- Date posted
- 1y
Advice please? (21+)
I’m struggling significantly with contamination themes for the first time in my life. I realize now that for a while it was looming in the background but it was always held back. I don’t know what triggered it but now, I feel like I’m drowning. I went through a liter of hand sanitizer plus multiple small bottles in a few weeks. I wash my hands and stuff around me constantly, and have started just avoiding stuff that I think is dirty because I’m tired of washing my hands and washing down surfaces, items, etc. The problem is that in my head, all of this is logical, and I genuinely do think there is a part of this that is tied into logic. I’m not worried about getting sick or getting others sick. My main issue with OCD is morality, and even with contamination, that still seems to be my fear. For example… I’m 23, so I’m an adult, and have sexual experiences. I also have three cats, and while my OCD tries to convince me I think a certain way about them, I’m positive I don’t. However, I have cat on me a lot. Cat hair, cat spit, just cat. It’s all over my house and while i try to clean it’s unavoidable to do it entirely. Anyway, I feel like I have to soak in hand sanitizer before sex because I don’t want them on me. Additionally, I have to use separate blankets and just hope there’s no cat hair. I’m also worried about having any bodily fluid of any kind on me and then seeing a child. Even if it’s only on a tv show or something. Essentially, my contamination is things like that and it makes sense, but something feels off. What I feel and experience is definitely OCD and I don’t understand what I did before I had this obsession, was I just a bad person? And I don’t understand what others do without the obsession! Plus, I go through so much hand sanitizer that there’s no way this is normal. It’s gotten so bad, I’ve put hand sanitizer on my lips, soap in my mouth, and cleaned my skin with a Lysol wipe because it’s what I had easy access to. I also damaged the microphone in my phone from cleaning it so much. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.