OCD Mental Contamination

[Guest m45]

Okay, I have recently found out about something that I only thought I had. I thought I was the only one who had this. Im in my teens, and it is wrecking havoc on my life. I can't even do simple tasks around the house without it turning into an obsession problem :/

I come across this on another forum, and it describes me perfectly, and what I go through every day.

"ok many people have a fear of physical contamination, germs, etc....and I know mental contamination has been discussed. I'm curious who can relate to the following.

It happens during positive things/things that are longterm.

For example, purchasing something youve wanted. Somehow, if you have a negative thought before, during, or after the purchase, the thing you bought, becomes "contaminated". Everytime you think of whatever you purchased, it somehow becomes affiliated with it and becomes a reminder. It then ofcourse sabotages your pleasing thought of your new purchase, and just spoils everything.

Ofcourse, as irrational as it is (or all this for that matter), being compulsive and re-doing the action with a clear head will relieve any anxiety, and everything is ok. But what makes this tough, is you can't re-do it and the nagging can be longterm.

Sounds kind of complex, but its really simple.

When you turn off the lights a dozen times attempting to do it with a clear head, the nagging is about an "incorrect action." In this case, the nagging becomes about an "incorrect item" (whatever you purchased).

Bizarre huh?"

Does anyone else have a problem with this? It's ruining my life. I can't do anything because of it. It is absolutely terrible. I'm so glad I found out that I wasn't the only person in the world with this problem, and now I know it's my OCD.

[Guest Sisyphus]

Hi m45,
I don't have this per se myself, but there was a thread about it recently - a lady was asking about her son and it sounded like he might have this form of OCD. Here's the thread:

http://www.ocdforums.org/index.php?showtopic=63543&hl=%2Bmental+%2Bcontamination

You can also search for mental contamination on the top right, making sure "forums" is selected on the dropd-own to the right of the box. That may bring up more stuff.

Good luck

David.

[Guest m45]

Hi m45,

I don't have this per se myself, but there was a thread about it recently - a lady was asking about her son and it sounded like he might have this form of OCD. Here's the thread:

http://www.ocdforums.org/index.php?showtopic=63543&hl=%2Bmental+%2Bcontamination

You can also search for mental contamination on the top right, making sure "forums" is selected on the dropd-own to the right of the box. That may bring up more stuff.

Good luck

David.

Thanks, I also found out I have something called "emotional contamination" as well. Does anyone have any strategies to get over this without CBT? (I'm doing it but not for a while)

[PolarBear]

The path to wellness over OCD involves exposing yourself to your obsessions and resisting compulsions. It would be helpful for you before taking CBT to identify your compulsions.

When you get one of these negative thoughts, that contaminates an object, what do you do? We always do/think something to try and bring our anxiety down. Try to identify those things.

[Guest ADD]

Is it all only with products and purchases you get it? What is it you fear if a product gets contaminated with a negative thought? Are you just afraid that you'll always have to think about that unwanted thought each time you look at or use the product and never be able to enjoy the product without the thoughts/feelings attached? Or is it more a magical belief and fear that cause the product is now contaminated with a bad thought that buying and using it is going to magically bring on some type of external bad thing or bad luck related to the thought?

Or is it both of those things?

I have had this and more. I also used to flick light switches, though that was a long time ago.

[Guest m45]

Is it all only with products and purchases you get it? What is it you fear if a product gets contaminated with a negative thought? Are you just afraid that you'll always have to think about that unwanted thought each time you look at or use the product and never be able to enjoy the product without the thoughts/feelings attached? Or is it more a magical belief and fear that cause the product is now contaminated with a bad thought that buying and using it is going to magically bring on some type of external bad thing or bad luck related to the thought?

Or is it both of those things?

I have had this and more. I also used to flick light switches, though that was a long time ago.

Both of those thoughts :/ It's not just about products though, it's anything. Even If I already own it. It may be anything from an object to a person. What did you do to get over it (if you did)?

[felix4]

Hi M, :original:

This is one of my main problems too.

Did your OCD progress to this after having more in the way of an 'external' looking OCD theme, such as hand washing?

[Guest m45]

Hi M, :original:

This is one of my main problems too.

Did your OCD progress to this after having more in the way of an 'external' looking OCD theme, such as hand washing?

I have had some external compulsions in the past, but no where nowhere near the severity of the pure obessional OCD I have right now.

[Guest lizinlondon]

I have this too. I cannot touch anything because of the intrusive thoughts and images I get.

[PolarBear]

Your path to wellness, Liz, involves touching them anyway.

[Guest ADD]

Both of those thoughts :/ It's not just about products though, it's anything. Even If I already own it. It may be anything from an object to a person. What did you do to get over it (if you did)?

Unfortunately no, I didn't get over it. I got over my physical contamination and hand washing etc.

Though the mental contamination only got worse as more and more things got 'contaminated' with unwanted thoughts and then spread to more things.

I get it with 'anything' also! Not just products, though, numbers, words, names, brands, places, ingredients, foods, colors, cities, countries, months, years, people, etc. Can't list them all, cause yeh it is anything, anything can get 'contaminated' with thoughts and associations to unwanted things and then they become 'triggers' that cue the memory of the original unwanted thoughts.

My friend has been trying to convince me I can get out of it all by mindfulness and ignoring such thoughts, though I'm not totally convinced about that. I think I need to cure the phobias that cause the ptsd and triggers. If I don't, new ones will always be created constantly as I continue to react and get mini traumas and fears of the stuff being recalled for further trauma.

My friend said "Awareness stops thoughts altogether, so say you see a number and your mind recalled the linked memory, you use it like an alarm clock to rivet attention on the space in which thought happens. If the memory has formed you just notice it passively, not caring, not reacting. If there are emotions, you just notice them too, curious, not reacting to whatever emotion there is. Now you may rivet attention on the number itself, externally, and in this alert state, the mind doesn't run on. Now the thing is to not be concerned what the FORM of the thought is, if it is linked to a number, only be concerned with curiosity, Noticing, look at the number, look at the mind, still, perhaps with a form, or empty. So mindfulness as I say is being in an alert state all the time... very calm and alert, and in control of the mind. It's this mind-chatter egoic state that can become so disturbing and out-of control."

Edited August 1, 2014 by ADD

[Guest lizinlondon]

I guess what we have to learn to do is not avoid things in response to these thoughts and go forward in our lives, letting the thoughts exist and not engage with them. OCD will destroy everything if we let it. We must do what we want in our lives and not give the OCD our attention.