- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
I'm the same. If I walk past the rubbish bin, I think did I just touch that. Or when washing my hands , I think did my finger just touch the sink , and then I'll wash again, or did my sleeve touch the sink. The clothes become contaminated so go in the wash pile. I don't know why the sink bothers me so much , I guess its cause I feel it's dirty from washing my hands.
- Date posted
- 4y
I'm the same with the sink. And it's as if it doesnt matter if I clean it, it's like it gets dirty again as soon as someone washes in it.
- Date posted
- 4y
@catattak Yeh I would love a germ expert to talk to me about these things and put my mind at ease that the sink is fine etc .. I need the scientific / expert opinions to shut my brain down and silence the doubts and what iffs
- Date posted
- 4y
YES! I deal with the same thing like washing my hands several times and I go through so many clothes because if my foot touched my shorts (especially at bed time) then they have to get re washed! Or if they fall from the dryer on the floor=back to the washer they go! It’s sooo frustrating because not only is it more work but I spend so much money on laundry detergent and my water bill and everything! And my BF and I just bought our first house so having all these utility bills and then having them be so much higher because of my OCD just makes me sooo angry!
- Date posted
- 4y
@StefH I'm the same with too much clothes washing. I literally am just dealing with it now in terms of letting it go but I really think that's my meds doing it and erp working. If I wash my hands and some soap splashes on my shirt before I feel my hands were clean (meaning the soap splash wasnt clean either) it drives me bonkers. Previously that would have made me change my shirt. Now I'm just sitting with it. And honestly like my hands try not to touch that specific spot during the day but at least I'm not changing my shirt anymore and I hope I keep progressing.
- Date posted
- 4y
@catattak Yes! That is progress!!! That’s awesome! As far as ERP what are you doing to reduce the amount laundry of laundry
- Date posted
- 4y
I have found using this app helpful not only to communicate with others because OCD isn’t as rare as we may feel it is but it’s not like talking to people about a sport or something so I find it helpful to know you’re not alone and to hear different stories and what has and hasn’t worked for others and then getting advice to try for ourselves. Plus the support on here is amazing! Because personally my boyfriend doesn’t understand it so when I conquer something if I’m excited and want to share with someone. He doesn’t get excited or anything because he doesn’t have it so he doesn’t understand.
- Date posted
- 4y
Cool that's good to hear ?
- Date posted
- 4y
I get like...'phantom' touches where I think a part of me rubbed up against a counter or door but it obviously didnt happen because I wasnt close enough. The real problem there is not whether ir not i touched something, its realizing it doesnt truly matter. The cdc doesnt tell us to change our clothes if we rubbed up against a wall in our home, or shower when we get home. That's our ocd. I really just have to tell myself that fomite transmission is not the main method of transmission here and tell my brain to shut up. Mind you I am not always successful. Tonight is grocery pick up night and I already know that I will be wiping everything down, disinfecting my kitchen and showering.
- Date posted
- 4y
I liked how you worded it as it doesn’t truly matter! Pretty much reminding ourselves there is more important things in our lives then these irrational fears. Even though the OCD makes it feel like it is the only thing that matters and that we can’t move on until we give in. But it’s crazy to think how much time (at least I know myself) waste doing the compulsions! And not only time but money! For how much soap I go through and Lysol wipes and all that. It all adds up! What frustrates me is that I know all this and how much of a waste of time, energy, happiness, and sometimes it also almost gets to the point where it costs me my relationship, why isn’t all that enough to ignore the compulsions?????
- Date posted
- 4y
It doesn't truly matter ! I like that
- Date posted
- 4y
I struggle wirh this too. Not the germs but I have a lot of things in my home I think are dangerous in other ways. When I walk the streets I often get these what if's about car batteries, empty bottles, gas spots...as someone said here it doesbt matter if we touched it or not. We have to break that cycke of walking on egg shells...In my home I have made a hierarchy room after room to work through all the items I avoid.
- Date posted
- 4y
Yeah it’s so frustrating and when you said about walking it made me think about how when I am out in public and there might be something on the ground that is either a tissue or the worst for me is like a clear plastic bag because my first thought is what if that was a condom and I touched it with my shoe or my arm was down at my side and it could of touched it and then it’s just a whirlwind of anxiety and fears and irrational thoughts
- Date posted
- 4y
@StefH I totally get you on this. I have scanned the streets after condoms too. Everyday I try to "just walk" as normal people...but its hard.
