Im having anxiety over worrying i dont have ocd because my fear of germs isnt because im afraid to get sick, im just highly disgusted by germs and bacteria and dirt. Anyone else with contamination ocd experience this?

I see. Well the good news is that you see a doctor! Keep it up for sure. Those thoughts are ocd and are not reality based.

Maxie, look, I have fear of contamination and I have to do some rituals (like washing hands) etc. If you are in constant fear of getting contaminated, then welcome in our world. You are not alone. And the thing is: Don’t bother if it is OCD or whatever name, we have to get over and we have to try to overcome our fears and phobias.

Maxie, do you fear contamination, right. The question is, if you have to wash or disinfect your hands in case you touch a handle at public space. Or if you have to wash your hands when you have to pick up something from floor or ground.

That’s how it is with me; I’m not worried about getting sick, but more with things being dirty in a germ sense. Like, for example, I coat my arms with hand sanitizer after a shower because I have to touch door handles and stuff to get to my room.

Like, after I’ve made it to my room I need to clean up again.

Its so nice knowing im not the only one

That’s how I feel too, like it’s something on me I need to clean off. I get it with clothing to; only pristinely clean cloths can touch my bed and if I wear clothes out of the house I need to change as soon as I get home

I wear flip flops or slip on shoes in my house, or slippers if it’s cold, cause touching the floor is the worst; you never know what people step in and bring inside.

Same! My sister is the total opposite of me in terms of germs, like she reaches into communal candy jars without washing her hands after being outside, plus we have 3 cats that make messes on the carpet.

My god? yeah i think i wash my glass like 4 times a day at least because i feel like just by being in my house its covered in horrible germs

I’m like that with my seat on the couch; if someone brushes up against it with their clothes or I’m not in the room and there’s a chance someone did I have to spray it with Lysol

Same, I’m just glad my family no longer even tries to sit there, so I only need to clean up the edges they could have touched walking through the room

So are you afraid you don’t have ocd?

Yeah, i did some research just now and aparently its a thing, that some people are just afraid of dirt and germs but not necessarily about getting sick because of it

Sure. OCD can latch onto anything. What if you didn’t have ocd? What would be bad about that?

My worries about not having ocd are that even though i have all the symptoms and see a doctor for it, that its something worse, like that ive gone insane. Another worry i have of not actually having ocd is, what if even though i have the symtoms and was diagnosed, that im doing this to myself subconsciously? (Im not sure im expressing this right) like what if i told myself i have ocd and thats why i have ocd

I wash my hands and arms everytime i touch anything really, except for my phone (which i desinfect with sprays and alcohol a couple times a day)

Yeah youre probably right! I shouldnt try to put a name of it, i should just focus on how to get over it

Me too

Natalie-olivia, Mkeyes2013: do you find, too, not worrying over sickness but over how overpowering the feeling of germs and dirt is on you? I have yet to find someone i can relate to in that sense?

I do the same thing, or I’ll almost physically feel the germs on me, so i have to spray disinfectant all over me

YES! If i touch the floor with my socks or my feet i need to wash up and change immediately too, so i wear double socks around the house

Exactly! Plus i have an 8 year old sister whos not the most hygienic person in the world and the thought that she runs around barefoot is already giving me anxiety about stepping on the same floor

Mine is all touch based; as long as I know no one touched my glass I’m fine, but one touch and I need to clean the entire thing. My mom will get out plates for dinner and if I think her sleeve touched it or she set, like, a serving spoon down on it, I get myself a new clean plate

Same, or even if i leave my glass in the living room while someone else is there, when i come back i feel like they touched it so i need to wash it again

Me too, i sit on a couch i know noone ever sits and if i see someone lean against it i just wont sit there until I get to clean it