- Date posted
- 2y
OCD and bathroom
Does anyone fear spreading things to others by using the bathroom? Do you keep needing to wash over and over?
Does anyone fear spreading things to others by using the bathroom? Do you keep needing to wash over and over?
I used to - big time. Yes. ERP helped this a lot.
Did you go through a therapist on here? What's one thing you did that helped most?
My case is too severe for NOCD so they gave me some referrals. But my initial appointments were good and I will use NOCD when I’m back to a better level with my OCD. Hard to say what helped most but I would say having a good hierarchy of fears and a good therapist to encourage and support me during / after exposures. My OCD was much better due to ERP pre-pandemic but the pandemic tp shortage, trying to get my son to do homework after he had remote learning all day and other stressors related to the pandemic and life / family and trying new meds that made me worse have set me back. But I’m not in the horrible state I was in before extensive ERP treatment. And I can pee in public restrooms on a mostly non OCD way without fear of harming others - so that part of the treatment has lasted. My issues are more around self contamination with other restroom trips. Sorry it this is TMI - my ramblings probably mean I need to get some sleep.
Oh ok, how do you know when something is so severe and do they give referrals for in person therapy? That's ok since talking about it helps esp when someone is going through same or similar things. What mainly causes you to fear contaminating others? Sorry you went through all of that. During the pandemic a lot of people were affected. It wasn't easy to find a therapist even. If you ever want to talk let me know we can exchange emails or something .
@Greenery99 Thank you for your kind offer. An ERP therapist uses a number of factors to determine severity and what level of treatment is needed. They have a referral list for higher levels of care (which are in person). I was afraid people would get sick if I contaminated them from restroom or my germs - ERP resolved that part of my fears.
Yes it’s my number one fear. I don’t touch anything in the bathroom. Not even the toilet. I have to put toilet paper down on the seat before I use it, and if the tp slips off and I sit on the toilet, I get in the shower and scrub my whole body because it feels so DISGUSTING. I also wash my hands up to 15 minutes sometimes. Because of this, I waste a lot of money, toilet paper, and soap. so fun right!! lmao
@ocdtingz ERP can help for this. I used to clog toilets bc I used so much to to wipe the seat and then I’d still put a protector and/ or to on the seat. Now it’s a pretty quick seat look and wipe. So much less stressful than it was before treatment.
@Erin P omg i’m glad i’m not the only one who messes up the bathroom because of my ocd lmfao.
@ocdtingz You are so not alone in this. But I am glad I did enough ERP that this part of my OCD is in the past. It would help you too.
If you don't mind me asking is there a particular fear of it you have like contracting or spreading something? I totally understand you. It takes up so much time. It's exhausting! Have you ever tried Erp therapy?
i have contamination ocd and i have a hard time knowing what’s normal- please help me get back to normal!! do you worry or clean under your fingernails when you wash your hands? do you specifically wash your thumb? if so how? do you pay attention to the pace you wash your hands at? do you ever feel the need to do things a certain amount of times or count while doing things? in the shower do you wash your hands at any time? especially after washing private areas? question for the girls!! how many times do you wipe after you pee? how do you all pee so fast?
I obsess constantly about my hands being dirty and feel like I can actually see the germs and bacteria crawling all over my hands if I can’t wash them as soon as I touch something. It’s really embarrassing since people in my life have noticed this “weird” behavior but it’s a huge problem for me and I don’t know how to make the obsessive thoughts stop.
I’m hoping to get some feedback or hear if anyone else experiences similar things. Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of repetitive behaviors and thoughts that feel hard to control. Some of those things are: - I often get this uneasy feeling, and if I don’t do certain things in a specific way, it just doesn’t feel "just right." - I have to wash my hands until it feels "just right," and if I try not to, I get a thought that something bad will happen if I don’t. - I dislike using public bathrooms and even shared bathrooms at home. - When I shower, I have to wear socks before stepping on the floor. If my feet touch the ground, I feel like I have to shower again. - I get hyper-fixated on cuts, worrying about them getting infected, and I avoid touching water or anything else to prevent bacteria, even if I can’t cover them with a bandaid. - I can’t use dishes that have just been washed because I think they haven’t been cleaned properly. Instead, I use the ones that have already been dried and stored. When I type (like on emails or texts), I’ll fix what I write over and over, trying to make it "just right." - I have a strange dislike for certain numbers (7, 4, and 6) and feel uncomfortable around them. - I also have to follow routines, like making my bed in a certain way, and I can’t stop until everything is in the right order. - I get stuck on intrusive thoughts, like needing to wash my hands repeatedly or constantly checking things (like if I turned off the stove) because I fear something bad will happen if I don’t. - I’ll even repeat things in my head, like words or phrases, to make the "just right" feeling go away. - Sometimes, I treat inanimate objects like they have feelings and worry about hurting them, even though I know it's not real. - I’ve always felt like I’m being watched, which causes a lot of distress. There’s more, but these are some of the main things. I feel like these thoughts and behaviors control a lot of my day, and I just can’t stop them even when I know they’re kind of irrational. Does this sound like it could be signs of OCD, or is it something else? Or just normal behavior?
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