Any registered nurses on here?! Any tips for dealing with contamination ocd related to the job?! :)

@modernfemale- Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. Yes, I would say that we are in similar circumstances! I’m sorry that you have to deal with that stress at home. Hopefully it is only temporary and maybe you could find somewhere else to live whenever possible. Yes, I fear the skin to skin contact as well, mostly at my job though. I am with you on that one! I think exposure therapy is best for that. Take it slow and implement skin to skin (as appropriate, like shaking hands) a little at a time. Try to go 10 minutes or so before hand washing, etc. Then, increase the time as you are able to. I know it’s easier said than done though! As far as things that have helped me personally. I once talked to an infectious disease doctor and explained my concerns. That helped some because she was able to provide more knowledge and inform me that diseases can’t be transmitted as easy as I thought, etc.... I actually just started a new nursing job 3 weeks ago. I was off for 6 months prior to that bc I couldn’t deal with my ocd at my previous job... With this new job I try to not get frustrated when I have bad days. Just taking it one day at a time. I have faith that God led me here for a reason right now. My ocd has definitely led me to lean on God more and just so more recently I am able to find peace when I do so. Some days are still a struggle but I try to make the days not about me and focus on helping my patients, showing them love, etc. and that helps sometimes. I’m sorry this is a book! Lol. I am with you though and praying for you. Don’t give up, hang in there and keep fighting. ❤️

This may or may not help, but I thought I’d give it a try... I am not a nurse, but I have had several social service jobs where I was surrounded and had to work with the homeless. I have extreme contamination OCD, so I struggled to do my job most days. I have also been in and out of psychiatric hospitals my entire life. I despise hospitals because to me they are germ-filled. I guess the worst of all is that I’ve had to move back in with my parents and younger sister recently, and I am exposed to unclean situations every time I leave my room. My sister is an addict (meth and heroin) and has skin lesions and infections all over her body. She’s constantly on antibiotics and developed MRSA. To make matters worse, she leaves her antibiotic cream and bandages, sometimes used, all over the house. I had a hangnail recently that became infected, my doctor said it was MRSA. I lost my shit and have now developed hatred and fear towards my sister. I can only imagine what your daily struggles could be being a nurse and living with OCD, specifically contamination OCD. Every day is exposure! Please know that although I am not a nurse, I feel I live in similar conditions and can relate to a certain degree. I encourage you to practice patience and take as many breaks as you and your job will allow. I fear being touched, especially skin-to-skin, so I am working on overcoming some of that fear. Do you have any tips or things that have helped you in your profession? I have hope that we will both get better. <3