Contamination ocd

[kbycdt]

Hi 

 

New here, I've been struggling with contamination OCD for around 7 years mostly around mould.

I moved out of a mouldy house 4 years ago and am terrified of coming into contact with it since and contaminating my new home.

 

I have a chronic illness that causes extreme exhaustion so the compulsions on top are killing me, I have been making quite a bit of progress and not letting things bother me so much outside of the house.

However now my worst nightmare has happened and I have a water leakage coming into the house, I'm in major panic mode and feel this is it I will never be happy again as even when fixed I know there will be mould left behind where the water damage is and I can't do anything to fix that.

I am 80% housebound so feel I will be living in a prison .

the hardest part of this particular OCD is it the thing that I fear Is actually something that is harmful, there's no way of saying that it's not.

 

the main issue I have is when I am exposed to it I get breathless and this can last for days or weeks until I feel the situation has been resolved properly.

 

I'm terrified even when the leak is fixed the mould in the drywall/plasterboard will be there and I won't be able to breathe properly in my house ever again.

[leif]

Sorry to hear you have a chronic physical illness on top of the OCD--I can imagine that the added exhaustion would make things worse.

All the more reason to start putting a stop to the compulsions that are only draining your energy further.

Are you working with a therapist or a self-help book to get over the ocd? I would say this is number one.

I don't know anything about leaks and mold but if it were me I would get a trusted professional in to deal with the leak, ask them if there is any danger of mold, take whatever steps they recommend and trust them on it. Kind of like going to a doctor for a health complaint. tell them what's going on and trust their advice rather than googling your symptoms yourself.

wishing you well