- Date posted
- 4y
Wow i don’t feel alone. I struggle with this too.
- Date posted
- 4y
Your not alone!!! I’m glad that I’m not either! Since it isn’t really like any of my other compulsions but it really is an avoidance compulsion!
- Date posted
- 4y
Wow yes me too. I pull the clothes out of the washer so carefully so I don't drop them and have to re wash
- Date posted
- 4y
Yeah and on top of that when I’m folding them I have to make sure they don’t touch anything “contaminated” and usually they don’t! But I always “think” they may have or got to close or whatever. Anyone have any advice??
- Date posted
- 4y
Just a bit off topic . But do you find it good to talk to people dealing with the same things . I'm just wondering if hearing the same situations makes it justify what you are doing and make it seem ok . Or do you feel you can be strong together and work thru it .
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
I’ve been feeling the urge to avoid intimacy or purposefully engage (for reassurance that I won’t give into a compulsion) because of intrusive thoughts and fear that I’ll “check/test” my reactions. My OCD is making me so scared that I’ll purposefully think of a child and try to see if I like it. It’s so complicated but I guess I’m mentally checking if I would mentally check during intimacy. I’ve even envisioned myself checking and it’s making me so nauseous. I know it’s a compulsion like any other but the sound of “touching yourself to the thought of a child” sounds atrocious and vile. I’m terrified I’ll automatically start checking next time I am being intimate. I truly feel so worried. If anyone has gone through something similar, I’d appreciate hearing your experience. Or if anyone has any advice?
- Harm OCD
- POCD
- Students with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Older adults with OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Real Events OCD
- "Pure" OCD
- Date posted
- 24w
back in october i made my first post about my specific type of ocd, how it mixes in with my day to day and how i “deal” with it. i talked about the starting point, how it gradually got worse, and then how it was going just a few months ago. i always think it’s insane how much can change in just the course of a small to a large amount of time. right now, i honestly feel like garbage. to be quite sincere i really want to give up, i’m barely holding on by a thread. and if i cut that thread, i really doubt anyone would care. i’ve never considered myself to be a suicidal person, and i still don’t consider myself that right now. it just gets to a point where it’s just, a lot to deal with. i don’t really enjoy things a lot nowadays. sure i have good days like everyone does, like today, when i was just enjoying my day without worries. but then it all comes crawling back twice as bad the following days. i take online college so i’m usually just stuck at home most of the time. but, when i do decide to actually go out and leave my house, my ocd just explodes because i have this whole routine i need to do or else i feel like i’ll contaminate wherever i end up going. i’m not going to go really deep into my compulsions because it’s hard enough to live with them, much more having to type them all out in detail. but when i go out my compulsions go from wiping down all my stuff i’m going to use after showering, to washing my clothes/cleaning the washer + dryer. i also have separate things (or two of the same thing) i use specifically in my house, and items i use when going out. such as shampoo/body wash, deodorant, lotion, hair curler, etc. as if that’s not draining enough, i also feel the need to fast a couple days prior to any plan i make because i’ve forced myself to believe i need to feel empty in order to be clean. i’m not sure if that’s my past eating disorder talking, or my ocd, but my brain can’t help but think any food in my house is utterly and completely contaminated. i’m so tired of this feeling, feeling like nothing will ever be clean again. feeling like my ocd is trapped in my childhood home. feeling that wave of diseases rushing through my veins the moment i step foot into what’s supposed to be “home”. and i’m so scared of therapy because what if i do get healed, and then everything comes rushing back the second i step into my room. i’m planning on moving somewhere far from my current house in this next coming year, so sometimes i feel like just waiting it out. but it’s insufferable when going to hangout with someone. i miss my friends, my family, and my partner. it’s crazy to me that i’m dealing with all this at the young age of 18 but, i’m sure lots of people have it way worse. i just want to find a way out, any possible way. but i keep pushing myself deeper and deeper that when i finally find a way, it will no longer exist.
- 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.
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