Can anyone help me with contamination? One of my biggest concerns is not only becoming infected with herpes specifically but also that the germs are just hanging around on my mouth/face and can be transmitted even before I am infected if that makes sense. Basically I fear if I come into contact with a contaminated object I fear that the germs can sit around on my mouth/face and infect others if I touch my mouth and then something else. I also feel the need to extensively clean my mouth and often throw away my toothbrush after brushing because I feel whatever germs were on my mouth are now sitting on my toothbrush waiting to reinfect me or others. This is especially difficult when I come in contact with wet or oily things because it seems like they cannot dry or be rinsed off. Any advice or insight is appreciated!!

Hi everyone. First time here. I suffer from Contamination OCD. I have a good support group in friends, family, and my boyfriend, but I have not met anyone else with OCD and I needed to reach out to others to find help. I first got OCD when I was 17 (I am now 33) and was able to go into remission, but COVID brought it back. I was struggling at work (which was outside with the public). I found a therapist and she wrote me a doctor’s note suggesting I be allowed to work from home. My work was not accommodating at all and only offered me FMLA leave, so I took it as my only option and eventually got on Short Term Disability. The whole process took forever and was incredibly stressful. My leave was supposed to be a time of healing and it just made my OCD symptoms worse. My employer basically treated me as though I was trying to get out of work and proved to me that though they talk about the importance of mental health, they don’t take mental health seriously. I ended up having to leave my job “involuntarily due to health reasons” as they would not grant an extension nor let me return with any restrictions/accommodations. My therapist seemed good at first, but it became clear that she wasn’t really helping me. She would often use our sessions to vent about the insurance company and in one session, she basically called me a hopeless case and kept saying “I don’t know. I am concerned. I don’t know how you are going to be able to function” and threw out the word hospitalization, though she did backtrack on that one. I struggle everyday. I am worried that something from outside of the home touched something clean and is now contaminated. I need help working through this. I am constantly looking for reassurance, question if things are clean, wash my hands, use too many disinfectant wipes, and take showers upwards of 50-60 mins. I feel like my mind is being taken over by my OCD, I’m losing time, and it’s straining my relationship. For anyone who is struggling with contamination OCD brought on by COVID - any tips? My therapist never gave me anything specific to work on with this - to help me focus on something else. I am in the process of finding another therapist, but until then - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I am brand new to this app. I've been seeing a therapist for a while, but not one that specializes in OCD. I'm having a hard time recognizing when a thought about something being contaminated is just an OCD thought, and when it is rational. I mean, germs exist - so a thing can be contaminated with XYZ. I don't know when I'm over estimating how easily things are "spreading" (which because I have a diagnoses, must be an OCD thing) and when I don't need to worry about something anymore. I'm getting caught in loops with rituals until I satisfy the anxiety or I have been at it for too long to continue. Does anyone have tips for recognizing when something is indeed an OCD thought rather than an rational concern?

My ocd recently latched onto the idea that I may have herpes, all the signs aren’t there but then again reading about it they don’t have to be. So I’m constantly checking my body, finding a new spot to hyperfixate on and then freaking out. I’ve been in a relationship for almost 3 years so it’s confusing for me to even have it, and have these issues now but they’re so debilitating. I even spiraled a couple weeks ago, and had to have some medical workers look at it, they said it was fine I even had a friend who had herpes look at it (with gloves) and I’m still freaking out and focusing on something else on my skin. I’ve been shaving more lately so I’ve been having razor bumps and now it’s really bothering me. I also heard that blood tests aren’t recommended or accurate So I’m not sure what to do, ERP Wise It just keeps going back to the chance that I do have it and could be spreading it and not knowing.