- Date posted
- 5y
- 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.
- 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”
- 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.
- Date posted
- 5y
What does "exp" mean?
- Date posted
- 5y
I’m sorry, ale74! I meant ERP, not exp. ERP is Exposure Response Practice.
- Date posted
- 5y
Ah ah ah... I hoped it was a new kind of therapy ?
- 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
- Date posted
- 24w
I don't know what to do, my hands have become so numb and bruised because of constant washing hands, i have started hating each and every furniture around me, beacuse i feel they are not clean although they are being cleaned regularly but i cannot stop these thoughts. I clean my phone, bluetooth, charger with wet wipes each day, i don't touch any object around me, i am not being able to focus on my studies or anything else because of my ocd ihave stopped going out, everyone around me is so fed up of me. I have consulted so many therapists and been taking ayurvedic supplements too but nothing works. It is getting worse and worse, please if anybody can suggest me how to overcome these thoughts!
- Date posted
- 23w
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
- Date posted
- 18w
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?
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