Question

Okay Thankyou I can kind of see the difference 👌🏻💕👍🏻 with phobias too can they have these compulsions too? How would germophobia be different to ocd contamination

@Caitlin Ocd contamination would be engaging in some sort of behavior to get rid of, avoid, distract or reassure yourself about the contaminant. We have an intrusive thought, feel anxious, and think oh no I have to get rid of this anxious feeling or xyz will happen

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. Does this help?

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. Does a phobia start out with a thought? Or is that ocd? And Thankyou this does help a little bit wrap my head around it I still have some questions though if that’s okay 😂👌🏻👍🏻

Thankyou for your help ☺️ I’ve got more questions if your available if not no problemos Thankyou

That does thankyou I’m starting to think I deff might have ocd then

@Caitlin Tell me what you might be experiencing? If you feel comfortable sharing general symptoms?

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. Since I was like 14 I was walking in high school to go to my locker I guess or somewhere and as I walked by I had a thought when looking at the toilets about guys when they go to the bathroom how they may not clean their hands after going to the bathroom and how if I interacted with them and got some semen on me and then I went to the bathroom how I could become pregnant that way lol and so I avoided guy or things they’d touch or I would touch my clothes if someone touched my clothes a lot of avoiding and then it like gave a slight branch off of like contamination ish branch so I would like put my school bag on my bed I would touch certain areas in my room if if it’s clean or dirty and I didn’t want to deal with it I’d keep the dirty clothes in a certain spot in my room and wouldn’t touch them I wouldn’t sit in areas my brother was I would try to get reassurance from my nan when holding her pill that my hands were clean enough and after a while my mum said something about like the sun killing germs so it like challenged my thought process so when faced with the contamination ones I’d say like the suns kills it like this isn’t a real worry like it’s not even there so I’d push on from that and I ended up having empty contamination compulsions I’m naming them as even though I haven’t been diagnosed the sperm one has stayed cause it wasn’t dealt with but it’s not like as many compulsions as it used to be and sometimes things feel dirty but I don’t know what that’s about like dirty semen but it doesn’t bother me to do compulsions it just feels gross on a seperate feeling than the other which was like not doing compulsions does make the feeling worse where my brains like either if you’ve touch it like a spot in the shower on the curtain to either wash it off your hands or not touch anything else that will make me worry or like think about it but I wasn’t sure if this was a phobia or a ocd thing it was really bad when I was 14 I’m 21 now the time span for the 14 year old time was like five months of more avoiding or just more things to not touch or do or whatever it was worse but now it’s okay I just never got diagnose and now it’s at a lot lesser of a problem to where it’s not really one it’s also cause I do the compulsions I think they may be so I don’t have to feel megga panic lol 😂 but it’s not like every guy anymore too lol it’s like the ones who I know have been to the toilet or the shower and then my brains like hmmm 😂 lol my family thought maybe it was ocd too but their also not psychologists and it could be maybe germophobia I don’t know I don’t know if I’m explaining this properly either like I wish someone could hop into my brain to see it instead of me explaining cause I’d just love an answer to know what this is definitely. The other thing too was I didn’t get all of my sex Ed classes at the time too cause I was doing the environmental group in that time so I dunno if I’ve just missed something and just worried about it unecesarily like would this of not happens if I new this info awhile ago of this is not how this works ect because I like am aware that like now at least that logically by what I’ve read this isn’t how it works but it’s like my brain doesn’t know or else I wouldn’t panic I have to tell myself it’s okay

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. Sorry this is so long lol 😂

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. And it’s like I want to tell y mum and ask her cause I think that if she tells me like it’s okay there’s nothing to worry about then I’ll like stop it’s like a worrying thought in my brain and it’s like uncomfortable to talk about it’s embarrassing it’s weird you know like it’s about semen 😂

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. And I can like too go to the toilet and have like an intrusive you like thing about the semen right and I’d typically like wipe down the seat maybe line the seat in toilet paper but if I be like oh the person on the internet said it lasts like 2min he wasn’t here in the last two min I can go and not have to wipe down the seat it’s okay I dunno if that’s a compulsion of reassurance or it’s like me responding to logic and therefore not ocd?

@Caitlin No you’re fine! Give me some time to respond :) I appreciate you answering my questions. I’m going to read through all of it and respond. But I was curious if you have reached out to NOCD for free 15 minute call?

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. Thankyou so much for your support 👍🏻👏🏻💕 and no I haven’t I’m a bit apprehensive to lol 😂

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. Hi! Whenever you have time and are still down to continue the conversation if you are I’d love to continue it if your okay to if not no biggies ☺️👌🏻👍🏻

@Caitlin I can totally respond soon :) no problem! Sorry it’s been hectic! But I will respond. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing. :)

@NOCD Therapist - Courtney H. No of course I totally get it! You guys are doing amazing work 👏🏻👍🏻 no Thankyou for your help!