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i’m so stressed. so i showered and i usually open the door from the top bc i don’t like touching the doorknob of the bathroom as i’ve touched it w dirty hands before and it’s the bathroom so it’s just contaminated to me. i showered like 30 min ago but all i can think about is if i touched the doorknob to open the door bc i don’t remember. but i feel like if i did i woulda automatically notcied bc i never do. uhhhh idk whay to do i touched a lot of stuff and i’m in bed rn.

Does anyone have any suggestions for coping skills for health concern ocd or contamination ocd? I’m trying really hard to not let my compulsions get the best of me but it’s so hard to not let the anxiety absolutely and completely spiral.

I think someone i live with washed poopy pants in the washing machine. I found some small brown bits in the machine. And the day before there was shit in our toilet seat. What should I do. I don’t wanna wash my clothes there now. How would a person without OCD handle this.

I’m tired guys. I’m tired of thinking something is always wrong with my health, tired of letting random symptoms/ sensations take over my brain and make me think something is horribly wrong. Tired of thinking I need to go to the doctors to get X & Y looked at. I’m tired of always assuming worst case scenario. I’m tired of constantly thinking if something is unethical/ immoral if I don’t do something, tired of always thinking I’m offending a religious higher being, tired of thinking I’m a bad/ disgusting person for my thoughts. I’ve had OCD ruin so many things for me that should have been fun. It’s ruined intercourse/ intimacy because of religious thoughts, or I keep thinking about STDs/ infections. I’ve been having panic attacks lately, something I’ve never experienced, because of life changes and it’s all gotten in the way of my structured life and it’s been very uncomfortable. Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m in danger, or nothing is real. Right now I’m fearing the most that I’m losing my mind, who I am, and I’m just so scared of my mental health getting worse and going manic or developing a dangerous mental illness. My mental health has NEVER been this bad. This is all new and it’s so scary. I was just fine a few months ago, sure I was dealing with other OCD stuff, the intrusive thoughts, the fears, the repetitive actions just to make sure something is the way I want it/ brings me comfort. But ever since my structure was changed/ ruined, it’s all been downhill. I just finished an EMT program, and that messed with me. Saw/ experienced things I’ve never done before and man, it’s really messed with me. Working on getting a new job in healthcare but still don’t have insurance so getting a new OCD specialized therapist has been difficult. Can someone relate just so I don’t feel like I’m crazy?..

so i’m getting ready for school and i’m dressed and i tied my shoes and usually i wash my hands right after because the floor is one of my biggest triggers like it’s so dirty to me so yea but i pulled my sweater down after before washing my hands and now i feel like my sweater is dirty. i can’t change because i have no other clothes ready to wear and it’s time for me to leave. idk what to do 💔

Every time I feel like I'm doing something major that OCD has held me back from, or even just in a good headspace, something else will happen that sets me back of triggers my anger and hopelessness. This morning I felt so hopeless and didn't want to get out of bed. But I made myself get up, and order some groceries because I hadn't been eating much lately. Having a hard time with food prep and making sure everything is clean enough to use and eat. Anyway I ordered some stuff to have delivered bc I knew the stores would be packed on Sunday morning. I made coffee and started feeling like I could get some things done today I'd been avoiding, and that I could handle things. When I went down to grab the grocery bag that had been delivered, it was on the ground outside my building and it had some red spot on the outside, which is my biggest trigger with contamination right now. It was really discouraging and I got so, so angry. I know that there's not OCD god, and that things happen, and that I don't know what the red mark was, but I also don't know how to not worry that the person delivering it was bleeding or that I could use anything I got without worrying I'm in danger. Ive been desperately trying to find help and a therapist, even switched my insurance to see if it helped but I've had no luck and my life is unraveling right now. If anyone has any advice or encouragement, It would be greatly helpful.

I wash my hands More thank 10 times, I go to the bed and now, after 15 minutes, I want washing again ;( I feel I can touch everything way to my room: the door handle, the trash of kitchen, anything and my parent get mad about that and she gonna angry if I wash again now...I feel sick

im at work, coworker had an OPEN WOUND BLEEDING and did not cover it. i had to go get them a bandaid because they basically refused to wear one. there’s a scab on my face that i picked that i noticed was bleeding, wiped it either with my shirt or the back of my hand and put some aquaphor. but now im scared there’s a chance the blood could have somehow gotten into my face and through that cut and now i have some disease or something. im really scared.

how many others on here deal with emetophobia alongside their OCD? I just got diagnosed with OCD, and i’m currently trying to learn more about it. A lot of my OCD comes from my emetophobia, but i do however have other compulsions aside from that. The compulsions and thoughts i have that affect my life the most is definitely the contamination thoughts/emetophobia. it’s been so difficult for me

Hi guys. I'm asking for help on different ways of approaching groinal responses. Whenever I have intrusive thoughts, like really bad ones, I can feel my heartbeat "down there". I used to always associate it with arousal so now I just feel like I like thinking about the intrusive thoughts I've had about POCD and other stuff. It makes me take a shower everytime to "clean" myself but I need help because it's exhausting. Does a heartbeat down there always mean arousal? Do I make it happen because I just think "don't happen" a thousand times in my head?

