Ellie H
- Date posted
- 6y
CrawfishCrawfish
- Date posted
- 6y
Try to resist the urge to wash by increasing the amount of time you try to wash. Maybe resist the urge by a min then increase it. Or if you find yourself washing for 20 mins decrease it to 15
Ellie HEllie H
- Date posted
- 6y
thank you so much
Mjs110160Mjs110160
- Date posted
- 6y
Try to accept the thoughts
Ellie HEllie H
- Date posted
- 6y
thank you. do you know any way I can live my life without always thinking about my hands being clean?
PineapplePineapple
- Date posted
- 6y
@Ellie to be honest with you the only way is to accept that maybe your hands aren’t clean. I agree with Wes about gradually reducing the compulsion rather than just trying to stop doing it altogether because that is very difficult. The more you engage in the compulsion of washing your hands, the more it will reinforce your obsession that your hands aren’t clean and that your whole day will be ruined if you don’t wash your hands. Also the more you try to argue with the thoughts or try not to think them, ironically, the more they will appear.
Ellie HEllie H
- Date posted
- 6y
thank you so much but how do i accept the fact that my hands aren’t clean but I have to go through touching more stuff? Like let’s say I leave my hands dirty and then I go and touch something. I’ll feel like I’ll never want to touch that object again because I touched it when my hands were dirty. Any help with this?
CrawfishCrawfish
- Date posted
- 6y
What is the bottom line for your fear of contamination? Fear of being dirty/ hurting a loved one because it’s contaminated/ or making yourself sick?
Ellie HEllie H
- Date posted
- 6y
I do fear of being dirty and I worry that I will just spread germs everywhere. If I touch an object while my hands are dirty, I will be afraid to touch that object again. For example let’s say I get something dirty in my hair, I will feel like I can’t touch my hair again cause it’s dirty and I’ll feel like I’ll have to wash my hands if I touch it.
CrawfishCrawfish
- Date posted
- 6y
Ok so with this when you feel like your hands are dirty and have touched something and not wanting to touch that object, you should be forcing yourself to touch the object in a normal way. Then once you have done this task use normal self talk like: you’re fine it’s your ocd. Then wait as long as you can and then wash hands. But increase amount of time not washing and decreas amount of time washing
Ellie HEllie H
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you so much. This really helped. I’ll try this
Related posts
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 25w
Hand washing
I need advice. I’m constantly washing my hands after going to the bathroom/touching something I find gross, but it doesn’t stop at just washing. I have to keep washing til I feel right (usually 3-4 times). It also isn’t just my hands, I go all the way up my forearms. I know in my head that once is enough. But I can’t kick this repetitive behavior. I know I should just start only washing it once but I don’t know if I can handle the panic that will come after. I need advice/tips if anyone’s gone through something similar what worked for you. Im just sick of this
Ellen_l
- Date posted
- 24w
Advice?
I’m having a big OCD relapse and would like to hear anyone’s tips on how to be present and healthily deal with these intrusive thoughts and the “need” to preform compulsions. Thank you!!
Kammy
- Date posted
- 21w
This is draining
I started dealing with OCD when I became fixated on health issues, particularly the fear of contracting a life-threatening disease. If I experienced any kind of medical symptom, no matter how small, that even remotely hinted at something potentially fatal, it would drive me crazy, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. Then one day, I started having intrusive thoughts about accidentally hitting someone with my car, and I would end up driving in circles to check if I had. Eventually, I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of new obsessive thoughts and compulsions. One day, while I was at the park, a squirrel came near me, and for some reason, I felt like it attacked me. I Googled it and learned that squirrels could carry rabies, which spiraled me into a deep fear of rabies. I became consumed with the thought I received a bite from a squirrel, raccoon, or bat any time I’m in areas that trigger me. It started off only being inside then transferred to even being in my own home. This made me obsess over every physical sensation in my body, compulsively checking to make sure nothing was wrong. One compulsion that I hated the most would to be putting rubbing alcohol on me to make sure that I had no open wounds. Every day feels like I’m walking around in a fog of anxiety, constantly worrying that I won’t even make it to old age. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that I just want it all to end. It stresses me so bad at times to where my brain feels like I’ve been studying all day.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond