interview with BBC Science Focus in August 2020, Hamblin was asked if he cared about the fact that he might smell bad, but the people around him were too polite to point it out to him .

To this, the professor assured that he had urged his colleagues, friends and acquaintances more than once to tell him if he stinks.

That's how he achieved the balance in which his body stopped emitting an unpleasant smell.

What's more, Hamblin claims that his wife even likes his new scent, and other people say he smells really good.

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

A scientist claims that frequent washing disrupts the balance of microbes living on our skin

"For most of human history, smells have played an important role in human communication, but now they have practically disappeared from our social biology," he explains. or at least shower gel. Otherwise, we consider them to smell bad, any natural smell of the human body is automatically considered negative."

But did Hamblin really refuse to take a shower?

No, he says that he rinses when he is obviously covered in mud, or after exercise.

At the same time, the scientist claims that we can perfectly get rid of excess dirt by simply scratching or combing our hair occasionally.

Skin as a mirror of life

Hamblin's decision to stop bathing was not only an experiment.

While working on the book, he talked with many people, including experts in the field of dermatology, immunology, allergists and even theologians.

Photo copyright, James Hamblin

Photo caption,

Hamblin admits to occasionally showering after exercise

As a result, he writes very unflattering things about the skincare industry in his book.

He says that the industry sells products designed to solve superficial problems, and while some of these products can be very effective, we must not forget that in the end, our skin health is a reflection of our lifestyle and what happens inside. our body.

Science versus marketing

Hamblin believes it's important to distinguish between science and marketing. He thinks that we use more funds than we actually need, believing that this will add to our health.

The doctor also reminds you that self-care as it currently exists is a modern invention.

"A century ago, most people didn't have access to running water, except for royalty, and ordinary people could only occasionally enjoy running water," Hamblin notes. "Perhaps they could go to a river or lake, but they certainly didn't do it every day."

"Besides, mass production did not exist then, people used homemade soap, and not every day, because it corroded the skin," he continues.

Photo copyright Luis Diaz Devesa

Photo caption

Hamblin is highly critical of skin care products in his book

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Hamblin concludes in his book that we may be overdoing our showers and baths, and if we bathe less, it would only do us good.

As one of the arguments, he cites the fact that we have not yet studied enough what happens when the composition of microbes on our skin changes during the washing process.

"The bacteria that live on our skin are as important to our health and appearance as the bacteria in our gut are important to digestion," Hamblin points out. "Bacteria have gotten a bad rap, but in the last 10 years, thanks to DNA sequencing technology, we've learned that bacteria are everywhere and generally do no harm. Only a small minority of them do."

"It should make people wonder what they're doing when they bathe, because of course we want to get rid of germs that cause disease, but we don't want to get rid of all the germs," explains the scientist.

Do we overestimate the importance of washing?

Everyone's idea of the ideal of cleanliness is different, Hamblin notes. In addition, many overestimate the importance of frequent showering.

Meanwhile, according to the scientist, this is more of a preference than a medical necessity. However, he himself never advises people to refuse washing.

Image copyright, Getty Images

Image caption,

Microbes are everywhere, but only a few can cause disease

Should I try the Hamblin method?

The doctor himself claims that he is not going to prove to anyone what is good and what is bad, or insist that his approach is good for everyone.

"But for those who have skin problems or who just want to try, I would advise you to wash less often and there already determine how comfortable they are," he says. "others are switching to a more gentle deodorant. You can start by reducing your shower time, making it colder, taking less showers, and using less soap. You don't have to make a big change."

Note : All conclusions drawn by Dr. James Hamblin are his personal opinion and not a recommendation.

Although many modern scientists agree that people sometimes use excessive amounts of detergents, there is no scientific evidence that the complete elimination of soap and shampoo will not affect a person's health.

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