- Username
- Lark G.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
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.
Hi Everyone- I’m going to give myself 2 weeks to see if I can make progress battling contamination OCD using the tips and tools from people here. Some that I have found super helpful is sitting with the uncomfortable thoughts and letting them be vs doing the compulsions. I have major contamination issues with the public dirty bathroom feeling like it spread all over me. Any other tips on how to battle those thoughts? If I am unable to reduce 1.5 hour shower time I’m afraid I have to take my meds but I am avoiding it if I can try the “tools” first. I don’t have a therapist yet but my GP gave me my prescription. So if you have contamination tips and tools, please send them my way! For those who already sent your tips in the past, thanks so much! Lark
Anyone got contamination ocd recovery stories? I heard this is the hardest form of OCD to overcome from my doctors and I feel honestly discouraged.
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!
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