Anonymous
- Date posted
- 3y
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 3y
As a therapist I would never put a client in harm’s way when it comes to actual exposures. When you are doing self exposures you can weight the benefits against actual risk! I risk dying in a car accident everyday that I drive, but this risk doesn’t keep me from going where I need to go! If an exposure could cause actual harm, move on to something different. Try an exposure that would elicit the same amount of high anxiety but actually doesn’t risk harm. When it comes to contamination get creative! And, you could also consult an expert (doctor, infectious disease worker, etc) to get a go ahead or actual data on risk! But…….don’t ask them more than once! 😉
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 3y
This helps! Do you do things like “extreme” exposures? Like where would you draw the line between just a really scary exposure and something actually dangerous? Like particularly for contamination?
OCDMMOCDMM
- Date posted
- 3y
I’ve wondered this as well. Like I’ve heard of people touching public toilet seats and not being allowed to wash their hands.
CaptainKierkegaardCaptainKierk...
- Date posted
- 3y
The compromise could be that you are allowed to wash your hands once your anxiety comes down. I am planning to do some digust exposures that are similar, and that was my idea.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 3y
Yea and the sad thing is I understand kinda why it might be necessary cause if I’m out with a friend and they use a public bathroom I’ll still be concerned like what if they didn’t wash as well as I would what if they put their bag on the ground but still it’s like. Isn’t that genuinely dangerous like that will actually make me sick lol.
OCDMMOCDMM
- Date posted
- 3y
Mine were never that extreme but sometimes I felt like I was going against common hygiene practices. Like not washing my hands before taking my pills. Like you’re supposed to wash your hands before you put something in your mouth.
CaptainKierkegaardCaptainKierk...
- Date posted
- 3y
Yeah, I don’t fear contamination, but I feel disgust (like I’m ruining my day) and also a sense that I’m a lesser person for not following certain rules (washing hands and not touching people with those hands). Some of those rules might actually be important, so it’s hard to figure out what to do there. Maybe I’ll get a consenting individual that you can touch with the contaminant who will wash themselves right afterward.
anonymous caterpillar 🐛 anonymous ca...
- Date posted
- 3y
Another approach that you might like better than extreme exposures is to try to slowly reduce your OCD behaviors until they get down to a normal level. This way, you don’t need to do any extreme purposeful exposures. If you’re not sure if something is extreme or not, ask yourself what someone close to you without OCD would do. If you’re still not sure, you could always ask someone if it’s reasonable or not. Also, if you think something might be OCD, it probably is.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 3y
Nah the whole concept is purposely doing unreasonable things like using a public bathroom and not washing your hands. You are still supposed to slowly build up to it til it feels less scary, it’s not like flooding, but the idea is still to eventually do extreme things so normal things that are still scary to you, like using a public bathroom while washing hands and all, will become much easier, and it might also reduce fears that might arise if you’re with a friend who uses a public bathroom and you’re concerned they didn’t wash as well as you did.
anonymous caterpillar 🐛 anonymous ca...
- Date posted
- 3y
@Anonymous Alright, it was just a suggestion. You don’t have to like it.
Jeffrey Jeffrey
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
An extreme exposure would be on the higher end of the hierarchical ladder of your fears. When starting out with ERP, generally you would start with the easier things first and work your way up the hierarchy until you reach what bothers you the most. Although I am not a therapist, I am confident in saying that a therapist would not give someone anything that would be considered dangerous - the OCD is likely to consider it dangerous because it is a fear of ours. Hope that helps.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 3y
Yea no the concept includes that build up but some of the things actually seem genuinely dangerous outside of the ocd- like touching public bathroom surfaces and not washing hands, touching a public bathroom tampon disposal box and not washing hands. Like those surfaces genuinely have germs on them that can make you sick.
Jeffrey Jeffrey
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Germs are everywhere. For example, I had Covid but I have followed the cdc guidelines. The purpose of the exposure is to help us sit with uncertainty. I know it is uncomfortable but it teaches us how to live with the uncertainty that we may or may not get sick.
Related posts
emmawendt14
- Date posted
- 21w
ERP health ocd
Anyone know any ERP techniques or specific exposures that help with health anxiety OCD? I’ve heard such great things about ERP for other subtypes but I can’t think of any for health related OCD. I’d appreciate any advice!
Epanonymous
- Date posted
- 17w
Contamination, with the compulsion to avoid messes
Hi all, I’m new here and just recently got diagnosed. I’m trying to make sense of a lot of things and could use some perspective. I feel like I’m the only one who has contamination themes and does not have the compulsion to clean things, but rather to run away from the mess. I would really love to hear from someone who can relate, because right now I feel like I’m making it up. Details which might either be useful or triggering: My kitchen is the best example. I might leave a dish or two in the sink and say “I’ll clean it up soon, it’s no big deal.” But then—because of a combination of factors—it will probably sit there for a couple days. Around day 2 or 3 I develop an aversion to dealing with it. It gives me ick. And the longer it sits, the ickier it becomes—realistically and in my imagination. And because I’ve stopped doing dishes, they really start to pile up, and each day, getting started feels like more work and more confrontation with disgust. I will start thinking about how I need to do dishes, or take out the trash, and then get hit with a horrifying mental image of bugs (I’ll spare you the details) or other really disgusting things happening. That image brings me shame and makes me scared to deal with the mess. When it really piles up, I start getting images of the nastiest hoarders’ houses I’ve ever seen, and I start catastrophizing about the future I’m doomed for. So mostly I just watch tv to get my mind off it. (I swear I’m not just lazy 😔) This is true for food too. I will be unsure if something in my fridge is a little too old, so I decided to hedge my bets and I avoid it. I let a lot of food go to waste this way. The biggest problem here is I don’t throw it away when I decide it’s bad. I just side-eye it. Maybe because I know it’s silly to decide 6-day-old soy milk that smells fine has a “bad vibe,” and I think I may be able to get over it later. But then the food actually spoils and I don’t want to touch it to throw it out. I actually had a week or so in June where I couldn’t open the fridge because it smelled bad. It took every ounce of emotional energy and an external deadline to force me to clean my kitchen. I had a couple of meltdowns but it felt great to get my space back. Of course, it’s a cycle and it got bad again. The crazy thing is, I love to cook and I even like doing dishes. And I do dishes every day at work, no problem! But I’m spending so much money on takeout because my kitchen is always trashed. :( Is this super crazy? Does it even sound like contamination ocd? Am I alone in this? Any feedback would be helpful.
R🌷.
- Date posted
- 11w
⭐.
How can one balance exposure therapy with work or study, especially when these activities require focus? For example, how can it be managed when real-life situations trigger more anxiety than anything else? I would like advice or personal experiences—I would really appreciate reading them. Thank you.
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