Hi there. I’ve recently joined NOCD and wanted to ask: does anyone have a sort of mental contamination fear, such as believing that interacting with people will “infect” oneself in a psychological manner? Just wanted to reach out and ask if this is an experience others had. Also looking to share experiences with others. Thanks.
Hey Luke! Thank you for your question to the community here. As a therapist, I can say that I have treated individuals who have had fears similar to the one you describe in your post here, so I can assure you that you are not alone! Here is an article from the NOCD website that I hope will explain a bit more information for you about this topic: https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/what-is-emotional-contamination-in-ocd Let me know what you think or if you found it helpful. And feel free to ask me anymore questions that you might have!
@Deborah Ward Thank you Deborah. So my question is: for me definitely my emotional contamination comes from looking at individuals who I perceive are bad or harmful to me, or smelling them or being reminded of how they smell. I tend to get really triggered by imagining their face or smell, and I wonder if that is a possible OCD intrusive thought or trigger. I won’t get too into specifics here but I definitely can imagine these sorts of “gross” images and get a feeling of repulsiveness. Just curious if this is a known phenomenon. Thanks.
@Luke Sapir - Yes absolutely. This can absolutely be an OCD fear that you are having here, that is leading to anxiety. The best way that we combat these fears and keep them from taking over our life is by doing ERP therapy. Have you ever engaged in anything like that before?
@Deborah Ward Hi Deborah, no I haven’t done any guided ERP therapy, but am scheduled to meet with a NOCD therapist to talk about a potential diagnosis and ways to treat. However, any information about ERP practices that help would be good, as right now I’ve been experiencing some difficulty with anxiety and medication changes (the mood stabilizers I was on due to possible psychosis, they’re biting me in the a$$ right now) so I cope by keeping up interests like piano and game design, learning, and of course I have a panic medication for anxiety although long term I’d definitely want to not be reliant on it to live normally.
@Luke Sapir - I am glad to hear that you are getting connecting with someone who can help! Here is a little information video on ERP to help give you an idea of what to expect in the process: https://youtu.be/7RSDLmnle3E?feature=shared Are there any specific questions you have about treatment or starting with NOCD?
So I have pretty intense contamination OCD tied to Moral/Real event OCD, and I'm having a hard time with it because part of me does genuinely believe my logic checks out, and I was hoping to get some insight as to how to change the way I see it from other people who sort of get the mindset involved :). To sum it up as well as I can, I basically have a very souped-up version of the same item-event association most people have. For example, let's say you have a HORRIBLE, GOD AWFUL relationship with a person you can't even begin to think of favorably even years after the event. They had gotten you a stuffed animal for your anniversary at some point. You finally "escape" the relationship, and you throw away the stuffed animal. This is seen as a very normal and sound-of-mind action. Here's where things get tricky: For me, throwing out that stuffed animal wouldn't be enough. After all, it touched my table didn't it? And my table touched the floor right? And these things now carry that person's germs. And if I don't get rid of them, then they'll infect my future belongings. This logic isn't entirely flawed either, as even my OCD specialist said he believes in a "weaker version of what I do". How am I supposed to convince myself that what I'm believing is false when the literal psychologist confirmed that what I'm doing is just a more in-depth version of a normal experience? Ex: I have a new outfit, fresh and clean. I'm unbothered and happy, but I knick the side of a table. The table holds awful associations. I get this awful sense of dread. The clothes are now somewhat sullied, and I'll eventually have to give them away. I don't think I'm explaining this as well as I could, but I feel like those notions are there. Anyways, does anyone have any insight as to how to get my mind to genuinely believe that interacting with these things is "safe"?
Hello, i have very severe contamination ocd, and as i am writing this i feel my hands are dirty lol, but anyways i wanted to know if there’s anyone specialised in Contamination ocd? No matter what type because i really need help and i looked up things but it doesn’t help please!!
sorry this is super long i just wanna know if anyone else has been thru something similar bc i feel super alone 🩷 i have super bad contamination ocd. it was bad already but my house was like my safe space until a few months ago someone brought something into my house that i considered ‘contaminated’. and so then i felt like that part of the house was contaminated, then it spread to everything outside my room (since family is moving around touching stuff) and then somehow i got convinced everything in my room except my bed is contaminated and i need to wash my hands after touching it. in my mind its like the contamination just infinitely spreads to things after the tiniest bit of touch. idek what im afraid of anymore or even what the original thing was but i can’t let it go. when i have to wash off contamination i have to wash at least 4 times or until it feels right, or sometimes take rlly long showers and wipe down all my stuff. i even throw away food and clothes or just whole items sometimes because they feel so contaminated i don’t want them in my space. i can’t be super near people or have anyone touch me, and i also can’t bring anything new into my room since it had to go through the entry of my house which feels contaminated. i feel like all i do is lay in bed and then wash my hands and do compulsions so i can go eat or do other stuff around the house. also i never go out because i’m bc people outside make me feel dirty, and i hate thinking about how many people have touched stuff in stores or in public and stuff. so im just in my room worrying all day. i feel so trapped and the contamination/avoiding it is all i think about anymore i barely have time for anything else and im never present when i talk to people because im worrying about if i accidentally got contaminated. im starting erp next week and knowing that im going to have to expose myself to things is really freaking me out. does anyone else have this kind of ocd ? im exhaustedddd 🥲🥲💔
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