I’m exhausted

That sounds so hard. My contamination OCD has been tough this cold/flu season… What are you doing to deal with the situation? Sometimes when it’s really hard, I still let myself wash my hands once, shower once, whatever, and then try to leave it at that. Sending empathy your way!

I can relate, as when my sister comes back home from her office, then i just force her to clean everything and sanitize her bag also which ultimately causes stress at home. Nowdays, i have let it be! Hyperawareness and tracking everything is the biggest problem in our scenarios. I know its very hard, but we need to let things be, not everything is certain and in our contro. We can start by dropping one by one compulsion from our routine. I have started to stop telling my sister to clean her stuff after coming from office, although it still bothers me but we can't force everyone around us nor we should!!

Curious why the rest of your family is not bothered by this? Do they not see the germs that you do and feel the same urges to clean? Or, is this a problem of OCD and not a problem of germs? I would bet that is the answer right there. And, this happens a lot unfortunately where OCD takes things to a level that is above and beyond what anyone else would be concerned with. Do you have to believe the thoughts you have about contamination? No, but OCD can sure be convincing. Heck, she has not even been to the concert and you are already fretting about how you will handle it. Classic OCD move there. Life does not have to be ruled by OCD - there is no need to have it be in the drivers seat. You can challenge it and move into the drivers seat yourself. But, it is a bold and brave move to do so, and it will take effort and grit to get there. A life where your obsessions lead you to fail exams is not a life, I am assuming, you want to be experiencing. But, it does not have to be that way, and there is great therapy available to help you get through this. If you are ready, hit the therapy button on the NOCD app and see if one of our trained clinicians can help you live the life you want to live and not the life OCD wants you to live.

It really is exhausting. I'm so sorry. Be kind to yourself and gentle to yourself through this. College is hard. OCD is hard. You've got both going on, that's a lot. It's okay to slow down sometimes and rest when you need it too.