- Date posted
- 1y
Hi
I have contamination OCD which I’ve had since 2016. Does anyone have any steps or plans to start to overcome it that I could try? I’m on medication and have had long term therapy.
I have contamination OCD which I’ve had since 2016. Does anyone have any steps or plans to start to overcome it that I could try? I’m on medication and have had long term therapy.
I think within the general framework of OCD treatment, contamination OCD can be treated by accepting uncertainty and I'll provide some examples "Maybe this item is dirty, maybe it isnt" "Maybe I will get sick from that item, maybe I won't" "Maybe I am dirty, or maybe I am clean enough" I think acceptance of uncertainty and imperfection, as well as limiting compulsions, can help treat this theme effectively I'm sure a session with NOCD can also help if they are not your current provider and if you haven't seen OCD specialists before (because sometimes talk therapy isn't enough or helpful, particularly for OCD)
My daughter has contamination OCD and is finally functioning very well. She went to a doctor who started her on Sertraline and did exposure therapy with her for a year or so. Learning to accept uncertainty (as you stated) is key. Also learning to live more in the gray rather than having everything be black or white. We are amazed and oh so grateful that our daughter has overcome her "living hell."
@cyc1017 That's amazing to hear, glad it's working out well
@A23 Thank you. She has 2 precious sons and she fought through for them ❤️
@A23 Yes I agree with this, although I haven’t managed it myself. I’ve done exposure and had times I’ve been able to manage my ocd but it always comes back as I haven’t treated the route cause. I can’t accept uncertainly as I don’t think I’ll cope with feeling uncomfortable. I therefore feel I need to control everything
@Jennielouises Maybe some sort of long term anxiety therapist would be beneficial?
@A23 If only I could afford that. Others have learned to accept uncertainty so it must be possible
@Jennielouises Yeah some insurances also cover short term anxiety coaching, there's a program called AbleTo
@Jennielouises Long term strategies that may help also include exercise, meditation and journaling
@A23 So I find for me, journaling makes me ruminate. But I do think I need to do the others. I also feel for me that doing daily mental exercise will help. I haven’t had a chance to focus on my mental health since Jan as my son has been so ill. So I’ve lost my fitness, just like you would if you stopped going to the gym
@Jennielouises Oh, best wishes for your son to recover 💙
hey, i really feel for you dealing with contamination ocd since 2016, it sounds incredibly tough. sticking with medication and therapy is a big step, and i admire your dedication to finding more ways to cope. 💪 have you heard about "unstuck"? it's an ai-powered therapy tool specifically for ocd (unstuckmyOCD.com). it's been a game-changer for me this past month, and i think it might offer you some new strategies. someone here recommended it to me, and i only wish i'd discovered it sooner!
Hello, i have very severe contamination ocd, and as i am writing this i feel my hands are dirty lol, but anyways i wanted to know if there’s anyone specialised in Contamination ocd? No matter what type because i really need help and i looked up things but it doesn’t help please!!
sorry this is super long i just wanna know if anyone else has been thru something similar bc i feel super alone 🩷 i have super bad contamination ocd. it was bad already but my house was like my safe space until a few months ago someone brought something into my house that i considered ‘contaminated’. and so then i felt like that part of the house was contaminated, then it spread to everything outside my room (since family is moving around touching stuff) and then somehow i got convinced everything in my room except my bed is contaminated and i need to wash my hands after touching it. in my mind its like the contamination just infinitely spreads to things after the tiniest bit of touch. idek what im afraid of anymore or even what the original thing was but i can’t let it go. when i have to wash off contamination i have to wash at least 4 times or until it feels right, or sometimes take rlly long showers and wipe down all my stuff. i even throw away food and clothes or just whole items sometimes because they feel so contaminated i don’t want them in my space. i can’t be super near people or have anyone touch me, and i also can’t bring anything new into my room since it had to go through the entry of my house which feels contaminated. i feel like all i do is lay in bed and then wash my hands and do compulsions so i can go eat or do other stuff around the house. also i never go out because i’m bc people outside make me feel dirty, and i hate thinking about how many people have touched stuff in stores or in public and stuff. so im just in my room worrying all day. i feel so trapped and the contamination/avoiding it is all i think about anymore i barely have time for anything else and im never present when i talk to people because im worrying about if i accidentally got contaminated. im starting erp next week and knowing that im going to have to expose myself to things is really freaking me out. does anyone else have this kind of ocd ? im exhaustedddd 🥲🥲💔
This is a repost, only because the last post had no responses lol. Please if you have any advice share. I’ve been trying hard to sit with the feeling of anxiety. Actually that’s the problem, recently I’ve been trying to sit with the thought (and I’m able to for a few hours or until the next morning) and then my anxiety comes back so strong and it’s like I need to clean everything off. I see images of gross laundry getting on everything or my hand and then I need to clean everything off to un contaminate it. Sometimes the thought happens later at night so I just sleep through and the next morning I will wake up with intense anxiety about contamination. That happened yesterday and I had to clean everything off and since then I’ve been traumatized so I’ve been doing compulsions like avoiding the bathroom and being around people so I know I couldn’t have done anything wrong. Actually recently my biggest compulsion has been recording every time I get up to go eat, etc so that I know I couldn’t have done anything. Any advice or help???
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