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Buying products that I think might contaminate


Guest silvergrey65

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Guest silvergrey65

Does anyone here have a problem with household cleaning products such as bleach or anything with an X on the back. These products panic me so much they make me sick. W hat can I do as I really feel I have contaminated someone.

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This is a fairly common type of contamination OCD, where you are fearful that your actions could harm another through the use (or purchase) of some kind of perceived contaminant. Typical with this theme is that the potential for harm to happen gets blown out of proportion. Bleach is a very common household item. Every house, pretty much, has it in stock and most people don't take special measures in storing it or handling it. Unfortunately your OCD is probably telling you the danger of bleach is the equivalent of nuclear waste.

The thing to do is nothing. Buy bleach if you need it. Use bleach if you need it. Store it as you would any hazardous chemical, away from kids. Try your best not to ruminate over chemicals and whether someone could be harmed by them. That's a compulsion and won't do you any good. I don't know if you perform other, physical compulsions around such chemicals but you should think about it and work toward stopping those compulsions as well. The less attention you give to the thoughts of harm by contaminants the less the thoughts will bother you.

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Guest silvergrey65

Hi polar bear I have read your message and thank you for your help. I get contaminAtion thoughts to a catastrophic level it really panics me. I try to. Buy environmental products a.d use things like bicarb and vinegar. I can manage disinfectants and if but they are all a nightmAre and I hate the anxiety of having them around. Best wishes Silver

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If it was a matter of someone cleaning with bleach or something similar as a compulsion, I'd first set a goal with the person as to what they would like to see as a cleaning ritual. What would 'normal' look like to that person? Perhaps they decide that cleaning the bathroom once a week with just normal soap and water is where they want to get to. In that case you have to take what is being down now versus what they would like and split it up into easier to handle chunks. Perhaps the person washes her bathroom every day with Dettol but wants to get to a point where she's cleaning once a week with soap and water. The ERP would involve cutting back slowly and exposing her to the 'unclean' bathroom in ever increasing doses. Maybe five days a week to start, then three, then two, then one, then switching from bleach or Dettol to normal everyday detergent. Of course this would have to be done over a period of months.

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Guest silvergrey65

Hi polar bear and bambi. Thank you for all your helpful advice. It terrifies me but will try and give it a go. This illness is awful for us all and the anxiety is dreadful. X Silver

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I have this.i got it from my mum who was terrified of the cross.she even left a job she had for 1 day bec of seeing one. I work in afternoons and will not use products in morning incase i have them on me and contaminate people at work.

I dont really have much advice as i have same problem but i guess if we both have it it means its ocd and we can take steps to beat it.My therapist got me to conduct surveys and ask myself would a non ocd person do this ?the answer is no -so i guess we should take small.steps of exposure and try and beat it !

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Guest silvergrey65

Hi economy I am sorry you have this fear also it really is awful. I can use some products and buy environmentally things for certain cleaning. You must feel like me you want your home to be clean. Could you tell me what e r p stands for as polar bear talked about in her topic. Well good luck with the cleaning at least we are in this one together. Happy Cleaning. Silver

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ERP stands for Exposure and Response Prevention, otherwise known as Exposure Therapy. It is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is used extensively to treat OCD. The exposure part involves exposing yourself to your obsessions, those things you fear. The response prevention part means not performing compulsions. So you purposefully expose yourself to that which bothers you and then you practice not responding like you normally would. Anxiety will be high for a time but over time it's been found that the anxiety rises to lower and lower levels and lasts shorter periods of time. With ERP you basically teach yourself a new way to handle obsessions.

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