- Date posted
- 1y ago
Hi
I have contamination OCD which I’ve had since 2016. Does anyone have any steps or plans to start to overcome it that I could try? I’m on medication and have had long term therapy.
I have contamination OCD which I’ve had since 2016. Does anyone have any steps or plans to start to overcome it that I could try? I’m on medication and have had long term therapy.
I think within the general framework of OCD treatment, contamination OCD can be treated by accepting uncertainty and I'll provide some examples "Maybe this item is dirty, maybe it isnt" "Maybe I will get sick from that item, maybe I won't" "Maybe I am dirty, or maybe I am clean enough" I think acceptance of uncertainty and imperfection, as well as limiting compulsions, can help treat this theme effectively I'm sure a session with NOCD can also help if they are not your current provider and if you haven't seen OCD specialists before (because sometimes talk therapy isn't enough or helpful, particularly for OCD)
My daughter has contamination OCD and is finally functioning very well. She went to a doctor who started her on Sertraline and did exposure therapy with her for a year or so. Learning to accept uncertainty (as you stated) is key. Also learning to live more in the gray rather than having everything be black or white. We are amazed and oh so grateful that our daughter has overcome her "living hell."
@cyc1017 That's amazing to hear, glad it's working out well
@A23 Thank you. She has 2 precious sons and she fought through for them ❤️
@A23 Yes I agree with this, although I haven’t managed it myself. I’ve done exposure and had times I’ve been able to manage my ocd but it always comes back as I haven’t treated the route cause. I can’t accept uncertainly as I don’t think I’ll cope with feeling uncomfortable. I therefore feel I need to control everything
@Jennielouises Maybe some sort of long term anxiety therapist would be beneficial?
@A23 If only I could afford that. Others have learned to accept uncertainty so it must be possible
@Jennielouises Yeah some insurances also cover short term anxiety coaching, there's a program called AbleTo
@Jennielouises Long term strategies that may help also include exercise, meditation and journaling
@A23 So I find for me, journaling makes me ruminate. But I do think I need to do the others. I also feel for me that doing daily mental exercise will help. I haven’t had a chance to focus on my mental health since Jan as my son has been so ill. So I’ve lost my fitness, just like you would if you stopped going to the gym
@Jennielouises Oh, best wishes for your son to recover 💙
hey, i really feel for you dealing with contamination ocd since 2016, it sounds incredibly tough. sticking with medication and therapy is a big step, and i admire your dedication to finding more ways to cope. 💪 have you heard about "unstuck"? it's an ai-powered therapy tool specifically for ocd (unstuckmyOCD.com). it's been a game-changer for me this past month, and i think it might offer you some new strategies. someone here recommended it to me, and i only wish i'd discovered it sooner!
I’m losing it completely, I’ve never had a flare up like this with contamination. I’m so burnt out seriously , I feel like I’m going insane. My hands are cracking and bleeding from washing them and my family’s getting very tired of me , they think I should go stay in a hospital or something for a while because of how bad it is. OCD as taken away my relationships with people , I can’t sit on the couch anymore with my family , I can’t hug my dog anymore , I can’t relax ever. I just needed to write this down as I really can’t process my feelings right now as I have too many thoughts , any advice?
I have contamination OCD that causes me to excessively wash my hands/clean items with disinfectant wipes. I know I just need to start with small exposures but how do I do that without spiraling? I tried a while back by just touching the outside of my dishwasher and not washing my hands after and it led to me being unable to even exist in my house. I basically lived on my couch for three weeks as it was the only 'safe' space that I had not touched with my dirty hands. I had to take a week off work to clean my house to make it somewhat liveable. I still haven't got round to cleaning everything though so things like my kitchen are still no-go zones that I don't enter. I just don't know how to start ERP without it making everything worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I am not seeing a therapist at the moment due to financial constraints.
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.
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