Contamination ocd

TMI BUT I AM FREAKING OUT: I've been sick, and this is maybe one of the first times I've ever had this happen but there was fecal matter in my underwear. Not like a skid mark, just tiny little dots. I threw them away, and then realized I touched my shorts in the past hour since it probably happened. I also laid in my bed. When I say the evidence was minimal, I mean minimal. Like didn't go onto my shorts, which have a liner, and then another layer on top of that. I definitely remember touching my shorts in the past hour to pull my wedgie out, which now makes me think: Ok after that, I touched my phone, my vape, my bed, my clothes... everything. Do I throw everything away? Or just be okay with the fact there might be tiny germs on everything, but I'm 100% sure there's nothing visible on my hands or transferred by my hand. I'm just worried about molecules of it that can contaminate everything I've touched in the past hour. I really do not want to throw away my vape, my bed, my phone, everything. Am I ok? I washed my phone and vape with some cleaning stuff just in case, even though there wasn't any physical evidence just my imaginary germs. Do I need to throw everything away? Am I being too worried, or not worried enough? I'm in the middle of my journey combating contamination ocd, the old me would've probably burned my house down. So I have a hard time realizing if I'm being gross or I'm just being a normal non-ocd person.

Krislubscows

Date posted: 37w

Hi…I think you’ll be just fine, you’re not gross either!! if you grabbed the outer part of your shorts I highly doubt there was any poop on the outside of your clothing. And if there was? That’s okay, in most cases especially if it’s your own poop, you’re not going to be harmed by it. You could always do a load of laundry of the clothing and bed sheets-and just do a sanitize cycle or just hot water with detergent and it’ll get most/all of the germs out. And you sanitized your phone n stuff so that’s good to go. But if your clothing wasn’t thin fabric and there wasn’t enough poop to seep through? There was probably nothing on your hands after that. Even if there was? A little bit of poop will not harm you, there’s human poop everywhere(not to scare you) but I had to come to an understanding of that myself (I have contamination issues too) and I realized you can’t escape a lot of things. You can’t control other people and how hygienic they are..and worst case scenario, esp if it’s your own, you’ll have a little stomach upset if anything. And even if it was from someone else? You’d most likely be okay from that too, since it’s everywhere and your body is used fighting those types of germs off. I feel like I would be in the same boat as you if I had been in a situation like this, but from looking stuff up constantly over the years I learned that poop from yourself is the least of your worries. Just try and do a normal amount of cleaning up, and focus on something else after if you can. Or just accept the little bit of poop and know that your body was designed to keep you alive! You got this. Message me if you need to talk at all!

oneday.x

Date posted: 25w

Worried about bathroom contamination

Sorry if this is tmi. In advance, I know some germs are fine - I'm all for that, and it definitely does ease some contamination anxiety. But I have lots of anxiety surrounding going to the bathroom, specifically number two. Again I'm so sorry if this is tmi. I went yesterday, and obviously my hands were contaminated because well, they are when you go to the bathroom. But also because I accidentally brushed the back of my hand against myself. When you're done in the bathroom you obviously put underwear back on, and trousers or whatever, but I wash my hands before touching my trousers but not underwear. So I do that bit before I wash my hands, but my hand, the very contaminated part, touched like a bit of my skin at my waist. At the time, I brushed it off, thinking that my trousers will cover that anyway for the time being. But then today, I wore leggings that are kind of small on me and they weren't as high waisted. And then I got in my bed, and had a t-shirt on, and probably touched so many things. I changed my t-shirt, meaning it touched my hair as I took it off. So now I'm paranoid I have poop particles all over me. I'm convinced I need to have a full shower again and wash my hair. I'm okay with having a shower, but I barely have enough energy for that let alone washing my hair too. I don't shower every day, so with my schedule, I'm not due to have one until tonight. I just want to be able to get up, get dressed, and go about my day. But how do I do that when my bed feels contaminated and I feel like I need to change the bedsheets. How do I cope when it feels like poop particles are in my HAIR. And that could totally be possible. I know some germs are fine. But I just don't know what to do.

Anonymous

Date posted: 19w

Seeking advice on my contamination OCD

So I have pretty intense contamination OCD tied to Moral/Real event OCD, and I'm having a hard time with it because part of me does genuinely believe my logic checks out, and I was hoping to get some insight as to how to change the way I see it from other people who sort of get the mindset involved :). To sum it up as well as I can, I basically have a very souped-up version of the same item-event association most people have. For example, let's say you have a HORRIBLE, GOD AWFUL relationship with a person you can't even begin to think of favorably even years after the event. They had gotten you a stuffed animal for your anniversary at some point. You finally "escape" the relationship, and you throw away the stuffed animal. This is seen as a very normal and sound-of-mind action. Here's where things get tricky: For me, throwing out that stuffed animal wouldn't be enough. After all, it touched my table didn't it? And my table touched the floor right? And these things now carry that person's germs. And if I don't get rid of them, then they'll infect my future belongings. This logic isn't entirely flawed either, as even my OCD specialist said he believes in a "weaker version of what I do". How am I supposed to convince myself that what I'm believing is false when the literal psychologist confirmed that what I'm doing is just a more in-depth version of a normal experience? Ex: I have a new outfit, fresh and clean. I'm unbothered and happy, but I knick the side of a table. The table holds awful associations. I get this awful sense of dread. The clothes are now somewhat sullied, and I'll eventually have to give them away. I don't think I'm explaining this as well as I could, but I feel like those notions are there. Anyways, does anyone have any insight as to how to get my mind to genuinely believe that interacting with these things is "safe"?

oneday.x

Date posted: 13w

Really need help, can't move on from contamination

This is a long one lol but basically, a couple of weeks ago I went to the toilet (#2, sorry for the tmi). Let's just say it was messy. I remember that a speck of.. #2.. Fell off the piece of toilet paper. This was probably the worst thing that could ever happen. I can't remember clearly but I'm pretty sure my jeans were on the floor underneath near where the speck could have fallen. There was also a towel. I don't know exactly where it fell as it was so small, but I made sure both the towel and the jeans went in the laundry basket and I cleaned the floor near there. Fast forward to like the next day. My mum does most of the laundry, so she will have picked up all the towels and clothes from the laundry basket and taken them to the wash. The problem is the speck. I don't know where it went but if it was on the towel and she picked it up.... Thus, contaminated mum. And she also puts clothes away that are dry. I remember that day she put my hoodie in my wardrobe, and I haven't worn it since because I feel it is contaminated. I haven't worn the clothes that have touched the hoodie. This leaves me with not a lot of clothes. And today I finally snapped and picked up a sweatshirt that had maybe touched the hoodie. And now I'm just sat here spiralling, wearing it. What if it touched the speck? What if the speck touched my mum and then touched the hoodie which then touched the sweatshirt I'm wearing? Please I'm so scared.

Contamination OCD

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Contamination ocd

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