- Username
- uwotm8
- Date posted
- 5y ago
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.
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!
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
That's awesome!!! Good job, I know it wasn't easy!
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!!!
@EMMaaaa Thankyou! I did just slip up and antibacterial wipe my phone but I’m trying to gradually reduce everything. Small progress
@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
@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!!
@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 ?
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.
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 ?
But yes I understand
@uwotm8 I know what you mean lol...definitely wear your "contaminated" clothes when you buy your new ones!!!!??
@painintheocd Okay thanks for the support!! I’ll post here later when I do it then ?
You got this!
Use the printer, and do your absolute best to avoid performing compulsions. It's hard, I know. You can do it!
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
Just remember to breathe...
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?
Hi Guys. Really rough day today. As you may have seen in my other posts, blood in the bathroom is my number one trigger. Today, at my work at the mall, I was in a rush and the toilet liner ripped. No big deal, but I stood up, I noticed blood the size a bit bigger than a quarter right in the area that I sat on where the liner ripped. This was clearly not mine. I was very distressed by it but had to get back to my job. I am not worried about illness but just purely disgusted. When I got home I was so upset I took an extra long shower and feel as though I’m still not clean. I feel like all my clothes and my bag are contaminated and even the soaps I used in the shower. I’m trying to practice all the therapy techniques but it’s not helloing. Ignoring it is not helping. I’m trying not to ruminate but I’m overwhelmed with feeling disgusted. Please send me some techniques on how to move on. I know disgust isn’t harmful and I can’t get sick from it yet the fact that it touched me still bothers me a lot.
Hello again. I'm having a bit of a struggle today... I worry about contaminating others with my "bathroom germs", and I know ERP would involve carrying on as normal say, if my shirt gets in my lap when using the washroom and touches an area of my body where there's been waste, but while rationally I know that that kind of thing isn't horrible and there's already "bathroom germs" EVERYWHERE... I am stuck. It feels morally wrong to PURPOSEFULLY go about my day despite knowing I'm "contaminated". I get lots of people don't even wash their HANDS... I don't want to participate in the germ spreading. I don't like knowing that MY grossness could be on someone. It's probably not harmful, but I feel like I don't have the right to do this, like it's disgusting and amoral somehow. A vent, I suppose. I want to start meaningful ERP but I can't get over this. Any advice? (Tagging as trigger just in case.)
Good day, you awesome people! I struggle with spreading my own (bathroom/groinal) germs and "contaminating" others somehow. Logically I know it's not necessarily going to make anyone sick, but it's coming to the point where I have to wash my arm if it touches my behind at all while wiping (in case waste travels as it sometimes does)--and this morning I felt I had to wash my hands after touching the shell of my ear. It's clear that a lot of washing I am doing is to avoid guilt--I feel like I am "being sneaky/doing something terrible" if I don't do it. Some things are justifiable, yes, but the line has become so blurred I have changed many of my routines around this and I cannot tell what constitutes as "acceptable" or "normal" hygeine anymore because anything less than what I have started doing feels awful. I even wash my hands after drying off after a shower... though that I am trying to stop. I am wondering if anyone could help me out here with suggestions? Thank you so much for listening to my woes. I appreciate you all immensely.
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