- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
Ah, yes. The infamous google searches that result in more OCD? I have gone through this quite a bit myself. So, though it is guidelines to not give reassurance, I will say this. I have heard many people go through this, and one common thing I hear is this. That this is NOT how you get that disease. I have heard numerous stories of people calling the disease hotline an irrational number of times just for them to say EACH AND EVERY TIME that it is not possible to get the disease that way. I hope that helps in some way!
- Date posted
- 5y
Really? Even if you touch the blood with your hands and dont notice and put it in your mouth?
- Date posted
- 5y
Sorry to ask! If the answer is an actual factual no I will be OK and it wont reoccur tho.
- Date posted
- 5y
Reassurance kinda works for me with a brand new thought when its just a factual answer.
- Date posted
- 5y
It's okay Chellie. I know you are going through a very difficult time, so I'll make you an exception! Okay, I just plunged a bit into the internet, and I am constantly reading that it is not possible. As a matter of fact, many of the ways people fear getting it are proven not to cause it. I have read, that having a strong gut bacteria can even decrease the odds of getting it even if exposed during the methods it is known to be spread through. And another fact is that outside of the body, the virus dies very fast. So, what I suggest is maybe start a good probiotic regimen, not just because of this fear, but because there are many benefits for your body if you do. There are even studies that certain probiotics can help with mental illness. Also, (I know this isn't the best advice to give knowing your condition) but just wash your hands before eating. I will say, that it is PROVEN that washing your hands for 15 seconds is more than enough to get rid of any bacteria/viruses on your hands(I know you have to wash your hands 100 times, but it is NOT needed). As long as you wash your hands before eating, you shouldn't have to worry about getting contaminated with anything. You could literally have thoushands of germs on your hand and nothing will happen to you, and if you just wash them ONLY for 15 seconds, then they will all be gone. I hope this helps in some way and doesn't cause any negative effects.
- Date posted
- 5y
I'll be honest now I'm even more scared. I didn't wanna hear that I need to wash my hands to get rid of it... shit... I just wanted to hear that its impossible and that I can keep living life like I used to. I'm sorry but lets drop it I guess :(
- Date posted
- 5y
No! I wasn't saying you have to wash your hands!!
- Date posted
- 5y
I was saying that you don't need to wash your hands compulsively. I was saying that really, the only time you need to wash your hands is before you eat, and that you only need to wash them for 15 seconds.
- Date posted
- 5y
I wasn't referring to this particular fear. I was referring to living in general.
- Date posted
- 5y
Chellie, I am so sorry? I think you might have misunderstood what I was saying. To just clarify, I was saying that in general life (not this particular trigger) that it's really only necessary to wash your hands before eating and that it's only necessary to wash for 15 seconds. This is the proven science. I deal with contamination OCD as well, and this FACT has helped me a lot. I apologise if my words weren't clear and if during that misunderstanding I caused you more mental pain?☹️
- Date posted
- 5y
HIV is spread by blood to blood contact and sexual contact. What helps me with my ocd is envisioning the worst case scenario and realising that I could live with that. If somehow you contracted HIV, you’d be okay. They’re just around the corner to finding a cure. They actually used gene deletion in a set of twins in Japan who were born with it, and a vaccine for it has started human trials. HIV is no longer the death sentence it was in the 80’s. People who have HIV now live relatively normal lifespans, and can have happy fulfilled lives. Sometimes you need to challenge the fear and consider the worse case scenario to realise that it doesn’t need to control you. If you for HIV, you’d be okay ! That’s the most important thing to remember.
- Date posted
- 5y
Chellie, I hope you are okay. I was trying to give you some advice that helped me with the contamination aspect of my OCD, but it was kind of mixed up in the other stuff I was saying regarding your question so I feel like you might have gotten confused with what I was saying. I hope you are okay.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
This might contain triggering content, but I'm also wondering if others have dealt with this similar thought, and if so, how to deal with it? Overall, I've been doing so well these past few days. I'm able to eat again, which I hadn't been able to do because of how much anxiety I'd been experiencing. I'm spending time around loved ones and not just rotting in my room, and I've been able to wake up without immediately being bombarded by intrusive thoughts. When things first got really bad, I'd wake my mom up every night for reassurance, but I haven't done that in a while either. I'm really proud of myself, but there's still this nagging thought in my mind... While looking through others posts on here, hoping to find advice that'd fit my situation, I ended up making things worse. Someone mentioned how they had a fear that they'd purposely search for illegal content (related to POCD). I panicked, and "what ifs" flooded my thoughts. "What if the intrusive thoughts affect who I am as a person, and I do that?" I'm terrified that I'll search for those things, which I know means I wouldn't do it. But then, another person on here said they'd actually looked for those things, and that freaked me out even more. Does that mean it's possible for that to happen to me? I don't want to do that, but I keep having intrusive thoughts surrounding it. I've been doing so well these past few days. I'm just... stuck. I don't know what to do. I've spoken with other people who have the same fears, but how do I manage this? It's not something I've even thought about before seeing those posts. I've been practicing accepting the uncertainty, but I'm really struggling with this one. I hate this. This morning, I woke up, and the intrusive thoughts were back. It's just disheartening.
- Date posted
- 24w
Dose anyone else experience that your OCD calms down and goes to the back of your mind during- feels almost safe and unaware of it but as soon as it's over and youve calmed down all the intrusive thoughts come rushing back 10x worse? I've had really awful panic attacks because of it the past two nights and it's exhausting I haven't been with another person in over a year because of how bad it was after and not being able to explain it properly to partners "no I'm not crying because of you" "no you didn't do anything wrong" I feel insane- like I'll never be able to have a normal functioning sexual time alone or with others do to it the compulsions that come with it are exhausting it's like the need to cleanse myself of filth like I'm disgusting and horrible until there's no traces I did anything in the first place I'm just so tired dose anyone have any tips of how to work through this- or at least be able to enjoy myself without crying afterwords? I have no idea what subtype this would even entail? I'm going to go with contamination I guess ?
- Date posted
- 21w
Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with intrusive thoughts&images. At first i had intrusive thoughts around my partner, now it’s centred around me & I can’t be around window ledges or medication due to a story I read online(it’s too triggering for me) . Sometimes I feel like I can’t leave my bed due to the thoughts being so overwhelming I just break down and want to sleep. I aren’t taking any medication or therapy yet. I worry that if I don’t give my thoughts a reaction that my thoughts are true and not OCD. I’ve had these thoughts 24/7 for 2 months.
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