- Date posted
- 2y
- Date posted
- 2y
Stick with it! It will be so worth it! I know exactly what you mean about it taking up brain space. I had very little brain space left when I started therapy š and I didnāt feel safe or comfortable even in my own home š or really anywhere due to contamination fears. Iām doing so much better now and able to tackle lots of things that Iād been avoiding (cleaning and laundry) and do things that I just didnāt have room for in my brain before (knitting and organizing my closet). Iām doing great at home but the āoutside worldā still freaks me out big time. My therapist wants me to go outside in our next session (and ERP means no decontamination when I come back inside š) and Iām SO not ready for that next step š© but I am super pumped to be able to freely do things and touch things in my own home, that has been HUGE for me!
- Date posted
- 2y
I wanted to add that I do still wash my hands quite a bit, but now Iām not as frantic/anxiety-ridden while I do it, and usually I can just do it once pretty quickly whereas before I would do it over and over for like 10 minutes :( My therapist didnāt specifically work on handwashing with me but I think it just kind of happened as a byproduct? We did ERPs where I would touch something I felt was ācontaminatedā and not wash at all š± and she sat with me until I felt less anxious. Once I wasnāt as afraid of the contamination the handwashing started to diminish a bit on its own.
- Date posted
- 2y
My hands are so dry from the hand washing. Itās honestly so hard so I understand.
- Date posted
- 2y
Wow you sound so strong. I would also spend about 10-15 minutes washing my hands. My hands got so bad that my therapist sent me to the dermatologist for it because she was worried that I would get an infection
- Date posted
- 2y
Good luck for your next exposure
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
If anyone has beaten or gotten a lot better with contamination ocd how long did it take and how did you do it? I donāt see myself getting over this theme for a long time but Iām worried for my future like getting a job , Iām scared I wonāt be able to cope with bacteria in a workplace and stuff like that. Just feeling lost in recently :(
- Date posted
- 15w
Hello, i have very severe contamination ocd, and as i am writing this i feel my hands are dirty lol, but anyways i wanted to know if thereās anyone specialised in Contamination ocd? No matter what type because i really need help and i looked up things but it doesnāt help please!!
- Date posted
- 15w
sorry this is super long i just wanna know if anyone else has been thru something similar bc i feel super alone š©· i have super bad contamination ocd. it was bad already but my house was like my safe space until a few months ago someone brought something into my house that i considered ācontaminatedā. and so then i felt like that part of the house was contaminated, then it spread to everything outside my room (since family is moving around touching stuff) and then somehow i got convinced everything in my room except my bed is contaminated and i need to wash my hands after touching it. in my mind its like the contamination just infinitely spreads to things after the tiniest bit of touch. idek what im afraid of anymore or even what the original thing was but i canāt let it go. when i have to wash off contamination i have to wash at least 4 times or until it feels right, or sometimes take rlly long showers and wipe down all my stuff. i even throw away food and clothes or just whole items sometimes because they feel so contaminated i donāt want them in my space. i canāt be super near people or have anyone touch me, and i also canāt bring anything new into my room since it had to go through the entry of my house which feels contaminated. i feel like all i do is lay in bed and then wash my hands and do compulsions so i can go eat or do other stuff around the house. also i never go out because iām bc people outside make me feel dirty, and i hate thinking about how many people have touched stuff in stores or in public and stuff. so im just in my room worrying all day. i feel so trapped and the contamination/avoiding it is all i think about anymore i barely have time for anything else and im never present when i talk to people because im worrying about if i accidentally got contaminated. im starting erp next week and knowing that im going to have to expose myself to things is really freaking me out. does anyone else have this kind of ocd ? im exhaustedddd š„²š„²š
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