I've been having some contamination OCD recently, and it's been affecting my hands a lot. My brain tells me that everything is dirty, and it results in me washing my hands way more then what's good for me. The skin on my hands is getting red and cracked. If anyone knows how to help me out, it'd be awesome!! ☹️
When I was in your situation many years ago I wrote down a plan where I allowed myself to wash my hands, like "after bathroom", "before cooking" "when I can see dirt" And when I washed I counted for say 50 and then I diminshed the time to 40 and so forth to wash them minimal. It took me 6 months and I was free from excessive washing. Try what works for you - but be sure to make a plan. You have to make decisionbefore you are in the situation. If you need search treatment!
Putting any kind of lotion on or hand balm…hand sanitizer/ hand wipes (something not so harsh if hands are dry) Maintaining my hands by doing at home manicures (I get obsessive about my cleaning nails and hand washing) so it’s like a 2 in 1 and plus I feel like I’m putting a protective layer on myself- I follow up by using a hand balm and really massaging my hands and calming those thoughts. The more I take care of my hands when there are/aren’t dirty helps me let them be more free. Hope this maybe helps <3 wishing you peace and joy
I’ve found Palmolive orange to be the gentlest antibacterial soap my hands are no longer cracked I still need to wash less
Thank you I'll definitely try it ♥️🙏
hey, i'm really sorry to hear that you're struggling with your contamination ocd and the hand-washing compulsion. that sounds incredibly tough, and the pain from your hands must be really hard to deal with. just know you're not alone in this, okay? 🤗 by the way, have you heard about this new AI-powered OCD therapy tool called 'unstuck?' i totally get where you're coming from because i've been there, and what really made a difference for me was this tool at unstuckmyocd.com/try that my NOCD therapist introduced me to. i think it'll be especially helpful for you because it tailors the support to what you're going through – providing that step-by-step guidance like an OCD therapist when the urges kick in. i hate when people promote stuff, but i really think it can help you because it's changed my life. lmk if you have Qs or just want to talk more! <3
Does anyone else struggle with hand washing/contamination OCD? I feel like it’s not talked about enough that OCD although it’s a mental illness it can have a very real physical impact on a person as well. For me, I used to struggle with compulsive hand washing. It wasn’t so much that I would touch something, and need to wash my hands, it was more so I would just sit at the sink and need to do it over and over again until it felt “right”. But I have gotten better with it, and have done a lot of exposure therapy for it, but my hands and arms still suffer from the brutality of it with the harsh soaps and excessive washing. It feels like my hands and arms are always really dry and despite how much I try to moisturize, just from the amount of time I spent doing it my skin was really damaged. Let me know if anyone has struggled in a similar way?
i don’t know what to do anymore i have to wash my hands 30+ times a day and i have panic attacks if i accidentally touch my face during school bc my hands are dirty and i have to pull out a napkin and wet it with my water bottle in the middle of class it’s so embarrassing and my hands hurt so bad they’re so dry and red and im trying to get myself to limit my hand washing to once when i get home and once before i wash my face at night but it’s so hard cause literally while i wash my hands my brain will be like “it’s just three more washes would you rather do that or face the consequences” and it’s so loud in my head that i can’t do anything but listen i hate my ocd so much
That a question: how many times do you wash your hands if you struggle with that , i need to know numbers and thank you 🙏🏼
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