- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I have the same issue. I have to wash my hands between each step to avoid spreading the germs and contamination. So simply throwing in the laundry is 15 minutes when it used to take 3 min.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
That’s cool to know that I’m not alone with feeling that our dirty laundry is dirty. Most people seem to not wash their hands after doing laundry it doesn’t make sense to me lol
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Once my water heater broke when I was staying at my bfs place for a couple weeks and when I got back and noticed it there was mold in the walls! That sent me into a spiral cuz that stuff could actually kill you if inhaled I was worried I contaminated almost everything in my house I just wanted to leave all my stuff there and move and start over I did move and ended up throwing a lot away but not everything I kept that stuff I needed in a separate area and moved it a few times ( i move a lot) I finally just got rid of it after my last move I just have two storage containers now of dirty stuff I’ll eventually disinfect.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I know it's hard for you but keep doing your laundry.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Do you use gloves? That’s what I do. What is your contamination issue with laundry?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
This is so relatable - I often have to put things through the machine five times or more before I can take them out again, and takes me ages to get them in there in the first place. I think it helps to put things on hot washes because that'll kill a lot of things which would contaminate clothes etc. Most things will hold up better than you'd expect in a hot wash. Personally I put everything in a bag I know will survive the machine and then I just chuck the bag in so I can avoid touching the items individually where possible. Then after the first wash I can separate them out a bit. Whatever happens, you do need to force yourself to do it - you'll thank yourself in the long run.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Agree with you Shana though one way to probably fight the compulsion is knowing that most people don’t do what we do yet they are still perfectly fine. Hard to do but just a thought
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Y’a thats true but then again I feel like I touch all dirty things together that maybe others don’t. Like I’ll touch dishes trash dog poo etc and laundry therefore spreading germs to everywhere I feel is dirty but yeah you’re right it should still be fine although maybe I shouldn’t touch trash and laundry with the same hands or gloves ha
- Date posted
- 6y ago
It’s like I’m confused how much germs will actually harm me and how much of an amount will and whether or not those germs die after a couple days or once dried etc
Related posts
- Date posted
- 16w 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
- 15w ago
My ocd is ruining my relationship with my kids. Because of the intrusive thoughts I avoid being close to them, hugging or cuddling up to watch tv. My ocd is either telling me I wouldn’t care if harm came to them or it turns everything into something sexual or inappropriate. For example, my daughter wanted to show me how long her nails are so she started scratching my arm gently. It felt so nice and relaxing and I immediately panicked because I was scared the ocd would cause a groinal and I don’t ever, ever want a feeling like that connected with my child even though I know it’s the ocd causing it and not me i’d still feel horrible. I just want to be a normal loving affectionate mom and I can never be that for my kids because of ocd😪 I don’t see any other parents posting about going through this or commenting that they do and how they cope. I feel so alone and defeated.
- Date posted
- 13w ago
Every day my ocd makes sure there’s a new reason for me to stay trapped in my mind rather than being the mom I want to be that my kids need. Instead i’m stuck in my head depressed and pushing them away. The other day I was braiding my daughter’s hair like I always do and her hair is really long so when I get to the end of the braid I can see her butt in my peripheral vision and I looked down and I immediately got upset asking myself why did I look down?(the ocd has made me question everything I do now). I know it’s just because I was at the end of the braid and I just looked because I was already looking in that direction. A normal person wouldn’t even think twice about it. There was no inappropriate reason behind it at all but of course my ocd latched onto the situation and said I looked down because I wanted to look at her butt. I was so upset and said to myself “I don’t understand how the ocd started an intrusive thought because she was wearing baggy pants. I could understand if she had on tight pants and her butt was more noticeable” and the only reason I said that is because usually the only time my ocd starts intrusive thoughts telling me i’m looking at my daughter in a wrong way is when she has on leggings or a crop top or bathing suit ect. Now my ocd twisted what I said to mean that I like looking at her in tight pants. Nooo! That’s not what I meant but now the ocd won’t stop trying to make me believe that. I don’t ever look at my children in any inappropriate way. I hate this. I hate ocd and I can’t live like this anymore.
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