Contamination ocd and belief

Does anyone else struggle to do ERP with some compulsions because you genuinely have a belief that what you are doing is protecting you? I want to be able to touch doorhandles and not avoid things when someone in the house is sick, but k can’t help but really believe it’s protecting me from getting sick. It’s just common sense isn’t it? I know I should handle the uncertainty but surely I’m protecting myself? How can I work on changing that so I can do ERP and conquer ocd?

Username: breadsticksbreadsticks

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 33w ago

This is a tricky one, but I would offer this advice: remember that OCD is a logic bully. Is it possible that you’ll be a little safer if you don’t touch doorhandles in the house when someone is sick? Yeah. But by that logic, OCD might also convince you not to take public transit, or use a public restroom, or even go outside at all. Tackling OCD is about accepting the possibility of discomfort - and understanding that we won’t ever be completely certain. Life is full of risks! If we live in the fear that something *might* happen, we’ll never be able to find the right balance between reasonable (mostly safe) levels of risk and living the life that we want! ERP is about getting yourself used to an acceptable level of uncertainty and doubt - maybe you’re not ready to touch the doorhandle, but maybe you’re okay with being in the vicinity of someone who might be sick? Or chatting with them while in the same room? Anything that might slightly increase your chances of getting sick but where the chances are slim. And then moving from there until you’re more comfortable with an increasing level of uncertainty

Username: JennielouisesJennielouises

Date posted: 33w ago

@breadsticks Thank you. That makes so much sense. I guess the issue is I was forced into a high level of anxiety as my 16m old son was sick and I had to look after him

Username: ListenToTheWindListenToTheWind

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 33w ago

I think it is like: Not touching a doorknob keeps you not getting physically ill *from a door knob* (but not from other things) but it keeps you mentally ill with OCD and you could get sick in another method. So all things equal, it’s better to touch the door knob and risk getting ill from it. Ironically you’ll never know if the doorknob is what made you ill if you do get ill. So that’s uncertain too. With your current frame of reference if you get sick and you weren’t touching the door knobs but you touched a trash can, maybe now you won’t touch a trash can and you further and further get into avoidance. It’s easier ultimately, not now, but ultimately to say ‘I can’t know what will make me sick’ and stop avoiding things out of the idea that then avoidance is protecting you. Hopefully it makes sense. I feel similar for some of my themes. I often want to avoid the stuff that stresses me out but it just creates more things that stress me out. Annoyingly.

Username: JennielouisesJennielouises

Date posted: 33w ago

@ListenToTheWind Yes that makes so much sense. Someone on here posted a video about uncertainty and it showed that humans prefer pain to uncertainty. I think that’s what I’m doing. I almost prefer the pain of being mentally ill to the uncertainty as it’s familiar and easier to deal with

Username: ListenToTheWindListenToTheWind

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 33w ago

@Jennielouises Oh yeah the idea of being comfortable in a bad situation because it’s at least known? But guess what! Not touching a door knob can be thoroughly ‘known’ too.

Username: JennielouisesJennielouises

Date posted: 33w ago

@ListenToTheWind Oh yes I know. That’s why I’m doing ERP

Username: HeartMamaHeartMama

Date posted: 30w ago

Such great advice on all sides❤️

Username: canigetawitness

Date posted: 4y ago

I'm stuck in an OCD cycle and having a hard time trying to figure out how to treat it with ERP. Basically what happens when I go to the bathroom, shower, walk past the kitchen sink, my mind goes "You've just ran over to the soap/shampoo bottle, and pumped soap on yourself for no reason." I think that's a weird thought, where did that come from. Next, I'll sometimes re-rinse my hands, body, etc. to make sure I haven't just ran and pumped soap on me for no reason. For ERP I get confused if I'm just supposed to let the thought "you've just ran over to the soap/shampoo bottle and pumped soap on yourself for no reason" be there and not react with compulsions. Or if I need to pump soap on me and not rinse it off, making pumping soap on me the new norm? I don't know, it's confusing to me.

Username: silverfire

Date posted: 4y ago

(How can you do ERP when there is a legit concern?) Trigger warning for Contamination OCD/coronavirus. For instance, I’m pregnant right now and have had a resurgence of contamination OCD. (I also have GAD, so I’m never sure which tactic to take with a thought.) Health really is a legitimate concern here, and I’m told I should be more careful. Of course I overdo it, yet ERP seems to be the exact opposite of being more careful and that seems very, very unwise. How do you do exposure for something that your doctor says to not do? How do you do exposure for something like, for another unrelated example, not wearing a mask around other people right now in the time of the pandemic when you’re absolutely required to wear a mask and it’s dangerous to not? ERP basically doesn’t make sense to me. By that thinking I should be changing the litter box and not washing my hands and *I definitely should not do that*. How do you do ERP when there is a legitimate aspect of an actual concern?

Contamination OCD

Username: 2621

Date posted: 3y ago

Can anybody doing contamination ocd please let me know if it's incredibly hard? I just can't seem to push through with ERP. I'm wondering if I'm weaker than others who do ERP.

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