The psychology of people who do not like cleanliness

Unclean behavior may reflect psychological characteristics such as procrastination tendencies, low self-efficacy, or emotional regulation disorders in individuals. The formation of such habits is closely related to factors such as growth environment, mental health status, cognitive biases, stress coping strategies, and differences in neural development.

1. Influence of Growing Environment

The lack of hygiene habits cultivation in early family environments may lead to an increase in individuals' tolerance to dirty and messy environments. Some people did not establish a regular and clean daily routine during childhood, and regarded disorder as the norm. As adults, they lack the intrinsic motivation to actively organize. This pattern is often accompanied by unconscious imitation of parents' behavioral habits.

2. Psychological Health Status

Depression or anxiety symptoms can significantly reduce an individual's willingness to perform cleaning behaviors. When feeling down, maintaining basic living functions consumes a lot of psychological energy, and organizing the environment is considered an unnecessary expenditure. Patients with severe depression may experience a decrease in their ability to perceive hygiene risks such as mold and odors.

3. Cognitive bias effect

Some people have distorted perceptions of the value of cleanliness, believing that cleaning behavior is a waste of time. This mindset is common among workaholics who excessively pursue efficiency or individuals who hold extreme pragmatic values. They often view cleaning as a non urgent matter that can be indefinitely postponed.

4. Stress coping strategies

When facing high pressure, giving up cleaning may become a manifestation of negative coping strategies. When an individual is in a chronic stress state for a long time, the brain will prioritize processing immediate threats, resulting in non urgent tasks such as cleaning being continuously put on hold. This situation often forms a vicious cycle of environmental disorder and psychological pressure.

5. Neurodevelopmental Differences

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Executive Dysfunction Patients often exhibit difficulty cleaning. This group of people does not lack the willingness to clean, but rather find it difficult to initiate complex household chores or maintain a consistent state of organization. The characteristics of neural diversity pose physiological challenges for them in task switching and sustained focus. Improving hygiene habits requires starting with rebuilding behavioral cognition. Cleaning tasks can be broken down into micro steps that can be completed in five minutes and reinforced with immediate rewards. For individuals with executive dysfunction, using visual task lists and external reminder devices is more effective. If accompanied by sustained low mood or lack of attention, it is recommended to seek professional psychological assessment. There is a bidirectional effect between environmental cleanliness and mental health, and moderately improving the order of living space can help enhance emotional regulation ability and self-efficacy.