- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
I have similar problems, had ocd for over 30 years and contamination problems since about 7 years, to this extent 3 years. I know that almost nobody understands.
- Date posted
- 6y
I have a similar issue. One of my challenge is the mental idea that if one thing is contaminated then it contaminates everything else around it by just being around it when this is not the case. What have you guys done to cope with it? I also have a prescription but don’t want to start drugs. I want someone whos an expert at contamination to help with ideas. I’m waitlisted at the one place where I live for cbt but that’s a long wait.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks for the book recommendation. I’ve been listening to ocd help ocd recovery by ali greymond( Spotify) which are short little helpful tips. It’s really hard when people don’t understand. I went on fluxotine a few times and it seemed to help slightly but I feel I need one on one treatment. Medication alone in my opinion doesn’t work and made me have really bad nightmares . I’ve got a nhs referral letter for group classes that i have tried before but I’d prefer to go somewhere where everyone is talking about Contamination ocd. A lot of the other members suffered with ocd such as checking if the door was locked etc and I felt a bit alone as that isn’t a trait of my ocd. Its so annoying being on a waitlist. I just want someone to come and be with me all the time who is trained to help me deal with things. I need to help in uncomfortable situations no away from them in a room. I just keep imagining what my life would be without ocd, I think it would be a pretty great life but ocd had ruined so much for me. Therapy is expensive.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks both. My issues now it’s I always think contamination spreads like wildfire when I know it’s not. For example if I come close something dirty today even if I wash my hands I will feel like every thing I touched today is now contaminated which makes cleaning sooo haed
- Date posted
- 6y
Hi 1Bob, same here. I have contamination OCD. I rarely get out of bed due to fear of contamination. Had to wash everything we buy from outside. When something falls on the ground even at our own house, I would get a panic attack and ocd worsens. It's frustrating. I'm taking Setraline 100mg. I used to take 200mg but my doctor decreases the dosage to help me not become too dependent on medication. I believe ERP is an effective method of managing OCD. It's extremely difficult. I've been struggling with it for a long time.
- Date posted
- 6y
"The belief that ‘contaminants’ can transfer from an infected source to another person or to an inanimate object, which can then infect you, is a common one in OCD and totally without medical foundation. What is being transferred is the idea of contamination. "
- Date posted
- 6y
That’s great you have started ERP well done it can’t have been easy to start and gives me motivation to do so too. ID situation was extremely hard for me, last year my 4month travel was totally disrupted because of it but this trip I’ve told myself it’s fine and not letting myself give in however hard it is. It’s was so hard giving passports in at check in as it meant I could no longer eat or feel safe at places. I don’t know how I’m coping so well this time I’m just trying not to give in. However my whole handbag and contents that are “contaminated” are still at home so I don’t have any cards on me or anything, one step at a time I guess. I clean things to make them feel safer but I wouldn’t advise it as it’s not the right thing to do. I just keep telling myself i can do it. Dreading going home though as I cant deal with the contaminated things at home
- Date posted
- 6y
Templeout your comment helped me so much. I am struggling. My cousin who was picking her nose touched my phone. And while I briefly wiped it and then put it in my bag I felt like my bag and all the clothes that day was contaminated. I ended up wiping my phone 5x more after and each day but I can’t do the same for all the contents of my bag nor can I throw it away. 3 weeks later this is still bugging me like crazy. Same when I see things that are contaminated. I feel like every thing I come across that day is contaminated too.
- Date posted
- 6y
I think you might like this book – "The Complete Guide to Overcoming OCD: (ebook bundle) (Overcoming Books)" by David Veale, Rob Willson. Start reading it for free: http://a.co/dnMisxW
- Date posted
- 6y
It’s so so hard . I also had a period when I was a teen where I was in bed for month on end.I am slightly negative to my family for not realising there was an issue. I understand about the floor touching ,when I order take out I have to get my partner to get it from the front door because sometimes the delivery guy puts it on the door step and I have to throw it all away. I’ve tried to quickly eat something if I fear it’s contaminated to not allow my brain to manifest over it and make it worse. . It’s so controlling, time consuming and super expensive with the amount I waste. ERP scares me so much, especially as my contamination revolves around a person. I’m so happy to have found this site to talk to you all. Makes me feel less alone. Also going on holiday today with a contaminated passport. We can do this
- Date posted
- 6y
That contaminated ID I cannot control. How do you manage it?
