PolarBear

Your entire initial post is a result of ruminating. Look at the second sentence. See the question there? That's exactly the type of question that you must not try to answer. Doing so is a compulsion and it won't do you any good. It just keeps you stuck. When you have a question like that pop up, leave it alone. You are under no obligation to answer it.

I disagree. Your OCD is telling you that you did something wrong. Not only that. It's also telling you that you did something terribly wrong. There's the lie. In reality, what you did was the equivalent of farting in a parking lot. Everyone else has done what you've done. We just don't dwell on it.

Hey there. Well, can you tell us what your obsessions are?

Cora, and others, just for future reference, this type of situation is best discussed directly to the moderators. We regular users can't help, except to offer reassurance.

Look in the mirror and say, "I did nothing wrong." Then act like that's true. Because it's true. OCD lies, all the time. It never tells the truth.

I would say no. However, I guarantee the anxiety and distress will stick around so long as you keep reacting badly to obsessions and doing compulsions.

OCD is completely irrational.

Rumination is going over a thought in your head, again and again, and not getting anywhere with it. Have you ever sort of snapped to and said, omg, I've been thinking about that all day! That's rumination. I want to point out that this thing you do, reassuring yourself and seeking reassurance from others, is a compulsion and will only make your situation worse.

The sooner you do it, the sooner you break free.

I didn't describe what my sensations were like, so how can you say they're not like yours? I know, you just dismiss whatever I say. Such a waste.

Dave, you are wrong on so many levels. You have such a fatalistic attitude that you've ignored our words for years. You really do need psychological help; help to get you into a better place where you can accept OCD advice more easily. OCD does not have to be for life and you do not have to suffer forever. In fact, the reason you continue to suffer is because you steadfastly refuse to change. You keep doing the same things and keep getting the same result. You neither need to be gay nor a basket case. There is a third option: to get well. Yes, people get past groinal responses. Lots of people do. Case in point: me. I first started getting them when I was about 15. They didn't stop until I was almost 40. And the reason they stopped is because I chose to stop suffering and be well. I got educated and I did the hard work necessary to be well.

You'll be saying the exact same thing 20 years from now unless you change what you are doing.

Remember that the most common type of obsession is intrusive thoughts, not intrusive what ifs. Thoughts come in many different forms.

There are TWO parts to ERP. There is the exposure, which you have done. And there is the response prevention, which you have not done. It is not enough to just expose yourself. Response prevention means to abstain from doing compulsions, at least for a set time, like a coiple of hours. You exposed yourself, but then stopped yourself from touching things. That's a compulsion. No doubt you are ruminating over this like crazy too. What doing so does is it reinforces the irrational belief in your head that there is something wrong with walking barefoot on the carpet. In short, it keeps you anxious. If you can, go ahead and touch things. Get back into normal life. Work on slowing down your ruminating.