Who else has successfully battled public bathroom and bodily fluid contamination OCD? Having a tough Monday and looking for tips. What do you do when OCD cast doubts and makes you feel contaminated from using public bathrooms and/or seeing bodily fluids?

I push myself to use them but allow for adjustments like squatting over the toilet seat and washing hands thoroughly following. But still actively trying to use public rest rooms and face it! I also just focus on breathing deeply when I see things like fluids and others that really freak me out

Marsi - i have to use it for one of my jobs so anywhere from 3-4 days a week. It’s really rough since sometimes it’s ok and sometimes it’s filthy :( the sight of certain graphic things triggers me but I have no choice but use it. As a result, my routine is over an hour of showering and cleaning.

No worries at all. Yes I’ve been trying to shorten it. It was an hour last night and that’s considered really good

I’m still struggling with washing. I have to wash and scrub 3x

I shortened it a bit today but today I didn’t see anything gross in the public bathroom. It should have taken me 15 min but it still took an hour and I still dread the day when I’ll see something nasty and feel contaminated and would want to shower for 1.5 hours again. It’s so hard to think that seeing doesn’t equal contamination

Good job Marsi!! I am so proud of you and really appreciate your advice. I too have a small victory to share. The stall I was in today was not fully flushed, let’s just put it that way, I flushed it, used it and yes I did feel like my entire being was contaminated. I sat with the anxiety and didn’t feel that stressed after some time. I still took a long shower but it wasn’t extra long so I’m glad I was able to kind of reason to myself that the water didn’t splash allover me or what not. All the typical doubts OcD casts.

That is absolutely amazing Lark!!!! That’s a wonderful win and shows how much you’ve been working

Marsi today was rough. Got the toilet water flush splashed in my arm. I obviously had to wash it 3x and the anxiety continues as I had to go on my day and touch other things despite the water possibly hitting my shirt too. It’s such bad timing as I’m exhausted from being on my feet since 8am

I am so so sorry. That is so incredibly hard. Are you alright??

Yes I’m over it now but it took washing my arm over 5x and a long shower to get there. Not to mention the clothes I wore all needed to be washed including my jacket which I normally wouldn’t have washed

I would’ve absolutely done the same. But the important thing is you didn’t let it stop you from doing other things in your life or your job. You needed to clean, as most people would, and you did but you didn’t let it make you hide away from it all like i know is so tempting. That’s incredibly impressive

Thanks marsi. You are so kind.

I’m scared of my own bodily fluids so if I can’t have a bath a squeeze water bottle helps

That sounds really really hard! I’m so sorry you go through that. Could you begin by shortening your cleaning routine every day or even just every week by a certain amount of time or one compulsive cleaning session (so taking out a second or third scrubbing of something)? I wash my hands and things around me very frequently but haven’t created a full Shower and cleaning routine to my knowledge so sorry if this comes off insensitive or off point!

Seriously tho shortening it by any amount of time is an incredible feat!! Focus on that because that’s huge.

It is SOO hard. I truly deal with this constantly and this past week we have been driving across the country and it has been HARD. You can imagine so I can spare any details. But the fact that people with OCD like us can just go through it and face it head on like this and just say ok deep breath let’s do this is huge. So many people go through life without facing many fears at all and here we are facing them every single day. That’s bravery and courage my friend.