Therapist: There are germs everywhere. You can’t get rid of them. So, why don’t you learn not to wash your hands after touching washroom door knob ? ??‍♂️ Me: Would you touch a dead rat and not wash your hands? ? Therapist: No!? Me: Why?! You said there are germs everywhere and you can’t get rid of them. ? Therapist: ? Me: That’s where you draw the line and this is where I draw the line. ? Therapist: I will not try to convince you that nothing is going to happen to you if you don’t wash your hands. Probably, something can but its probability is really really low. So, you have to take the risk and be uncertain. Me: ?

Does anyone else have compulsions that mix in with each other and you have to end up picking what one makes you LESS scared or uncomfortable but it’s still overwhelming? Like rn I used all my hand towels, need to wash and dry them but no clean ones to dry hands with currently, a bath towel makes me feel like whatever was on my hair or body even after a shower is contaminated cause I don’t want it on my HANDS, but there’s one DRY and untouched towel but I think it’s contaminated by something else so I’m too scared to use it…. What do you do in this situation? It happens a lot when they intertwine and I dunno what to do ….. also what one is more or less valid…which one would help me more in the future. Regardless I’m sitting here thinking I have bleach or another chemical on my hands cause at the time I decided to dry my hands with the hair towel…

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.

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"?