I am on a cruise ship and my contamination ocd is so bad. I keep seeing people coughing into their hands and touching everything. What are some tips for cruising with contamination ocd?
Don't overthink and don't try to focus on other behavior; there are always people who don't care, and you don't need to know about details. Just focus on breathing and know you are safe, and nothing happens because, as you can see, others are okay. When they can, you can too. I have contamination OCD, so I know how you can feel exactly. Just enjoy your trip and gaze at the sea or have fun with your family or whoever is beside you without overthinking, because all our problems stem from that. See this cruise ship as an opportunity for ERP and your progress on your OCD.
I have an idea on how you can get through it, you just have to find a way to justify the circumstances. Cruises end at some point, let’s say it’s a 7-day. Well, think of those 7 days as your “germ exposure for annual immunity reboot” or something because, how else is your immunity gonna remember how to do its job unless it practices once in a while? You gotta put it to the test, put it under a bit of stress, just like you gotta put stress on a muscle for it to grow. That’s exactly what you’re doing by being there on that cruise. Immune cell reboot, by forcing those immune cells to do its job so they stay in pristine operable condition.
I have contamination OCD that causes me to excessively wash my hands/clean items with disinfectant wipes. I know I just need to start with small exposures but how do I do that without spiraling? I tried a while back by just touching the outside of my dishwasher and not washing my hands after and it led to me being unable to even exist in my house. I basically lived on my couch for three weeks as it was the only 'safe' space that I had not touched with my dirty hands. I had to take a week off work to clean my house to make it somewhat liveable. I still haven't got round to cleaning everything though so things like my kitchen are still no-go zones that I don't enter. I just don't know how to start ERP without it making everything worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I am not seeing a therapist at the moment due to financial constraints.
I’m having a big OCD relapse and would like to hear anyone’s tips on how to be present and healthily deal with these intrusive thoughts and the “need” to preform compulsions. Thank you!!
whats up guys what are some tips dealing with ocd and what to do when a thought makes u anxious ??
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