- Date posted
- 1y
- Date posted
- 1y
I struggle with contamination ocd too ans I struggle with showers, when I get up in the morning I will litterally feel my stomach drop in the most dreadful way, sometimes the night before I shower I will actually feel anxious about having to shower the next day. I have been stuck in the shower before for 4 hours in an episode so I understand how you are feeling. Something that is currently helping me is music. I will put uplifting, music on while I shower and I focus on singing the lyrics out loud, and focus on the lyrics and singing rather than saying “I’m washing my hands with soap or I’m shampooing my hair etc” over and over again. It also helps me to keep track of the time, so I usually do one thing for one song and try not to let myself go past that. So some songs are like 3 min long or 2 min, so it helps me to keep moving. I keep my playlist like 35 min long so I know that when the music is over it’s time to get out of the shower. Again I struggle and sometimes I’m in the shower for an hour and sometimes I can get out in 28 min it really depends on the stress level. But you aren’t alone, I feel the same way
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
That will work temporarily but you're still avoiding the root cause. You're brain will know you are distracting yourself to avoid germs. You can use music but make sure to use it as something you enjoy instead of as a tool to avoid or OCD will grow stronger.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Tell yourself " maybe or maybe not there's no way to know" when you have a contamination thought pop up. React without judgement or emotions when confronting these thoughts. OCD can't survive without certainty which you can't actually provide. So living with uncertainty is the end goal. I wish there was a simpler way but ERP therapy definitely takes a mindset shift and courage. I started with the easiest obsessions first to build confidence. Then I tackled the hardest fears last.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Use that script I gave you but I forgot to add that after you say " maybe or maybe not" you should go on to whatever you were doing before the OCD thought arose. Using mindfulness to stay present is important because if you stay focused on your thoughts it's very difficult to resist compulsions. My brain understood I was going back to my tasks because it's what I wanted to do and not because it was a distraction to avoid OCD.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
I've been there my friend. Are you seeing a therapist right now?
- Date posted
- 1y
I'm in the middle of getting appointments with drs to try and figure out options since therapy is expensive where I am and can't afford it . I have had one dr appointment so far with another coming up this weekend
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
@justinisscared It's easier with a therapist but after they teach you some strategies it's basically up to you. So give it 3-4 sessions to learn how to do ERP and if you can't afford any more then come here for advice or try other support systems.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
@justinisscared Can you share what you're afraid of? You don't need to be too specific. I'll help you with a script. Are you afraid of hurting others or yourself from contamination? I ask this so you can figure out your root fear. That's what you need to address.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
For me my contamination fears stemmed from fear of being punished by God. My fear of going to hell was the root of my most tricky obsessions to fix.
- Date posted
- 1y
Mine is from fear of hurting others, especially my loved ones, can you help share some tips pls. Struggling everday to a point my hand skin is flaking and in pain.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
@Kpika First try to build a mindset that OCD isn't helping you keep anyone safe, which it's actually not. You're reacting to the thoughts because the outcome is scary but you must realize they are just fabricated thoughts by OCD. Thoughts are just thoughts I constantly remind myself. I don't use this as reassurance though. It becomes difficult to perform ERP if we believe OCD is actually helpful instead of a life destroying disorder. Where contamination is concerned I limited myself to what normal people would do and only reacted to a supposed contamination if I could actually see it. For example, I wash my hands only once after using the restroom as this is a normal practice. I don't wash my hands again unless I touch something potentially dangerous I can actually see such as raw meat or blood. While you get those thoughts that pop up want to wash you refrain as long as possible using the script " I may contaminate someone but there's no way to know". The end goal is tolerate the uncertainty that it's possible to contaminate someone however unlikely. You could wash your hands a million times but can you actually guarantee that your hands are clean? Once I started reminding myself germs are everywhere and being okay with uncertainty then anxiety eventually fades away.