Has anyone else struggled with handwashing in their OCD? I’m interested in hearing other stories about different experiences with it

Hi everyone! Unfortunately, I am an individual who loves cooking but also suffers from contamination OCD. This really impacts the enjoyment I get from cooking and has recently been stopping me from cooking all together. Any tips or similar experience appreciated (:

Contamination OCD sent me spiralling once before and now i have gotten into a new relationship it has come back. Bodily fluids came in contact with mine and I'm so scared of HIV even though i don't think he has it. I think this is all OCD, because last time, my fear of catching the disease was irrational, doctors and my therapist told me it was too. The uncertainty is horrible right now. I thought I could handle sex and everything but OCD won't let up. Any thoughts? I like this guy but OCD is scaring me so much and taking all the fun away

for the past 12 days i’ve really been struggling with feeling contaminated, over washing my hands yet they never feel clean, washing them so hard that i start to sweat and my arms give out. i feel like parts of my body are contaminated from being outside. instead of showering and washing my face like a normal person im avoiding myself because im afraid. im afraid that my hands will get contaminated and i wont stop washing my hands. (i know it doesn’t make sense but im experiencing a lot of stress that’s causing my bladder muscles to tighten and i can’t hold in my pee, i need my hands to be clean to even lower my pants) if i get stuck in a handwashing cycle ill pee myself and i never feel brave enough to start. this week has been very hard for me, struggling to eat, sleep, and bathe. i feel i have to move very carefully just to navigate life in a way that won’t stress me out. the fear of touching these areas and my brain constantly convincing me i did had been very hard on me. i know the answer is obvious but i don’t know how to build up the confidence to do these things. i’ve been in a very stressed out and suicidal state for the past month i really dont want to trigger any negative feelings but this isn’t any better. what can i do to just… i guess not be afraid and go for it?

Does anyone ever experience their OCD themes shifting extremely quickly? This has been going on for the past few months. I keep flicking through health concern, contamination, psychosis and sexual orientation.

I have realized my fear is a bit different from people who just have emetophobia but not ocd, even when the phobia mimics obsessive compulsive symptoms. They fear the actual act of being ill, and all of the gross stuff that happens with it. They also have a fear of not being in control. I have found that I moreso fear contamination. While I would be okay with being sick from a spinny ride, what would cause me to not be able to overcome it would be the fear that it was because I was actually sick with norovirus. This is perhaps because my body would not mend itself immediately after being sick one time if I caught something. The idea of being infected with something foreign disturbs me deeply. I also feel as if everything will be ruined if I am sick, that the world will end. I get comfort from remembering that the things and people I love would still be there, that they wouldn’t be contaminated or gone, which is something I don’t see with just emetophobics.

What do you do when your main support person is giving up on you and threatening to have you committed because they are tired of dealing with your OCD? It wasn’t even that big of a deal, but then her anger led to a traumatic moment of triggers that just escalated the situation to a level 10. I’m trying my best and felt like I was finally making some progress doing ERP, but then she just told me today she was going to call 911 and have them come get me and take me away because she’s over dealing with my OCD. I feel so lost and alone and worthless. I have contamination OCD, so it’s not like I can just leave for a couple days or something. I don’t know what to do. I just feel so awful for making someone else feel like they want to have me taken away. I’m so scared and sad and feeling like it would be better if I did go away.

Idk how to help myself bc I don’t understand what I’m thinking or why. I constantly feel disconnected from the world around me and I don’t trust anything I do. I don’t trust myself not to do things. For example, I find washing my hair rly difficult because I don’t trust that I haven’t poured bleach over my hands or something causing my hair to get damaged. It’s rly random, but it’s almost always contamination and chemical based. Idk what to do anymore.

I may have brushed up against my bed with my outside clothes on. Will this contaminate my bed? Also has anyone else felt that they had breathing problems from spraying excessive Lysol?

Does anyone feel like when they go to the toilet, when you have to pull your clothes up with dirty hands you are transferring toilet germs onto your clothes?