- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
That’s a very good point you made to the therapist. We all “choose” where to draw our lines, but the important part is making sure it’s us making the choice and not OCD making it for us. I deal with some contamination OCD to where I have chosen some lines that I won’t cross, but OCD makes me want to let those boundaries get gradually more extreme, so I have to expose myself to the uncertainty to keep the thoughts and rituals from taking over.
- Date posted
- 6y
That’s what I did ultimately.
- Date posted
- 6y
I have been building up my self to doing more and more exposures. Then the other day I was out with a friend and she picked up her dogs poop in a baggie and was going to then eat something... without washing her hands. I was like OMG ??? I bet dog owners do this all the time. I made her use sanitizer so I guess that was a compulsion. I can touch animals that are living but I still am afraid of parasites
- Date posted
- 6y
It's partly about the likelihood of getting sick and the consequences if you do get sick. A small chance of getting a cold isn't the same as a significant chance of getting a virus that will likely kill you. You need to ask yourself if your level of anxiety is proportionate to the degree of risk. There is also the issue of what you do to rid yourself of the possible contamination. Do you wash your hands once with soap for 30 seconds or do you wash your hands repeatedly throughout the day to the point that they get so dry that they crack and bleed?
- Date posted
- 6y
This answer is more satisfying than that of my therapist’. Thanks Redhawks2212.
- Date posted
- 6y
If it were me, I would listen to the therapist and try to live with the uncertainty.
- Date posted
- 6y
David Ben-Arteh I don’t have fear of contamination. I just have this disgusting feeling of thou hing these things because I know that people have touched there after touching their private parts.
- Date posted
- 6y
That is almost my same issue. I’m not afraid of the consequences of contamination...I just think it’s gross! It actually makes it easier to be exposed to it than someone who fears an actual consequence such as HIV though. As my therapist explained to me...with OCD you have to expose yourself to things over and above what would gross a typical person out. It’s like trying to bend a pole back straight that is already bent one direction...you have to bend it the other way for a while to have it settle back straight. I hope that made sense!
- Date posted
- 6y
It certainly did.... Because of my ERP.. I have started touching taps and door knob. But last week, I had to use a public washroom and it was dirty and I couldn’t wash my hands there and used my water bottle. Could you please tell if you have exposed yourself to any such situations like bending the pole in opposite direction?
- Date posted
- 6y
I need to do a lot more than I have; but contamination concerns are really only a minor theme for me so I don’t really focus my therapy on that as much as my pure O themes. I have done things like rub the bottom of my shoe and then eating something with that hand. I have heard of people spraying water from the toilet on things in their house and not cleaning it.....but that’s a line I’m not planning on crossing!
- Date posted
- 6y
Also eating food off the floor etc. really just start with things that make you uncomfortable and then gradually work your way to more disturbing things.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks buddy.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
I started dealing with OCD when I became fixated on health issues, particularly the fear of contracting a life-threatening disease. If I experienced any kind of medical symptom, no matter how small, that even remotely hinted at something potentially fatal, it would drive me crazy, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. Then one day, I started having intrusive thoughts about accidentally hitting someone with my car, and I would end up driving in circles to check if I had. Eventually, I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of new obsessive thoughts and compulsions. One day, while I was at the park, a squirrel came near me, and for some reason, I felt like it attacked me. I Googled it and learned that squirrels could carry rabies, which spiraled me into a deep fear of rabies. I became consumed with the thought I received a bite from a squirrel, raccoon, or bat any time I’m in areas that trigger me. It started off only being inside then transferred to even being in my own home. This made me obsess over every physical sensation in my body, compulsively checking to make sure nothing was wrong. One compulsion that I hated the most would to be putting rubbing alcohol on me to make sure that I had no open wounds. Every day feels like I’m walking around in a fog of anxiety, constantly worrying that I won’t even make it to old age. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that I just want it all to end. It stresses me so bad at times to where my brain feels like I’ve been studying all day.
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 20w
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
- Date posted
- 7w
I've been told a lot that in order to get better, we need to tolerate uncertainty, which yea I get that and I'm trying every day more and more to reach that point!! But I've also been told that we need to tolerate uncertainty AND "our worst fears becoming true". Like how does that work, especially with POCD, OCD about a///ault, SA and all of that? Like that is really difficult for me and I don't really understand how I'm supposed to just shrug stuff like that off
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