riina2910
- Date posted
- 5y
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes! For a while there, I was spending around $40-$60 a week to do laundry or buy new linen. I never wore anything two days in a row and was constantly redoing my bed sheets. I also had my upholstery professionally cleaned every month. None of this ever seemed to help and I still felt filthy, especially because I had to go to my local laundromat (no hookups in my apartment) and was terrified that I was picking up germs and bacteria from the previous user (this actually helped with EXP). These obsessions added so much anxiety and stress to my daily life and because of that, they didn’t last long; it became unbearable and impossible. I quickly became unable to afford my laundry costs and with the help of my psychiatrist, psychologist, and my own frustration, learned to overcome the need to constantly have “clean” fabric. EXP is perfect for this obsession because it exposes you to the truth- the fabrics that surround us are never really “clean.” You can’t control the ability of the wind to blow bacteria in the air and you can’t see it happening. Have you checked out the exposure, trigger, obsession + EXP practice portion of this app? You should try it out! I hope you can overcome this, no matter how long it takes. I do 1-2 loads of laundry every other week now and have to go to my parent’s house because I am saving up for my own laundry machines for my apartment. My mantra is: You can’t control what you can’t see. I can’t see the germs and bacteria in my fabrics, so I figure I won’t endlessly try to get rid of what I imagine. Sorry for the novel. Best of luck with this, riina2910! IMO- this is one of the easier obsessions to get control of.
Steph94Steph94
- Date posted
- 5y
It’s so hard! I try to use alcohol wipes so I know that my objects are super clean!! Let’s say I want to clean my laptop, I’ll take an alcohol wipe and run it over my laptop then I’ll tell myself “move on and forget about it”
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
Lol! Aww now I feel really, really bad. ERP is really difficult, but I always try to think that if living with OCD is hard, trying to recover from it must be even more difficult.
ale74ale74
- Date posted
- 5y
What does "exp" mean?
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
I’m sorry, ale74! I meant ERP, not exp. ERP is Exposure Response Practice.
ale74ale74
- Date posted
- 5y
Ah ah ah... I hoped it was a new kind of therapy ?
riina2910riina2910
- Date posted
- 5y
thank you modernfemale for your reply!! and also steph94. I have suffered from this thing for a long time (or at least it feels long for me) I hope I can get to the exposure therapy when I move to new school ? but I'm going to be in a house with other people and laundry machines are shared and I'm a little bit afraid of that but I definitely should try this apps erp again and start actually doing those rehealsas, thank you for telling me that it really has helped! ?
Related posts
strawberryjax
- Date posted
- 25w
hey. i have contamination ocd and this is my life.
back in october i made my first post about my specific type of ocd, how it mixes in with my day to day and how i “deal” with it. i talked about the starting point, how it gradually got worse, and then how it was going just a few months ago. i always think it’s insane how much can change in just the course of a small to a large amount of time. right now, i honestly feel like garbage. to be quite sincere i really want to give up, i’m barely holding on by a thread. and if i cut that thread, i really doubt anyone would care. i’ve never considered myself to be a suicidal person, and i still don’t consider myself that right now. it just gets to a point where it’s just, a lot to deal with. i don’t really enjoy things a lot nowadays. sure i have good days like everyone does, like today, when i was just enjoying my day without worries. but then it all comes crawling back twice as bad the following days. i take online college so i’m usually just stuck at home most of the time. but, when i do decide to actually go out and leave my house, my ocd just explodes because i have this whole routine i need to do or else i feel like i’ll contaminate wherever i end up going. i’m not going to go really deep into my compulsions because it’s hard enough to live with them, much more having to type them all out in detail. but when i go out my compulsions go from wiping down all my stuff i’m going to use after showering, to washing my clothes/cleaning the washer + dryer. i also have separate things (or two of the same thing) i use specifically in my house, and items i use when going out. such as shampoo/body wash, deodorant, lotion, hair curler, etc. as if that’s not draining enough, i also feel the need to fast a couple days prior to any plan i make because i’ve forced myself to believe i need to feel empty in order to be clean. i’m not sure if that’s my past eating disorder talking, or my ocd, but my brain can’t help but think any food in my house is utterly and completely contaminated. i’m so tired of this feeling, feeling like nothing will ever be clean again. feeling like my ocd is trapped in my childhood home. feeling that wave of diseases rushing through my veins the moment i step foot into what’s supposed to be “home”. and i’m so scared of therapy because what if i do get healed, and then everything comes rushing back the second i step into my room. i’m planning on moving somewhere far from my current house in this next coming year, so sometimes i feel like just waiting it out. but it’s insufferable when going to hangout with someone. i miss my friends, my family, and my partner. it’s crazy to me that i’m dealing with all this at the young age of 18 but, i’m sure lots of people have it way worse. i just want to find a way out, any possible way. but i keep pushing myself deeper and deeper that when i finally find a way, it will no longer exist.
flutterfawn
- Date posted
- 21w
contamination ocd
all morning i have been feeling like there is dirt and grime on my skin. i showered last night. i washed my hair on tuesday night and i will wash it tonight. but i feel like there is dirt in my scalp and in my hair and i feel like i haven’t showered in weeks. i don’t want to feel like this anymore. every day i am anxious about how clean i am and its taking over my life. any tips?
learningtore...
- Date posted
- 20w
How do I get out of a Flare Up
Im having a OCD specifically contamination OCD flare up all month and I don’t want to feel this way going into March, I’ve thrown out clothes, towels, stayed up for hours doing compulsions, washed my hands till they crack and bleed, I have washing pilling up cause I’m so overwhelmed by all the extra things I’ve added cause I thought it was contaminated. It’s completely draining me to the point where I’ve become sleep deprived and are avoiding part of my home because they are deemed contaminated to me…I only moved in a few months ago, I had a roach problem and using baits and insecticides really messed with my ocd too. anyone have any tips or tricks to make this easier? I wasn’t doing this bad in January :( thankyou in advance :)
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