- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I wanted to be a nurse at one time but I couldn’t because of my contamination ocd. I was in school but when I did a clinical at the hospital that’s when I realized there’s no way I could do it which really sucks because I’m having a hard time figuring out what I want for a career. Ocd gets in the way a lot of the time..So I’d love to know the answer to this question as well if there is anyone on here!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
?♀️ yes there is at least me and one other nurse on this app. I did not start with contamination OCD, only you harm and then POCD, and then lastly I developed contamination. When I developed contamination it took me completely by surprise because I hadn’t had an issue with germs before. I basically had a meltdown slowly through half of 2018 and ended up having to quit my job for a while and was seeing a BUNCH of therapists. What actually worked best was getting my meds changed and then slowly re- engaging in my work. I still go to therapy 2x/ week. Everyday is a constant exposure and I choose 1-2 things to work on at a time. I am currently working on my fear of contaminating the IV. It helps most of my fear is of me making others sick, not myself
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thanks for the responses! I have been a nurse for 3 1/2 years. I never had contamination ocd until my nursing career. I did have POCD/sexual thought ocd years ago, which got better! Anyway, my contamination ocd got to the point where I quit my job. My last day of work was 12/15. I’ve been trying to find jobs since then in healthcare/nursing that are more behind the scenes. No luck yet! I also just started therapy for the contamination ocd last week. Hoping to get help. WorriedDriver, you sound like me! Other than the fact that I fear I will get a disease vs making others sick.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Some advice I got was go move to an area with less broad scope of practice ex: OR, psych, procedural area so that there are fewer variety of tasks and it’s easier to do ERP. I also take 200mg sertraline and 2mg of Abilify (started getting really depressed) and the combo has allowed me to get the OCD under control. I also switched units which helped because my old unit really triggered a lot of my OCD thoughts just because of bad memories of having so much panic about contamination there
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w ago
I have contamination OCD and sometimes I don't feel like cleaning. I have a huge pile of blankets on my floor that feel contaminated and I have two dogs and seven cats. I don't really touch them anymore like I used to since my OCD got worse. One of my dogs like to pee on my floor a lot and sometimes I'm too lazy to clean it, because I'd have to get the carpet shampooer out and actually clean. Sometimes I do it because I don't want to wash my hands over and over, so I just avoid it. Now I'm scared that the dry urine is on my feet and are now in my bed. I know that I should just say well maybe it did or maybe it didn't and just go about my day, but it's hard. For the people who conquered contamination OCD how did you get through stuff like this? Thank you in advance to anyone who answers my post.
- Date posted
- 21w ago
I have contamination OCD that causes me to excessively wash my hands/clean items with disinfectant wipes. I know I just need to start with small exposures but how do I do that without spiraling? I tried a while back by just touching the outside of my dishwasher and not washing my hands after and it led to me being unable to even exist in my house. I basically lived on my couch for three weeks as it was the only 'safe' space that I had not touched with my dirty hands. I had to take a week off work to clean my house to make it somewhat liveable. I still haven't got round to cleaning everything though so things like my kitchen are still no-go zones that I don't enter. I just don't know how to start ERP without it making everything worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I am not seeing a therapist at the moment due to financial constraints.
- Date posted
- 14w ago
I don't know what to do, my hands have become so numb and bruised because of constant washing hands, i have started hating each and every furniture around me, beacuse i feel they are not clean although they are being cleaned regularly but i cannot stop these thoughts. I clean my phone, bluetooth, charger with wet wipes each day, i don't touch any object around me, i am not being able to focus on my studies or anything else because of my ocd ihave stopped going out, everyone around me is so fed up of me. I have consulted so many therapists and been taking ayurvedic supplements too but nothing works. It is getting worse and worse, please if anybody can suggest me how to overcome these thoughts!
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