- Date posted
- 1y
@StoicGuy Thank you for the advice, i never thought from this point of view. I didnt realise i was seeking 'certainty' so much with my rituals which is never achievable. I guess im just so scared/afraid of uncertainty. I learned something new from you, thank you!❤
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
This is ruining every part of my life. The carpet on my staircase is old and pretty dirty, and there's dried mud on it. There's brown bits, which I'm convinced is cat poop and there's a good chance it could be because there have been multiple times my cat has had it stuck to her after going in the litter tray. It's impossible to clean so I don't try, and my parents don't probably because they don't see it's dirty and because it's such an old worn out thing anyway. So I wear slippers everywhere except my bedroom. Only, the other day I stepped somewhere contaminated in socks and then put my slippers back on, so now they're contaminated on the inside which defeats the whole point. So now, if I want to get into bed, I have to take my slippers off outside my door, and my socks, and I have to put new socks on, but if I do that I have to wash my hands again. Which means going to the bathroom. Which means putting the slippers on. Which means I'm contaminated again. I feel so sick and I want to cry. There are so many not hygienic things in my house, and it makes living with this so much harder. I tell myself that what I'm going through are compulsions and intrusive thoughts and obsessions but how can that be true if there's a very real chance the brown on my staircase is cat poop? How can it be true when it's my own fault because I'm too lazy to clean it and I'm too lazy to try fixing the issue when there are so many things stopping me and there are so many things not hygienic about the house. I want to cry, it's too much. I can't tell myself I'm being irrational when I'm being rational. I just can't keep doing this. I want to lay in bed until I feel better but I never feel better. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow about my ocd symptoms and thoughts but what am I meant to say? My house is a state and covered in mud on the carpet, and it sends me into multiple mental breakdowns a week? A day? Surely that's not ocd but instead is perfectly rational? I can't cope with any of this anymore, I want so badly to live in hygiene and cleanliness. It doesn't matter how hard I try, I'm never clean. I will never be clean. And I keep trying to tell myself that even if it's cat poop, it's not the end of the world. But I feel so ashamed. I feel dirty. I just want all of this to stop being so difficult.
- Date posted
- 23w
Something I haven’t shared on here is that when I get anxious and my OCD is really bad, I end up spending a lot of time in the bathroom. My family isn’t supportive when it comes to mental health, and I don’t have any privacy at home. So, when I realize my butt is numb for the I don’t even know how many times today, I know I’m not doing okay. :( All my panic attacks happen in the bathroom. Even when I’m out shopping or doing something, I run to the bathroom. It’s like I have an emotional support toilet instead of a support system. I’m crying, feeling so anxious, and I can’t stop doing compulsions that I thought I had gotten past more than a month ago. My streaks are broken, and I feel broken. I want to get out of this bathroom, be normal, and be productive, but I just can’t. I can’t stop crying, and I can’t even breathe properly. I didn’t even realize what time it is, the day is nearly over and I’m still in here :(
- Real Events OCD
- Relationship OCD
- Students with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- POCD
- Older adults with OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- Date posted
- 19w
I'm keeping it light hearted but I really desperately need some help. Just to preface this is very tmi. I thought it was just gonna be a quick bathroom stuff. No! That would be silly of course, so number two decided to screw things up ROYALLY. And please bear with me because I am coping with humour 😭😭. So I went, but sometimes, tmi, I struggle to.... Get it all. Out. If you know what I mean. Which is pretty awful to the point I'm like genuinely praying. Because you can't clean up properly if you're not done. So I'm in the bathroom, trying, for over half an hour. And I finally give up pretty much and try and clean up. Oh no, that was a huge mistake. But what else could I do? It was so messy that I wanted to just get in the shower and be done with it. Onto the things I'm worrying about I guess. On the tp (tmi, I'm WARNING 😭😭) it was.... Messy, and there were very loose specks on the tp. Which is an issue, because I used wet wipes which needs to be binned and not flushed, so I have to carry the tp-wipe combo over to the bin, which means carrying it over where my legs are, and thus where my clothes also are. I hate it. I'm now paranoid specks fell into my underwear! Great! Love it. I'm also paranoid specks or just #2 in general went on my hand. And, believe me, with the state of things, it was POSSIBLE. So when I'm finally done and wash my hands, of course that isn't going to feel like enough. I have really short nails, so short they're painful, and I'm always terrified stuff gets under them. So, I use a nail brush while washing my hands. I also filed them down (which HURT) because I'm convinced that could get rid of anything underneath them. But it still doesn't feel enough. Because I have loose skin and hangnails around my nails, and I'm paranoid as well that stuff gets under dry skin. Not to mention my hands are so dry from washing that they're cracked and flaky and they peel, so I am worried that #2 or dirt gets under the flakes of skin. I know it sounds stupid, but I am so scared. Usually it feels irrational but it was such a state that I'm convinced there must be a speck of it on me somewhere. On my hands. And I'm terrified. I know I need to accept uncertainty but I'm struggling right now.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond