- 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 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 keeping it light hearted but I really desperately need some help. Just to preface this is very tmi. I thought it was just gonna be a quick bathroom stuff. No! That would be silly of course, so number two decided to screw things up ROYALLY. And please bear with me because I am coping with humour 😭😭. So I went, but sometimes, tmi, I struggle to.... Get it all. Out. If you know what I mean. Which is pretty awful to the point I'm like genuinely praying. Because you can't clean up properly if you're not done. So I'm in the bathroom, trying, for over half an hour. And I finally give up pretty much and try and clean up. Oh no, that was a huge mistake. But what else could I do? It was so messy that I wanted to just get in the shower and be done with it. Onto the things I'm worrying about I guess. On the tp (tmi, I'm WARNING 😭😭) it was.... Messy, and there were very loose specks on the tp. Which is an issue, because I used wet wipes which needs to be binned and not flushed, so I have to carry the tp-wipe combo over to the bin, which means carrying it over where my legs are, and thus where my clothes also are. I hate it. I'm now paranoid specks fell into my underwear! Great! Love it. I'm also paranoid specks or just #2 in general went on my hand. And, believe me, with the state of things, it was POSSIBLE. So when I'm finally done and wash my hands, of course that isn't going to feel like enough. I have really short nails, so short they're painful, and I'm always terrified stuff gets under them. So, I use a nail brush while washing my hands. I also filed them down (which HURT) because I'm convinced that could get rid of anything underneath them. But it still doesn't feel enough. Because I have loose skin and hangnails around my nails, and I'm paranoid as well that stuff gets under dry skin. Not to mention my hands are so dry from washing that they're cracked and flaky and they peel, so I am worried that #2 or dirt gets under the flakes of skin. I know it sounds stupid, but I am so scared. Usually it feels irrational but it was such a state that I'm convinced there must be a speck of it on me somewhere. On my hands. And I'm terrified. I know I need to accept uncertainty but I'm struggling right now.
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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