- Date posted
- 13w ago
.
Got in a huge argument with my family and it had to do with my ocd (contamination ocd) and they told me they’d wish I was normal. How long do I have to fight this.
Got in a huge argument with my family and it had to do with my ocd (contamination ocd) and they told me they’d wish I was normal. How long do I have to fight this.
In a very dark place right now
For these situations, I found something that works for me. When emotions are turned up to 11, imagine a dial on a stove. When you turn the dial up, the flames go higher and higher. But if you keep turning, the dial goes all the way around and resets to 1. For emotionally charged situations, it's the same way. When the brain gets overwhelmed with too many signals, it flatlines and burns up all the energy for the neurons to fire. Then thoughts have an opportunity to reset and signals calm down quickly. You can lean into what they say and push overboard by doing what they want and then more, like saying: "I will try my best to be normal."
I’m sorry you’re going through this, I know how hard it can be when family doesn’t understand. Before I was diagnosed, my brother had contamination OCD when he was 14. I remember feeling confused and even annoyed because I didn’t understand his experience. Now that I’ve been through it myself, I see how lost I felt back then and how my reactions, even when I thought I was helping, sometimes fed his compulsions. Their response likely comes from a lack of knowledge, not a lack of love. People often don’t realize how painful this experience is from the inside. But showing up for yourself matters most. Take it one day at a time. You don’t need to solve everything today. Just keep doing the work; progress happens through the process, not in a perfect moment. The path isn’t easy, but the way forward is in continuing to live alongside the discomfort. If you don’t mind me asking, are you in active therapy?
I am so sorry this happened to you. It's terrible when the people who are supposed to support you are actually hurting you and tearing you down over an illness that isn't your fault... I have expierenced this many times myslef and it never stops hurting. But also try to remember most are just uneducated and ignorant about what having OCD really means. And sometimes they don't mean ill but are just overwhelmed and feel powerless about what to with our OCD just as we do. There are many strong people in this community who got better and live with OCD in spite of society and their family being ignorant about it. I am sure you can do it too.
Im having a OCD specifically contamination OCD flare up all month and I don’t want to feel this way going into March, I’ve thrown out clothes, towels, stayed up for hours doing compulsions, washed my hands till they crack and bleed, I have washing pilling up cause I’m so overwhelmed by all the extra things I’ve added cause I thought it was contaminated. It’s completely draining me to the point where I’ve become sleep deprived and are avoiding part of my home because they are deemed contaminated to me…I only moved in a few months ago, I had a roach problem and using baits and insecticides really messed with my ocd too. anyone have any tips or tricks to make this easier? I wasn’t doing this bad in January :( thankyou in advance :)
I just found out today that a family friend will be staying over at my house (I live with my parents) for a night. And I have contamination ocd and that’s causing me anxiety. I fear that her being here will contaminate my home, which is like my safe place. It’s hard just sitting with the anxiety. I want this day to be over! Does anyone have anything to support me? Thanks
So I was at a family thing yesterday and my ice was bothering me and I kept washing my hands and my family noticed and started making fun of me for it and it was like non stop it made me feel really alone especially since they clearly know something’s up but they just make it worse instead of at least trying to help😕
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond