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Hello, I am still very afraid that I’ve gotten scabies since 4 months back. I’ve been to 3 different doctors and they’ve like slightly looked at the spots and one dermatologist quick with like a big thing that zoomes in the area. Either way, everyone has told me it’s nothing but I still get a little itchy here and there, and I GET RANDOM SCRATCH MARKS ON MY BODY and it says that those can appear with intense itching at night and when you sleep but I don’t feel like I can do that because I don’t have like intense itching. Either way my friend booked us a trip and I got new scratch marks but my time with my dermatologist told me it’s after the trip and I don’t think they have it before, and I’m so scared I’ve contaminated everyone around me. Should I go on the trip or should I cancel and should I stay home until the 29th of January…., I sound crazy but I’m so afraid. I can’t sleep or think

I'm having a very hard time with contamination and health concerns OCD,I feel I'm about to give up. My parents even if they live extremely far from me and I haven't seen them in more than 6 years ago, still they don't really try better ways to help me through the distance. They have an immense lack of empathy, kindness, understanding, patience and compassion about my situation.My husband has become a monster, so mean and heartless. I'm all alone with my toddler. My hands are absolutely destroyed due to the over washing. I have waited 2 weeks to be able to open and use some makeup I ordered, but as I saw the box was opened Istarted to think what if someone has deliberately tampered the makeup, or polluted it with something very dangerous as Anthrax spores? And I never dropped that belief, I asked here for opinions and suggestions on how to deal with that. I got so helpful, kind and good answers, still I couldn't do a change. Now when I was reading a little more about OCD to try to find more help. I crossed with this, I didn't know, after reading this,l feel completely disappointed, to live with OCD, depression and anxiety it's not life, now reading that we are in higher risk of developing BD and Schizophrenia, it's awful. In days like this..I wish I was dead or never even born.

Any tips on how to not constantly worry about getting sick during flu season? My contamination OCD has never been as bad for me as it has been this year and even after being in therapy, I’m not sure how to cope with the anxiety and paranoia. 🥲

Hi everyone! So one of the ways my ocd has manifested has been through fear of getting sick, being sick or getting someone else sick (guilt) - for the new year I’m really trying to not complain or say anything negative because typically I complain a lot about common things like “my head hurts” “my stomach hurts” “I have this symptom do you think I’m okay?” “Feel my head if I’m not” basically just constantly worrying. I also freak out if someone around me has even a sniffle or anything off of the norm. I also own a lash business where I have clients and I still wear a mask and have a mental internal breakdown if someone comes in seemingly sick. Anyway - since I’m trying really hard for this new year to work on this and scale back on talking about things to my boyfriend friends and family only if it’s really something I’m going to come here for advice instead Today I went to the gym my boyfriend owns and he threw up in the bathroom after sudden nausea. He said it was because he drank coffee too fast and I do believe that then he felt fine. I mopped the bathroom for him incase any throw up missed the toilet since he had to finish his client. Then I left and I did my normal sanitizing of my phone hands and everything as I do when I leave the gym. I tried to remain calm and I got home and did my normal morning routine trying not to think more about it He said he felt fine and normal again still but then about an hour later he texted me that he threw up again but this time blood, and that his friends then said they didn’t feel great (not stomach problems, but just sick) and I was with them all on Monday. So anyways I know these things are inevitable but I’m really trying not to freak myself out. I have to accept if I get sick I get sick but I have extreme fears of being sick especially because I see clients and don’t want to get sick in the middle of an appt randomly if that’s when something would decide to come on How do I deal with these types of things better?

My partner, has been struggling with ocd for about 2 years. How do i help them and know what to say back to them? they are currently seeing a ocd therapist but they still find it hard not to tell me. i was told to not acknowledge them but it’s hard when it’s constant every day. they struggle with ROCD, intrusive thoughts, contamination, and number ocd. i want to help them but it’s hard as someone who dosent have these. Like for example they won’t wear clothes that have touched the door frame, door, wall etc or will tell me their intrusive thoughts and if i ignore they get upset and i just feel bad. i dont want to be a bad partner for not understanding but i am trying and i know it’s hard for them and everyone who struggles with any type of ocd.

Hello, I'm 30 and I've suffered from OCD for about half my life. It's been different kinds throughout my life but for the past few months I've had a very debilitating fear that I know is completely absurd but I have been having a lot of trouble with it. (Involving bodily fluid ocd) I don't know where this really stems from but I have this fear that someone is breaking into my home when I'm not there to contaminate my soaps and shower products with semen. It sounds so dumb even writing it out but I can't get over this feeling. It's caused me to spend so much money on new products so I can ensure those things are not contaminated. Why would anyone do that? Not break in to steal things but just to contaminate my things so when I shower with those products it gets all over me, then I feel disgusting. I fully understand how ridiculous that concept is but that's OCD for you. It's also caused my to do way more laundry which is very expensive in an apartment building. I inspect my soaps for anything that could resemble sperm/semen and I often throw things away and it makes me feel terrible doing that. This is the first time getting this out in the open because I'm too embarrassed to admit it to anyone, and unfortunately I don't currently have access to professional help (not on medications either).

I'm having contamination OCD since past 6 months . I wash my hands infinite time a day . My hands become all dried up and blood comes out frequently from the cuts which are formed due to OCD I'm a teen but my hands are like a old human in their 90's or even more than that. I'm not able to concentrate on my studies I finish 1 bottle of liquid soap in just 2 days due to overhand washing please help me overcome this I'm not able to handle this anymore.

I feel so tired of this heal concerns and contamination OCD. Before Christmas I ordered some makeup from Sephora in Sweden, I wanted to try the Rare Beauty makeup. So when I got my package I noticed the box was 75% opened from the glue sealing that boxes have just above the strip that means to be pulled and open the box. It seemed mire a like problem with the glue from the box. But sadly for me it wasn't like that. I almost immediately started to think: what if someone has opened the package? What if someone has used it? What if it's contaminated? What if someone opened it to put something dangerous there like some biological dangerous thing like spores from some bacteria like Anthrax? I know it's too exaggerated. But in my mind feels like there's a chance for that, since there's always evil people who tries to harm others with aby excuse like being exteeme religious, political ideas or some prejudices, racism etc. So all of that made me BELIEVE something it's wrong with the makeup. All the boxes look good and clean. But as they don't have any stickers to seal them. I also thought what if. I cleaned all the makeup bottles but I haven't dare to open or try them, they have been there in a safe place in the living room since before Christmas until now. I Still struggle as I can't drop that believe away. I ordered it once more, I got it today, and the package was even more open this time, just like 2% of the box was closed. I decided to call to Sephora, I told the woman at the customers service about my condition with OCD. She was so kind and said she was going to investigate with the warehouse. She asked me for some photos. She reminded me I can return everything as long as I haven't used it. I have considered to return everything, but I feel almost stupid that I won't be able to use the makeup even when I'm so eager to do so. If I return it I will OCD to gain over me. In fact I don't seem to find anything that is really perfect or good enough. If there's someone who could please tell me what has worked for you when being so extremely overwhelmed and så red about something being contaminated or dangerous. I'd like to get some opinions and advices in what should I do? Does this sound even possible for you? Am I letting the OCD take so much control over myself? Thank you

Huge TW for health and disease-related OCD and mention of fear of a pet's death Hello everyone I'm new to this app and wanted to make a post introducing myself by telling of a recent story that made me realize that what I thought was just anxiety is probably full-on health OCD. This all happened last month. I always wanted a pet so I made the decision to adopt a very sweet cat I met at a shelter who was instantly attached to me at the hip. She didn't scratch much and I never saw her bite or hiss, very mellow and gentle and she loved attention. I did all the research, bought everything I needed and I was good to go. However, on the first day I saw blood in her poo and this sent me down a spiral. I asked a vet about it during her check-up and everything came back normal. I still couldn't stop worrying about if she had a disease that would make her suffer and I wouldn't have any idea and she'd just be dead the next day (cats are experts at hiding illness) or that it could even be passed to me, even —I don't want to say the name but it starts with an r and it's very deadly— became a near constant worry even though she had ALL her updated shots, perfect health-checkup at the vet, and there was just literally no way on earth it was possible for her to have it. I was constantly obsessing over both our health, and even before I got her I would obsess over my own health with freaking out about getting cuts or getting sick from people in public, etc etc. the list is literally ENDLESS. I thought I was slowly healing from it which is why I thought I'd be okay with having a pet. After the worries were just not calming down, with a heavy heart, for her and my own sake, I made the decision return her to the shelter and it absolutely broke my heart. She didn't deserve that and I still miss her everyday. I still hope she at least was able to go to a good owner without these types of issues. Man I just want to be able to have a pet like everyone else does without having an awful time.

Hey I am new to the website, and I struggle with contamination OCD symptoms. I am not diagnosed, but I do have a feeling that a diagnosis is coming sooner than later. The last few days/nights have been tough. These symptoms are flaring up and I have no idea what to do about it. I do have a therapist that I talk to, but unfortunately she misses a lot of appointments and they get scheduled like a week or so later. It feels so embarrassing to struggle with these thoughts and I feel like I'm genuinely going crazy. It's like everything that I touch or come into contact with is contaminated and even things that I know aren't contaminated feel like they are. I constantly shower and or wash my hands when I feel this way. If anyone else can relate at all feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to talk to some people who understand what it's like and I haven't found any thus far. Thank you for your time.

Hi! Sorry to bother you guys, but I’m really scared right now. So basically, my throat and glands started hurting yet seer ray before I went to work and I just work up in the middle of the night with a stuffy nose and my throat hurts a little more. I looked at my throat in my phone camera and it looks kinda swollen now and I’m really scared that it’s gonna close. But if it was going to close wouldn’t it have happened already? Please someone respond, I’m really scared of getting sick.

I’ve been reflecting a lot about my childhood and how my OCD tendencies were so obvious but I didn’t even know what OCD was… just thought I’d share so we can laugh (hopefully) and recognize that we can’t help that we have OCD! Most of the following were things I’d do when I was between the ages of about 8-16…I may or may not still do some of them 🤣 * praying with my hands turned up because if I prayed with them face down I was praying to the devil * Correcting mean thoughts about other people to nice thoughts otherwise I was a bad person * Beating myself up for not smiling at other people in public * Washing my feet every time I played outside barefoot because I feared that dog poop somehow got on my feet and I would get sick because of it (even if I know I didn’t step in any) * If praying specifically about someone else I would HAVE to include everyone or something bad would happen to them * Pushing a thought away by shaking my head no or literally spitting it out * Confessing about making a MySpace because I wasn’t allowed to have one as an early teen, and ruminating on it for an entire summer (!!!) and fearing that someone would abduct me (due to the horror stories of predators on it at the time) even though I wasn’t active on it * Constantly making sure friends liked me by asking them (“are you sure you want to be my friend?”) * Constantly making sure my parents weren’t mad at me (“are you mad at me? Did I do something?) * Over apologizing (like 5-10x) if it wasn’t a big deal and needing to be sorry was not necessary Oh ✨ OCD ✨ you’re so silly!

Hello I'm new to this... I had a rough childhood growing up and I thought once I got out of my parents house then I'll be happy but my demons slowly came out of me and ruined my relationships and myself. I grew up molding myself to people's body languages, way of thinking, actions, feelings and so much more. I wore masks to secure my safety( illusion) and protect my sisters. As a child I was described by adults as " too serious" but I didn't want to be serious and what I wanted the most as a kid is not to have toys to play with or have friends or watch cartoons but I just wanted feel innocent and to have a child like mind. I wanted to be a kid. I grew up watching others kids be kids and I felt so alone. I was jealous of them. My naivety was stolen by my parents and then my innocence was stolen by my grandpa and my grandma knew but never protected me. She made me feel better every time after it happened but I wish she would've just put a stop to him and protected me. But she was scared of what other's would think about him because he's a pastor. She was too concerned about their image than my own well being. I wasn't safe at home with my parents and I wasn't safe at my grandparents house also but I still had to visit them every Friday because my mother wanted some alone time from us the kids. The mental, physical, verbal, emotional, sexual abuse happened since I was three and up untill I was 19 and finally left my parents house. My grandpa is in prison but it doesn't bring me a peace of mind. I still feel broken, dirty, used and lost. I'm crying now writing this all down because it hurts to finally admit to myself that they all broke me. I don't know what to do and how to live my life at all. I don't know what and who I am on my own. It's scary to me not knowing where I belong. My relationships don't last longer than 4 years. The shortest I've been in was a year. The reason why is that I have BPD and it controls my life. I don't like any physical contact and any affection. I don't like when people touch me in any kind of way. It turns me off and I immediately shut down. When my partner wanted to get a hug, I froze and I didn't know how to react and he got upset because he thought that I didn't love him. It's true though. I never loved anyone and I never will. Its not in me. I grew up in hate, rage, fear and love was never allowed. I don't know what love is. And I'm not talking just about romance relationships but also when I'm around relatives or my sisters... I don't feel anything towards anyone. I'm cold and stiff and constantly overthinking and feeling paranoid. I hide it pretty well on the outside but inside I'm dying. I have OCD but I never got treated for that in the mental health facility I stayed in after attempting suicide because of my abusive relationship but also other fear factors that played the part. Anyway, I want to so badly to heal and try to live my life fully. I don't want to waste my life being other people and be in pain. I'm tired. I want my OCD to go away. It's causing me so much distress mentally and physically. I take extremely long showers and my skin is hurting. I can't stop feeling dirty no matter how many times I shower. I space out often and forget if I done it or not and then do the same thing over and over again like washing my hands. I need to learn how to trust myself. I need help. If anyone can relate to my story please feel free to reach out because right now I feel very alone and scared dealing with all this on my own. I hope I can find people who can understand and support me through this hard but necessary journey. I'm sorry for not going into many details about my trauma because I don't want to trigger anyone on here. I know what that feels like so I just want to be careful and mindful of others who will read this post.

Last night I realized I need to stop thrifting & shopping at vintage clothing stores. I actually didn’t realize this my friend helped me, (he does not have OCD). A lot of my Contamination and Health concern OCD doesn’t show up with nature, it shows up with the people im around and what they do. I would LOVE to be someone thrifts nice clothes and shops for good vintage items but recently after purchasing 4 things from a vintage store, that dream had to walk out the door. The items I bought were: A fur collar, two 80s tops with puff sleeves, and a hand crocheted vest. No matter how many times I washed them I could still smell the scent of the store I bought them from which was, Warm, Dusty, and Claustrophobic (I dont know how something can smell claustrophobic but trust me they did) Other people in my house say they smell normal but I knew it was there and became very worried about getting sick or breathing in someone else’s Skin, Rot, or even Mold spores. Anyways, against my better judgement I threw away the fur collar holding it in a bag as far away from my body as possible, and put all the other clothing items in the darkest furthest corner of my closet after dousing them in perfumes and anti bacterial spray. I opened all the windows in my room, turned on an air purifier and two fans to the max, and turned off the heater, for maximum airflow. This left me freezing all night but it was the only way I would’ve slept in the first place. I have no idea how to handle this in the future so for now, I’ll just stick to avoiding the thrift all together.

Hello! Over the past few weeks I have learned more about what OCD is and questioned if I had it. I didn't think I had obsessions/compulsions enough for it to be OCD (rather than anxiety) or for it to be worth pursuing anything. However last night was what really solidified things for me. I had convinced myself that homemade pickled okra my mom gave me that I ate was going to give me botulism. There was nothing to make me think anything was wrong with it but the thought just popped in my head and I spiraled. The whole time I knew it was probably fine and I was being irrational but I couldn't get the "well what if this is the weird case where it does happen?" I was obsessing over it for a few hours (I've now learned is ruminating I think), googling things about it (compulsion), and seeking reassurance multiple times from my partner. It even got so bad I texted my mom seeking reassurance that it was safe to eat. Today is her birthday and I woke up from a text from her telling me she follows all the proper techniques but if I'm worried just throw it out. I felt so bad and started crying. The first text she sees from me on her birthday is me questioning if her food is safe to eat. This led me to download this app. I don't have a diagnosis but this and many other things I experience have really pointed to OCD. Already, hearing that other people go through similar things has really helped me. I have felt so silly and irrational for so long and it's so reassuring to see I'm not alone in these things.

does your OCD get so consuming to the point that you CAN'T shower/do regular things that you would normally do? i'm not even depressed. i'm just burnt out & so overwhelmed by my own mind that i can't even shower or take a bath. & that's huge for me because i'm usually VERY clean/i always try to make sure i smell good. i'm just reaching out for support wherever i can at this point.

