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CAREGIVING WITH OCD or ADHD

October 1, 2025

OCD – Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder

CCD – Caregiver’s Conscience Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions. These obsessions lead to repetitive behavior (compulsions). In the 1980s it was reclassified as an anxiety disorder.

Attention Deficit Disorder affects children and may continue into adulthood (ADHD). It includes having a hard time paying attention, being hyperactive and being impulsive. In the 1980s it became known as “attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity.”

I was born a generation too early to receive an official diagnosis and be labeled. My Brother’s and I were hyperactive. Our IQs were tested, and it was determined that we were fairly intelligent and bored at a very young age. My Mother decided to send us to private schools where our intelligence was fed, and our creativity nurtured. Therefore, having OCD or ADD did not interfere in our daily lives as it might have if we were not challenged educationally or creatively.

That’s all well and good; but try being a Caregiver with OCD or ADHD. I have recently determined that this is part of my problem Caregiving.

First of all, the obsessive- compulsive behavior forces me to ensure that everything is in its proper place at all times. That is nearly impossible in Caregiving situations. The very nature of Caregiving can be disorderly. The dishes, the trash, the Depends, the bed, the meals are all areas where being a tad OCD has me constantly on alert. I cannot leave dishes in the sink. All the dishes must be clean all the time. The sight of Depends in the trash sends me into an emptying fury. And mealtimes require cleaning as the meal is prepared, making no mess while eating and immediately cleaning up at the end of the meal.

This behavior does not allow me to simply, “take a break.” There seems to always be a chore to complete, and something is always out of place. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

I have learned throughout the years that I must concentrate and focus in order to complete a task. And so, as a Caregiver I do just that. If I am making my Mom’s bed, administering medication or preparing a meal, I focus solely on the activity at hand. And I focus on that task until it’s completion.

The ADHD is manageable because I am aware of my tendency to be a tad hyperactive and I act accordingly. I do things one thing at a time while my mind jumps from one thought to another.

My mind obsesses about the things that have to be done as a Caregiver. I am extremely compulsive about the organization of the household. I prefer having a daily plan which goes off without a hitch. Caregiving thoughts consume 99% of my mind’s share bouncing around in my head and making me dizzy. I actively concentrate and focus on being a Caregiver because it does not come naturally to me.

Unfortunately, the manner in which I have addressed these conditions in the past does not work in this Caregiving environment.

I’m taking little steps to manage these behaviors. Whenever I enter the kitchen, I do everything in the kitchen that needs to be done before exiting. I put my Mom’s hearing aids in at the same time as I do her earrings. I order the groceries, the health & beauty aids and anything needed from Amazon on a select day. And I have just begun to live with leaving dishes in the sink overnight. I admit, I’ve only done that a couple of times. Because the other prevailing thought is, “if I don’t do it now, I will have to do it later.”

I have in fact developed Caregiving Coping mechanisms which are effective in limited the influence of OCD or ADHD in my life as a Caregiver.

The question now is…

What is to be done for Caregiver’s Conscience Disorder?