One of my triggers is stuff like warts and viruses. I don’t know what sort of therapy would work because they are genuinely contagious ??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️ and while my response is completely out of proportion I can’t think of a way to get better. I have to control so much of my environment just to feel ok it’s a constant stressor

i used to wear gloves too. i often wish i still did as they are fashionable and keep you safe. but we are expected to conform. as for germs on paper, they dont live long there so don’t worry.

I have this too. My contamination ocd is solely centred on all kind of warts for example worrying I’m going to get infected with the wart Hpv virus if I touch door handles in public or touch other people and also things like plantar warts/veruccas because these things are genuinely contagious so it’s hard to stop these ocd obsessive thoughts when they actually are contagious :( I hate the idea of all these contagious virus’ being all over my house and in public places!

i have this too. i calmed myself down by educating myself on how delicate these things actually are in the environment.

i was forced to be exposed working in a retail environment. eventually you just have to trust doctors when they tell you that these things arent super contagious. you’ll get better. i was really bad before and im mostly ok now.

Did it work well enough that it made it better? I have tried this and I kind of feel like avoidance is my only working strategy... and as I’m sure you know ... that’s not a real strategy

I’m a teacher and I have only just managed to stop wearing gloves when I mark their books (can only do this if I wash my hands a few times afterwards so I’m not sure if it’s actually progress)

i know exactly how you feel. yes, it did get better. i sometimes still count off before touching or eating something bc most viruses die in 14 or so seconds. but i am able to live a mostly normal life, use the toilet at work, and let people eat in my house using my utensils. i can also eat at my mother’s and friends’ houses, although i have a little bit of anxiety about it at the time. i just try to keep track of what’s going into my mouth, dont eat with my hands, and trust that virologists are probably not lying

I feel the same! I have cleaned my poor carpets so often ? Any ideas what sort of therapy might help?

I’ve had ERP therapy and that didn’t help me really! I think knowing that these virus’ are contagious doesn’t help trying to get rid of the obsessive thoughts because we can’t just say ‘my ocd is making me think these are contagious things’ etc. Wish I knew what could help!

the only thing that helped me was accepting that viruses survive very poorly outside the body.

That’s exactly how I feel, the one time I tried therapy it stressed me out so much I couldn’t carry on I’m desperate to make a change but I don’t know how to go about it I seem to be anxious even when I know it’s unlikely