Pandemic Raises Special Concerns For Those With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder : NPR
Because of a traumatic experience, Justin Keyes has been dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder for a decade. For him, that has meant, in part, washing his hands.
“Like, I’m constantly getting up from my desk at work to go wash my hands,” Keyes said. “I keep Clorox cleaning wipes in my bottom drawer, and I’m constantly cleaning things.”
It got so bad that, at one point, Keyes got rid of all the soap in his apartment to break the habit. That worked. But then came the pandemic, when all of us are supposed to be washing our hands more.
“OCD gets a little confused,” Keyes said. “Sometimes it doesn’t know: Am I washing my hands for, like, real reasons, or am I washing my hands because of OCD kind of taking over?”
