- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
Use the printer! Dont let yourself avoid it....it will only make it worse. You will feel a spike in anxiety...but do NOT avoid the printer.
- Date posted
- 5y
I have used it, but I feel so dirty and disgusting now. I wanted to buy some new clothes later but I feel if I don’t go home and shower first I will contaminate the new clothes too!
- Date posted
- 5y
Okay went straight to town and bought some new stuff to wear I went straight from work. I have washed my hands loads today but I was tempted to wash them again before I left the work building and avoid touching my phone until after buying stuff because I see my phone as contaminated by putting it on my desk through the day I didn’t wash them I just left and I had my phone in my hand I also ended up walking past some grubby looking man, some unidentifiable liquid on the floor and also served by someone I’d rather not be ha But I managed it. And I bought a bottle of water and unscrewed the top without washing Baby steps haha
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- 5y
That's awesome!!! Good job, I know it wasn't easy!
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- 5y
I am so proud of you. I know that must have been hard. I have been trying to resist compulsions recently too, but unfortunately you have to let the anxiety consume you before you feel better. You're doing all the right things keep up the good work!!!
- Date posted
- 5y
@EMMaaaa Thankyou! I did just slip up and antibacterial wipe my phone but I’m trying to gradually reduce everything. Small progress
- Date posted
- 5y
@uwotm8 Yes it's okay I slipped up today too and carried out some of my compulsions but reduced them significantly for the past couple days. Be sure to accept your set backs and appreciate your victories, no matter how small ? you're doing great
- Date posted
- 5y
@EMMaaaa I did just eat some pizza without washing my hands after using my phone so I got that st least!! It’s not instant for anyone I guess ? I’m quite happy with myself!!
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- 5y
@uwotm8 You should be!!!! Every time you choose not to do your compulsion you're making amazing progress! It can be hard so expect some setbacks but it's totally normal ?
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- 5y
Also do NOT shower as soon as you get home,or buy new clothes. I used to throw clothes away too when I felt like they were contaminated. Imagine if everyone threw their clothes away! All that money wasted. You need to sit with the anxiety. This is a good opportunity for exposure response Therapy. You will feel intense anxiety....but eventually it will fade. Could take a minute...could take the rest of your evening.
- Date posted
- 5y
Ohh no not for that reason, I’m going away in a week and need new clothes but the clothes I’m currently wearing that I associate with work and contamination I’ll be wearing while I buy the new ones then I will perceive them to be contaminated too ?
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- 5y
But yes I understand
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- 5y
@uwotm8 I know what you mean lol...definitely wear your "contaminated" clothes when you buy your new ones!!!!??
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- 5y
@painintheocd Okay thanks for the support!! I’ll post here later when I do it then ?
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- 5y
You got this!
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- 5y
Use the printer, and do your absolute best to avoid performing compulsions. It's hard, I know. You can do it!
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- 5y
Okay Thankyou, I have already done many compulsions today sadly but I’m making a note in a notebook so I can learn to reduce them and break the cycle
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- 5y
Just remember to breathe...
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- 5y
I can relate to this. Similar things happen to me but Even sitting with anxiety it does not go way. For example. Blood is my trigger. I saw blood on the floor and I know I didn’t step on it but I have sat with the anxiety for almost a year now and I can still not wear my shoe. Same thing happened last week and I wanna throw away my shoe so bad. I know even if I don’t do that it will last many months without the anxiety and contaminated feeling going away. They say erp helps by letting you sit with the anxiety but I sit with it everyday and it doesn’t help even one year later. Any tips?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
Sorry if this is tmi. In advance, I know some germs are fine - I'm all for that, and it definitely does ease some contamination anxiety. But I have lots of anxiety surrounding going to the bathroom, specifically number two. Again I'm so sorry if this is tmi. I went yesterday, and obviously my hands were contaminated because well, they are when you go to the bathroom. But also because I accidentally brushed the back of my hand against myself. When you're done in the bathroom you obviously put underwear back on, and trousers or whatever, but I wash my hands before touching my trousers but not underwear. So I do that bit before I wash my hands, but my hand, the very contaminated part, touched like a bit of my skin at my waist. At the time, I brushed it off, thinking that my trousers will cover that anyway for the time being. But then today, I wore leggings that are kind of small on me and they weren't as high waisted. And then I got in my bed, and had a t-shirt on, and probably touched so many things. I changed my t-shirt, meaning it touched my hair as I took it off. So now I'm paranoid I have poop particles all over me. I'm convinced I need to have a full shower again and wash my hair. I'm okay with having a shower, but I barely have enough energy for that let alone washing my hair too. I don't shower every day, so with my schedule, I'm not due to have one until tonight. I just want to be able to get up, get dressed, and go about my day. But how do I do that when my bed feels contaminated and I feel like I need to change the bedsheets. How do I cope when it feels like poop particles are in my HAIR. And that could totally be possible. I know some germs are fine. But I just don't know what to do.
