Is this a part of moral ocd?

I know I have OCD, but is this a part of moral ocd? I have a huge thing about recycling. I feel guilty if I can't. (Ie, there's an item with food that cant be cleaned out since you have to rinse food off of stuff for it to be recycled). I've genuinely cried over having been given plastic bags instead of purely using reuseable bags. Another time I cried about not having the option to recycle things that were clearly recyclable while I was in the mental hospital. It was a tough week. Everything I have has to be sustainable. My toothpaste, shower soaps, hand soaps, detergent, and everything else has to be recyclable or I'll get upset about it. My toothbrushes are bamboo. Plastic irks me so badly. I want to help the planet and reduce waste. It feels right! But is that ocd? Or am I just weird about recycling? I just feel like a bad person if I can't recycle properly.

Young adults with OCD

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 20w

This does sound like a potential OCD theme - I've experienced the same obsessive thoughts as part of my own OCD and I have heard of a few others who've had it. We know that OCD 'latches on' to whatever themes are big in the news right now (just like loads of OCD sufferers had fears around AIDs back in the 1980's but rarely nowadays). As a lifelong environmentalist who's now recovering well from OCD and has a much more balanced approach, PLEASE don't beat yourself up over this! I know your OCD is yelling at you to see things in absolute black or white terms, and to obsess over tiny unimportant details, but I promise you it's OK to fight against that. You can do ERP to combat it. You DON'T need to be perfect. If you're in a situation where you can't get to a recycling bin, and there's no easy way to pop an item in your pocket for recycling later, please show yourself some forgiveness, even if OCD says you're a bad person. You aren't. Big industries like the oil lobby and the fishing companies sneakily want us to over-focus on tiny details like plastic straws. Because it detracts public attention away from the real issue: that they're actively trying to make and sell MORE plastic everythings because it adds to their wealth instead of just selling biodegradable eco packaging, and that the vast majority of plastic in the oceans is actually irresponsibly discarded fishing gear, not littered food packaging. These companies are the ones who should feel guilty, not you. The biggest change in the pollution problem will come from campaigning and activism and political change to force these giants to reform, not from each individual person individually buying green household products. Yes, we can all make a little difference by being thoughtful about what we buy and how we dispose of it - it's wonderful that you do! :) But it should be a joyful and balanced thing, that gives you a feeling of satisfaction, not a source of extreme distress, obsessive thoughts and beating yourself up. Are you connected with any other eco folks online or environmentally-minded moderates irl? Maybe you'd benefit from checking out a few eco Insta accounts that talk about their own imperfections and the pitfalls of #toxicperfectionism in the green movement? You can tell your OCD 'Look, I don't need to be 100% perfect, because nobody else is either - I just need to make a reasonable effort in an imperfect world!'

elurmomo

Date posted: 20w

That sounds like a good idea, I follow a few environmentalist groups, but not ones thar really talk about their imperfections.

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 20w

@elurmomo No worries :) IMO it's important when you're suffering from any harm or scrupulosity/morality/religious themes to seek out the company of balanced, well-adjusted people within your subculture/belief....rather than people who advocate strictness, extremism, perfectionism or loony fringe ideologies. Because the last thing e.g an OCD sufferer with religious morality themes needs is some overzealous nutter with an inaccurately literal interpretation of holy scripture, saying they MUST behave a certain way and they are RIGHT to be excessively harsh to themselves and they SHOULD listen to their OCD. That's just ignorant (and maybe some people who say these things need checked out for OCD themselves!) IMO it's the same with other types of OCD. We need compassion and understanding and a rational sense of balance, to find again what a 'normal' attitude to reducing, reusing and recycling is 😄 I had to find it again for myself, even though OCD tried to yell at me: 'That's backsliding! That's weak and bad! You need to be doing plastic-free 100% perfectly at all times or you are a TERRIBLE PERSON!' And you know what? OCD was wrong! Finding the joy in taking care of the planet again has just made me a better environmentalist. My toothbrush is still bamboo, I'm still conscientious about food waste and packaging, I still visit the refill shop regularly, shop preloved a bunch, have a tiny carbon footprint, and never knowingly take plastic bags. I haven't abandoned my values or backslid at all. It's just that there is a bigger picture: encouraging others to take part in recycling by showing off how it's part of your healthy and happy lifestyle values is important too! I have friends that have been encouraged to adopt more green habits, because they saw me carrying them out in a fuss-free way that made them look fun and do-able :) If you wanted to, you could start by following someone like @lifeofanearthmuffin on Insta, who describes her page as 'Imperfect eco friendly living'. She recently did a lovely post on the theme of 'propaganda I'm not falling for'.

Ladycoffeebean

Date posted: 12w

Compulsive decluttering/Minimalism

Hi! I was recently diagnosed with OCD. Most of my struggles are morality-related, but I've been doing so thinking, and I believe I also struggle with compulsive decluttering. Nine years ago, I decluttered my closet and started calling myself a minimalist. I have brought things in and decluttered other things out multiple times and constantly am thinking about decluttering again and making my wardrobe tiny but "perfectly minimalist". I want to get past this because I think I attach morality to the amount of things I own. Has anyone gone through this and how would I apply ERP to this?

Religion & Spirituality OCD

Flávia Olive...

Date posted: 12w

Moral Dilemmas About My Sister

Hello! I don't know if someonecan help me clarify if this is part of OCD. I've suffered from the condition since I was a child and have experienced many subtypes. But right now, I have a thought that bothers me the most. It has to do with my sister. Is it normal for us to have obsessions with scrupulosity and to create dilemmas about actions someone we love would or wouldn't do as a symptom? I feel like this need for moral perfection is in my sister, and I think if she knows I thought badly of her, she'll never forgive me and my world will end.

julianofnorwich

Date posted: 11w

Does anyone have this moral ocd?

Where it's like "help the poor, oppressed, marginalized or youre a bad person" but also "don't help them too much cause that's saviorism" but also "don't talk about how you help because that's virtue signaling ," but also "silence is complicit speak out!" Like how do we know if we are doing the morally right thing?

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Is this a part of moral ocd?

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