It’s so frustrating when you’re doing so well, but then experience a bad moment. Lately, I’ve been off and on with my harm thoughts. There’s days where I can allow it to coexist and go on with my day perfectly fine, but then there’s others where it’s too hard. Tonight is one of those nights. My whole demeanor and mood instantly changes when it starts to overwhelm me. I get so much anxiety which makes me thinks it’s nothing but thoughts, but then my feelings say otherwise. It’s like I never have a definite answer on whether this is truly me and even if someone tries to persuade me it’s not, I don’t feel better because it doesn’t feel like it. With my germ anxiety, I’m able to remedy it with music and distractions, but with my harm thoughts I have never been able to find something that instantly makes me feel better. On nights like these, I’m glad I’m able to come here without feeling scared that someone is going to judge or insult me for what I’m going through.

Unable to sleep, my area was making me anxious so I started cleaning at 7AM randomly. I don’t have a problem with cleaning, convincing myself I’ll have a long deserved shower to wash away germs. However, my cleaning process contains an entire system of what needs to be done first to prevent cross-contamination, going from least dirty to dirty. However, my dad did something that made me visibly angry, placing a pack of unused sponges I had used for the process, was right next to the bottle of face cleanser I use daily, right after I finished cleaning everything spotlessly. Distressed that my daily cleanser was next to something where germs could be roaming around, even though they had been completely new sponges. I wasn’t sure what to react in that moment besides obvious frustration spurring in my head. But I thought a little too much about how I should feel, and then I told myself, “Should I be angry? Well, yeah! After all this work I put in?” I’m an 18 year old, but I felt like a child had just came out and groaned into a tantrum. A child-like tantrum unlocked inside of me. I gave my mom an earful about my dad’s actions. I wasn’t actually mad at either of them but angry at what happened. Through my own lengths to avoid it, I poured the contents of my cleanser into a new container and discarded the old contaminated bottle. Because of this, this is the big reason I keep most of my own products in my room, nothing out of greediness and pettiness, but the possibility of contamination. Overall, I felt a lot better after a deserved shower, but I never knew how my temperament could spout the frustrations of that of a child. I feel a kinda bad for reintroducing my 4-year old self to my parents at ten o clock in the morning so I’m going to treat them to a salad lol.

In the summer, my apartment became infested with fleas because of my neighbor. I will also admit that I had no idea I was supposed to give my cat monthly medicine for it so she got fleas too. The whole situation was awful and I ended up terminating my lease because of how poorly it was handled but I’m still struggling so bad with thinking everything is contaminated including my cat. I ended up moving in with my parents and they had fleas in the house for about 3 weeks since I had to bring my cat to their house. After moving in, I took my cat to the vet and was told she didn’t have fleas or any signs of fleas and I haven’t seen any in over 2 months. I’m still convinced they are there even though they aren’t. I’ve also just developed a phobia of any household pest that can infest. I don’t want to go to wooded areas or hotels in fear I’m going to get lice, fleas, or bed bugs. I check every black spec of dirt and I have eczema on my legs that inspect as if they were bites. I don’t know what to do because I’m in a constant cycle of being convinced the fleas are gone and then being convinced they’ll come back. It makes me so sick I throw up and I even lost weight because I couldn’t eat.

I can’t stop myself from washing my hands for like 10–15 minutes every time after using the bathroom. I hate it and it gives me so much anxiety that I literally put off using the toilet until I absolutely have to. I know it’s ridiculous but I don’t know how to make it stop. Please help! 😭