David Beckham has revealed that living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) means he spends hours cleaning and organizing the house while the rest of the family are in bed.
“When everyone is in bed, I look around and clean the candles, turn the lights on in the right setting, make sure everything is in order. I hate coming down in the morning and there are glasses and plates and, you know, bowls,” he said in an upcoming Netflix documentary.
"I remove the candle wax, I clean the glass, it's the thing that bothers me the most, the smoke around the inside of a candle," he added later.
When the film crew comments on the cleanliness of the kitchen, Beckham says: "I clean it so well, but I'm not sure my wife actually appreciates it that much, to be honest."
In response, Victoria Beckham says "He's so perfect" and points out that she appreciates the fact that he cleans up.
David Beckham said he finds cleaning rituals "tiresome" but "feels compelled to do them."
Beckham has discussed OCD before. He told the Daily Mail that he arranged clothes and magazines in straight lines and symmetrical patterns.
“I have OCD and I want everything to be in a straight line or everything to be even. I put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there are too many, then I will put them in another place somewhere. Everything has to be perfect."
The documentary about the former footballer's life will feature footage and interviews with people who played an important role in his career.
OCD is a disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, repetitive thoughts and/or behaviors that he or she feels the urge to repeat.
Some of the symptoms are:
1. Feeling responsible when someone gets hurt; the thought that it is your fault or that you could have prevented it.
2. Fixation on symmetry, order and rituals related to numbers.
3. Obsession with cleanliness, washing and cleansing rituals.
4. Aversion to thoughts about violence, sex and religion.
5. Collecting many "raqas", to have them or to make them a collection.
