what's this called?...

[Mike45]

i'm a little worried about my mother. She's 40 and she is a stay at home mom, my dad works and we live a little more than comfortable, so my mother doesn't really have to work. She is always on a routine though and if something throws her off course she gets panicky and edgy. For example she gets up, takes a shower, gets dressed, feeds the dogs, does laundry, makes breakfast for my dad, puts the wash in the dryer, folds the clothes, does whatever else she does during the day, cooks dinner. But she's like on a time schedule. For instance, today one of her friends stopped by for an hour to see her and after she left she gets all edgy and is like i'm an hour behind everything ive got to do and i'm telling her relax you don't need to be right on schedule. She has weird habits too like she feels like she has to iron every piece of clothing and she cant stand creases, when she peels carrots she has to peel them a certain amount of times and the number has to be an even number. I heard on t.v the name of what it's called, i don't want to call it a sickness but its something mentally, right? i want to know what its called so i can look more into it and see if theres something i can do. thanks

[Hellokitty1973]

You may be thinking of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). There is a section for that on this board. You may want to ask around in there. Unfortunately, I can offer much help.

Good Luck.

[Dianek]

Boy, her day sound just like mine! I'm a stay at home mom but I'm rarely home because I'm busy doing all the taxi-ing around for everyone...dropping off, picking up on a routine daily schedule.

I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the amount of housework I have and sometimes doesn't get done. I set certain expectations of myself and when I can't do it, I become edgy. So I've started delegating some chores when I need help.

Maybe your mom is just overwhelmed too and needs someone to get that load of wash out of the dryer for her; dinner started, etc.

As far as the carrot slicing and ironing, maybe it's just a little quirk of hers, but more than anything, I think she needs everyone to pitch in and help her around the house. Just because mom doesn't work outside the home doesn't mean she's got lots of time on her hands. Remember, some people get paid to clean and cook and their day is done at the end of their shift. Not moms! She's only one woman trying to take care of you and your family and sometimes it's just too hard. Best thing you could do is help your mom with something she ordinarily wouldn't expect you to do...that would help to relieve her burden of having to get everything done at once at a certain time. Good luck and your mom is very lucky to have a son that's concerned like you are!

[Lily0727]

definately sounds like Obsessive/Compulsive disorder!

[Sarah68]

I have to tell you that there are lots of great homeopathic remedies that could definitely help your mom. Please go and consult an ND about this.