- Username
- Lil~Z
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Thanks guys, I thought I was going crazy. I’m gonna try to just ignore that feeling of washing them push through. It seems like if I touch something that I feel is dirty and feel the need to wash my hands, if I get distracted or wait like 5 min, I sometimes can’t remember what I was worried about and move on without washing. But then next obsession starts?
Hi there, I am sorry that you're struggling with this. I also am having trouble with hand washing now. From what I have been learning in therapy it's best to practice Exposure Response Prevention. Try to start with noticing when you feel the "impulse" to wash, notice the thoughts associated with the fear and resist performing the compulsion (hand washing). Stopping compulsions is the key to beating OCD. There is also such a thing as mental compulsions such as mentally reviewing a situation (it's a form of checking). You can do this! I need to follow this myself..
Thank you. I’m going to try this and hope I improve!
Thank you gardengoddess. I will try this for sure. I think i maybe slowly improving but still have much not progress to make.
Hi, I have this problem too. I managed to (sort of) get it under control by postponing washing my hands each time I had the compulsion. If my OCD was telling me to wash my hands, I would set a timer (usually for 20-30 minutes). When the timer was finished, I was allowed to wash my hands. Over time you can increase the time on the timer. When I started using this technique I could only postpone for one minute but it does get better if you persist with it although I do understand that it is difficult. I hope that makes sense. Good luck! ?
Lil Z, you are not going crazy. You can rest assured about that. Although I can definitely relate to the worry about "am I going crazy"? That worry alone can be apart of OCD, and increases anxiety. It sounds like you're building some great skills for yourself with your OCD! Great job keep it up! I understand what you are experiencing. The idea with exposure response prevention is not to ignore the feeling that results when we are facing an obsession (such as feeling the need to wash our hands in response to a fear -usually sparked by an intrusive thought). I think what you're doing is GREAT!! Going forward, I recommend allowing and accepting yourself to feel the feeling you are feeling such as anxiety, etc whatever the feeling is that arises from not washing your hands, sit with it. Allow it to be present without obeying what it is compelling you to do (wash hands). As you practice this over time, the compelling need to hand wash should dissipate. Go you!! The idea is to sit with the feeling, not push it away. Delaying the hand washing until the need disappears can help too!!
You're welcome, I hope it's helpful. I definitely understand how hard OCD is. I've just been learning about my OCD more recently and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface.
I’ve just started doing this worse than I ever have before and it’s caused my hands to be red and dry and painful. I haven’t found anything to help me at this point in time unfortunately, I just want you to know you aren’t alone I’m dealing with this. ♥️
I hope it goes well!
Hi everyone. First time here. I suffer from Contamination OCD. I have a good support group in friends, family, and my boyfriend, but I have not met anyone else with OCD and I needed to reach out to others to find help. I first got OCD when I was 17 (I am now 33) and was able to go into remission, but COVID brought it back. I was struggling at work (which was outside with the public). I found a therapist and she wrote me a doctor’s note suggesting I be allowed to work from home. My work was not accommodating at all and only offered me FMLA leave, so I took it as my only option and eventually got on Short Term Disability. The whole process took forever and was incredibly stressful. My leave was supposed to be a time of healing and it just made my OCD symptoms worse. My employer basically treated me as though I was trying to get out of work and proved to me that though they talk about the importance of mental health, they don’t take mental health seriously. I ended up having to leave my job “involuntarily due to health reasons” as they would not grant an extension nor let me return with any restrictions/accommodations. My therapist seemed good at first, but it became clear that she wasn’t really helping me. She would often use our sessions to vent about the insurance company and in one session, she basically called me a hopeless case and kept saying “I don’t know. I am concerned. I don’t know how you are going to be able to function” and threw out the word hospitalization, though she did backtrack on that one. I struggle everyday. I am worried that something from outside of the home touched something clean and is now contaminated. I need help working through this. I am constantly looking for reassurance, question if things are clean, wash my hands, use too many disinfectant wipes, and take showers upwards of 50-60 mins. I feel like my mind is being taken over by my OCD, I’m losing time, and it’s straining my relationship. For anyone who is struggling with contamination OCD brought on by COVID - any tips? My therapist never gave me anything specific to work on with this - to help me focus on something else. I am in the process of finding another therapist, but until then - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Does anyone else struggle with hand washing/contamination OCD? I feel like it’s not talked about enough that OCD although it’s a mental illness it can have a very real physical impact on a person as well. For me, I used to struggle with compulsive hand washing. It wasn’t so much that I would touch something, and need to wash my hands, it was more so I would just sit at the sink and need to do it over and over again until it felt “right”. But I have gotten better with it, and have done a lot of exposure therapy for it, but my hands and arms still suffer from the brutality of it with the harsh soaps and excessive washing. It feels like my hands and arms are always really dry and despite how much I try to moisturize, just from the amount of time I spent doing it my skin was really damaged. Let me know if anyone has struggled in a similar way?
Prisoner to contamination OCD here and the "things" I "have to" do to stop the. feeling of some imaginary plague overtaking me just keep multiplying. The whole Covid lock down and sanitization really made my OCD spiral. I'm still wiping groceries. I can't touch anything public or money without sanitizing. I wipe any surface I come into contact with or have some kind of plan of how I will conduct myself (what to wear, if I can cover my head, come home change, shower) just to make it through, say a dentist appointment or a manicure. Yes, I can complete the tasks, but the thoughts of the ritualistic washing just looms and makes me more anxious and depressed. I know not to go into specifics here, but can anyone chime in? I only have a good day when I don't have to come into contact with things or use my coping compulsions. Unfortunately nocd doesn't have an available therapist that accepts my insurance. Anyone here have success with ERP? I just think it would be extremely difficult.
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