- Date posted
- 6y
Templedout it’s super hard I have a method of cleaning to make things better but I still remember that they are contaminated. I just went shopping and my partner put water on the floor and now I’m afraid to drink the water. I just had a sip and trying not to let the anxiety get to me. I hate living like this
- Date posted
- 6y
Hi Bob, I also got mental contamination and just started ERP. Before that I thought I must be the only one doing 'crazy' things that I now know are just compulsions I need to learn to take.
- Date posted
- 6y
Can you tell me how you handle the ID situation as that is my top fear.
- Date posted
- 6y
Hi you both. I just started therapy and let you know how I fare and what approaches worked for me. I was on Escitalopram due to depression, made me tired all day, now I'm starting zoloft as it's said to be one of the top 3 meds for OCD.
- Date posted
- 6y
1Bob I hear you. We are so similar.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
(long read ahead, sorry lol) I’ve struggled with ocd for as far back as I can remember. I find that it gets worse with stress, and recently I’ve really been struggling with the contamination aspect of my ocd. I’m worried about it becoming unmanageable and negatively affecting my relationship with my partner. I’ve been living with my boyfriend since January (got kicked out of my house a week after I turned 18, it’s for the better though my house is toxic as hell) and I love living with him, but him and his family aren’t as concerned with cleaning as I am used to. My boyfriend and I have been together going on 2 years and there’s been many times throughout our relationship that his struggle with depression severely impacted his ability to keep up with cleaning his room. This is something I completely understand because I’ve struggled with it too so i’ve often helped him clean, and since i’ve moved in he’s done so much better at keeping up with cleaning (especially because he knows about my issues with clutter, mess, germs, etc.) He is really good at being accommodating towards my needs (not overly so, i’m aware that recovering includes accepting being uncomfortable), but it’s so hard for me to differentiate between what is the normal standard for cleanliness and hygiene and what’s excessive and unhealthy. I get so stressed out every single day over the thought of how dirty everything is. He has 3 cats that mainly stay in his room (he has a catio attached to his window/side of the house) and dogs which stay on the opposite side of the house and backyard, so there is fur everywhere constantly (i’m also allergic to cats but it’s not severe). I can’t stop thinking about how they are getting germs from their litter box all over everything. They also used to piss under his bed and in his closet when his room used to be a mess and it’s soaked into the floor so no matter what it stinks. It’s so hard to bring myself to walk around the house without slippers because my feet will get visibly dirty and my socks would get covered in hair. I always think about how my boyfriend sometimes walks on the rugs in the bathroom in shoes and all the germs that spreads. There’s so many more things but this is already getting long and I am shaking just thinking about how unclean everything is. I want to deep clean the entire house myself so I can get it to where It’s not like psychological torture everyday and it’s easier to maintain but I have been so busy I don’t have the time. I am worried about my boyfriend thinking I don’t like living with him or that I think that’s he’s dirty but i don’t. We have had several conversations about this and he’s reassured me that he knows none of my obsessive thoughts are personal but I still feel so bad about it. I would like to get therapy to help work through this but currently that is not an option for me. I know things will get better once I get through the main things in my life that are causing a lot of stress and therefore making my ocd flair up, but I need advice on what to do in the mean time. I keep having moments where all I can do is shake and cry and clean and I feel bad for my poor boyfriend who can only sit next to me and try to comfort me or help me clean. I also don’t want to make him worried that nothing he does is enough for me (i’ve also already talked to him about this and told him about how I can never even be clean enough for myself and that I don’t think he’s dirty). There’s been many times where I want to tell him to do things that I think might be my own unhealthy compulsions (ex. not wearing shoes in the house or in our room, not getting into bed with socks on, making sure to completely dry off before getting out the shower, put makeup and jewelry back where they belong right after using them, etc.) but i can’t tell if they’re reasonable or not and i try to not tell him unless it’s something that severely distresses me. I’m aware that everything is going to have germs no matter what and have been using NER’s to help manage my thought spirals/rumination. I know that I shouldn’t keep doing compulsions because it just offers temporary relief and makes the problem worse because nothing will ever be enough. I just feeling so overwhelmed and hopeless and exhausted and want some feedback.
- Date posted
- 18w
sorry this is super long i just wanna know if anyone else has been thru something similar bc i feel super alone 🩷 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 ‘contaminated’. 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 can’t 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 don’t want them in my space. i can’t be super near people or have anyone touch me, and i also can’t 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 i’m 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 🥲🥲💔
- Date posted
- 11w
i haven’t left my house in a whole month because of contamination OCD and it’s extremely isolating i don’t know what to do anymore i just want to be able to be happy again i feel so alone i just wish i never had this at all sometimes i just think to myself and say why me why me
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond