I’m currently in the process of moving to a new apartment and it’s so mentally draining. I’m still in the process of “decontaminating it”. I wish I was able to just move in and live, but unfortunately I can’t. Although, I do feel that me having to actually clean it myself is exposing me to my triggers. It’s taking so much energy to clean because i’m cleaning things that haven’t been cleaned since it was built.
I have horrible contamination OCD to the point that I literally cannot even look at certain things. However, well done for pushing through and cleaning it yourself, it's good exposure. If you avoided it then it would have become much worse in your head and living there would not be a good experience.
thank you. a big trigger for me is food in small places (even typing it is making me uncomfortable) like restaurant booths and next to an oven. thankfully, I had a friend that helped me clean the in between oven and counter and other places that i physically couldn’t look at
It's a big step to even clean it so you should be really proud. Whenever I have to do something like that, I play music to distract me otherwise my thoughts will run wild. And I'm really glad you're not avoiding anything, it will just get worse. A few years ago I got triggered with something in my home and I haven't looked at it or touched it since, but if I had pushed myself through it like you're doing then I could have saved myself a lot of stress.
Are you able to clean with chemicals?
@jdragon9 yea, but the strong smell is triggering my health OCD too and i’m thinking the chemicals are going to poison my lungs if i use too much
@joimuu That’s what I worry about too. Or poisoning myself by accidentally consuming them.
@joimuu Ever try using natural cleaners such as vinegar, baking soda etc? I used vinegar on my kitchen sick a lot cuz though t be smell is not treat it is natural and it dissipates quickly. My husband and kids like to wash their hands in kitcgen sink with dish soap and that really irritates me especially since they will do it after taking out garbage or just having actual dirty hands. I always wonder what is wrong with the bathroom sink? So I sometimes pour vinegar over the sink knobs and in sink as a natural disi fectant plus it is good for your pipes.Baking soda and vinegar on TOILET and bathroom sink/coubter works GOOD too
hey there, moving is tough enough without the extra challenge of ocd on top. it's really strong of you to face your triggers through this process. 💪 i stumbled upon "unstuck: ocd therapy tools" right here on the forum and it's been a game-changer for me this past month. give it a shot, it might offer you some strategies to ease the stress of moving and handling those triggers. 🌟
Where van I find the tools you spoke of?
Overwhelmed and feeling stressed. I am moving and have a week to finish packing and then load in truck and out. Any tips or help with how to manage the disarray, I am feeling extremely anxious and having obsessive thoughts that are haunting me in dreams now too. Just can’t wait for this move to be over. Transitions are hard enough and it took me a looooooooong time (years) to make his jump. Any suggestions on how to handle ocd tendencies when moving and through a major transition? I feel like I’m falling apart.
I can’t deal with this OCD bullshit anymore. It’s to the point where every time I walk out my house and come back in I have to sanitize my shoes then the floor where my shoes stepped. I even have my boyfriend doing this and he doesn’t have OCD. I can’t even enough life like I use to anymore I have constantly be cleaning and disinfecting. All these chemicals that have gotten on my skin I know that can’t be healthy. I’m scared the thought of even walking in with my shoes and not using disinfectant triggers me so badly that it ruins my whole day. This all happened when weeks ago I saw a skunk at night walking through the apartment complex I lived in. Then I took my dogs to the vet to get their vaccines. Even though there was no contact I still freak out about rabies. Then the vet assured me that everything was ok. Then I see this stray cat that walks around the apartment complex and he is always trying to come up to my apartment door or the walkway then I’ve seen him walk we’re the skunk area was so now I’m like what if this cat has rabies and I walk where it walks and track it in my house and get rabies. God forbid. It’s to the point where we have a shoe rack and we have to disinfect every time we walk in and out. The other day I had guest and when they left the whole entire house was mopped and I even had bathe my dogs too since they were walking around where everyone was stepping. I even threw away their dog bed and bought them new ones. Please help I can’t live like this anymore.
I have been dealing with severe contamination OCD for awhile now and for the past several months it has been around laundry. I have been working with my ERP therapist here and taking baby steps since this is at the top of my hierarchy. I was slowly making progress however my husband once again has triggered me back to the start and this is not the first time he has done this. I simply asked him to let me do the laundry and I had a system, I will say an odd system however that was working for me while I continued with the baby steps and keeping my anxiety at a manageable level. Now I just feel so angry, at myself, at him and at my OCD. I have already replaced the washer twice. I just feel like I can't catch a break and now I am forced to sit with the anxiety, not by choice because I can't afford to replace it again! 😢
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