- Date posted
- 10w
I’m so scared. Part of me feels ok and part of me feels like I need to clean everything off. Basically my sweater had a stain on it from food it was newly washed but I decided to throw it in the wash again. While throwing it in the laundry basket I noticed a specific type of clothing that scares me. I quickly put the sweater on top of the used laundry and left. My phone was in the living room and I’m pretty constantly scared it will get contaminated by laundry I’m not sure why but that fear started randomly. Anyway I had to walk past the living room to wash my hands in the kitchen because someone had to use the bathroom badly and was waiting for me to just throw my laundry in to go to the bathroom. Anyway I’m scared I went near my phone or contaminated it with my hands. I can’t remember the details fully either but I just remember walking straight to the kitchen but I don’t know. I’m really scared and I want to clean everything like my phone and everything it was near. The thing is my fear is real because used laundry is so gross. What do I do? When throwing clean laundry in a basket should you wash your hands? Do most people? Even if the article of clothing isn’t dirty? Because maybe my hands accidentally went near the actual gross laundry I don’t know
- Date posted
- 6w
So Im staying at my uncles house until Saturday or Sunday and I feel like I’m filthy and making his house infected and idk what to do so when I first got here his house had grass I walked through to get to the door so I made sure to wipe my feet at the door and leave my shoes close to the door but I still feel,like I’m infecting his house he gave me and my little brother a room to sleep in and the first think I think of is how I need to wash the sheets when I leave. The first day was hard because I couldn’t shower and I felt so dirty because we had to go on a walk and I was sweating and we also had to water the grass outside and I had the same socks on as I did yesterday and I just felt like they were filthy and I was walking with those socks around the house so now his carpet is filthy and the bed I was laying in is now filthy. And I couldn’t shower because I didn’t have any cleaning supplies to clean it after I was done because I didn’t want to wash in their shower and now clean it afterwards. But I got someone at the store and took a shower and changed clothes and I felt weird about where to put my dirty clothes I hung them on the shower curtain rod but I feel like I just infected the rod. And afterwards I tried to spray off the shower with some Clorox foam cleaner but I feel like I didn’t clean it good and even feel bad about cleaning it because I was afraid the chemicals I tried rinsing off the shower and the bottles I was using in the shower but still feel like it’s infected. And don’t get me started on how I feel about the bags I’m keeping my clean clothes in and also the other bag I’m keeping my dirty clothes the bags are laying on the floor and I feel like my clean clothes are getting dirty from the floor and my dirty clothes are dirtying the floor and the towel I was using I used to dry the bathroom floor and asked where to put my towel he said on the dryer but there was stuff on it so I put it on a box above the dryer but I feel like I just infected everything and also Ik he touched the towel WHST if he gets THISE germs on his kids . Also the covers me and my little brother were using fell on the ground and his kids were playing in them and stuff like that but my little brother said it was fine and still used them but idk and his cover he brought touched my dirty clothes and the floor and he still used them and I just feel kinda ill about that. And today me feeling filthy just multiplied because I can’t SHOWER again today because someone’s toys are in the shower and idk how to get clean becuase we leave soon and idk what to do do I just change clothes? Idk about wipes because I can’t just ask for baby wipes and now I’m walking around with no socks because I only brought one pair and my others ones were put in my dirty clothes bag and now I have to go places no socks just in my flip flops. And last night I went to the restroom because I didn’t want to have an accident in the night because I’m always anxious about that stuff and I went but I feel like I just infected their toilet and I washed my hands after but I went back into bed but my feet touched the bathroom floor so now the bed is hay I feel actually infected and since I’m laying in it I’m infected too. Idk why I woke up so depressed and feel so filthy and guilty idk if it was the pose I was sleeping in or if I think I had an accident idk but we a lot of places to go today and idk what to do I was going to get Lysol at the store today to spray stuff but I don’t think I can get everything and I feel so sick he has kids what if I give them bad germs I can’t live with that
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