I guess this is kind of reassurance seeking, but I'm curious as to what is "normal" for non-contamination ocd people. Do you guys wash your hands after handling things in your house? After literally just stepping out of the shower, I just accidentally touched something I purchased today. Normally I would wash my hands, but my husband discouraged me from doing so because he knew it would start a spiral of still not feeling clean and wanting to wipe things down. So then I had to open my drawers, put on my pajamas, and get into bed/touch our clean bedding. I'm obviously veryyyy uncomfortable. Is this something that would even register as a red flag on anyone's radar? I know some people have taken to wiping groceries down during the pandemic, but that's not the concern in this case.

Hi, I’m new to this app and newly diagnosed. Question for you all, What things did you normalize and do without a second thought that when diagnosed, you realized was actually your OCD? Mine was how concerned with germs I am. I hold my breath when I open a door so the rush of wind doesn’t infect my lungs from whatever is in the room. I thought everyone was really careful and concerned like me. But Ive learned it’s not normal the lengths I go to. What was yours?

i have contamination ocd and i have a hard time knowing what’s normal- please help me get back to normal!! do you worry or clean under your fingernails when you wash your hands? do you specifically wash your thumb? if so how? do you pay attention to the pace you wash your hands at? do you ever feel the need to do things a certain amount of times or count while doing things? in the shower do you wash your hands at any time? especially after washing private areas? question for the girls!! how many times do you wipe after you pee? how do you all pee so fast?

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"?