PolarBear

The last thing I'm going to say tonight is this: If you don't change what you are doing you are doomed to stay stuck where you are. If you are unwilling to change, then no amount of talking here will do any good. It's up to you.

So what? It's an irrational fear that is holding you back. You laughed at my masturbating analogy, well people weren't having random sex on top of the finished underwear at the factory either. There is no risk. It's all make believe. If you don't make changes to how you react to the thoughts you will remain stuck. Period. Only it will tend to get worse. That's just straight up reality.

Always a compulsion. You have an urge to do it, right?

It's really very simple. Three words: STOP YOUR COMPULSIONS Yeah, there's the cognitive side, which is very helpful. And there's ERP, which really puts OCD in its place. But the lion's share of the work is stopping your compulsions. You already know what most of your compulsions are. Figure them out, write them out and start with the stopping.

Phil, you continue to post your OCD thought processes and your resulting compulsions. You do it over and over. It's not helping! We get you think there is something wrong with dirty laundry. We really do. But it's a lie. It always has been. 100% of the time. It doesn't matter what touches dirty laundry. It isn't contaminated. Look, you've been going round and round on the forum for a long time now. You've gotten nowhere. We've suggested umpteen times what to do but you rarely do it. You will not get better if you keep doing the same old thing. If you want to get better, you have to suck it up and do the hard work necessary. I'm being brutally honest but I think you need a reality check. Otherwise years will go by and you will still be telling us the same things. Think about it.

Woah, I certainly never said anything about people not trying hard enough. I'm on two meds. Have been for 5 years. Not going back. That said, I have not met a huge number of people whose OCD symptoms were significantly reduced by meds. Yes, there are some of us. Maybe there are a lot more and they just don't hang out on forums.

I echo dksea's words. Returning them will only prolong your agony. Take a stand against the disorder.

It isn't a lie 90% of the time. It's 100%. All the time. With the mindset that there are times when you should be worried about dirty laundry, you will tend to be overly cautious and revert to your default, which is to do compulsions to fix the perceived problem. And that will keep you stuck.

What you are looking for here is reassurance. You are searching for something, anything, to get your anxiety down. Nothing we say will make you feel better for long. Soon enough the thoughts of contamination will come back and you'll be stuck with more anxiety. It's all a lie, Phil. There is no contamination present. None. A part of your mind has been lying for a long time. You choose to believe it. You choose to try and solve a problem that doesn't exist. And that makes your situation eorse. It prolongs your agony.

I was helped a lot by meds too. I had more than OCD going on. They definitely helped me see things clearer. Definitely set up a situation where I was able to change my thinking and behavior. Great stuff. Took meds, felt better and still had OCD. Whst got me from sufferer to ex-sufferer was the work done to change my thinking and behavior. And don't forget that dome people simply don't do well on meds. For them the only fix is changing thrir thinking and behavior, which can be done wirhout meds.

Drugs are not going to fix OCD. OCD is a thinking and behavior disorder. Drugs aren't going to help that. You have yo learn how to think and behave differently. There are drugs out there that may help with the anxiety present with OCD.

This whole post is a list of compulsions that you did. It started with you checking the newly bought underwear. Nobody does that. They open the packsge and rither wash them once or start wearing them. They don't inspect them. Returning them was a compulsion. Washing your hands was a compulsion. Washing the sink was a compulsion. You need to get real. The men of the world are not masturbating all over everything you see snd touch. It's just not happening. Yes you get thoughts that the end result is true but all those thoughts, every last one of them, are lies. They are not true. Your compulsions are completely unnecessary and are in fact making your situation worse. You are stuck because you do compulsions. It's that simple. The reason you get illogical thoughts that there is semen everywhere us because you fo compulsions.

You have to get more scared of your condition than you are of the possibility.

Right now you assume every substance is sperm. Then you react as if it was. To get past this, you have to start assuming everything is not sperm. And don't react at all.

It is important to slow down and take care of yourself. Stress makes OCD worse. Do what you can to limit stress in your life.