Mysterious substances (OCD contamination)

[orange]

What do most people do when they encounter mysterious substances? I found oil spots on the paper in a box of IKEA furniture. That was mostly okay but then there was also brown powdery stuff on the drawer fronts. It's slightly possible it was from my chocolate bar but not likely. It looked like cocoa. Yesterday my grocery bags were wet from the store but I got over that. But the powder kind of bothers me. I don't think it's dirt and not sawdust. Do most people just ignore these kind of things?

[taurean]

2 hours ago, orange said:

Do most people just ignore these kind of things?

Yes. They would simply wipe it off and forget it - probably put it down to waste during the manufacturing process. 

The "scanner" inside your head, looking for possible "contamination or links" ready to give you a trigger alert, is not present in them. 

My scanner used to be on constant alert for harm connections. It's "offline" now, I put it into stasis by working through my CBT and applying what I learned

 

[orange]

Thank you so much taurean. I'll go back to your post on stopping carrying out compulsions and for the new thing I'm worried about today!

[taurean]

Hi orange.

Any new OCD intrusion should be dealt with in the usual CBT way. Recognised as OCD, not connected with or believed, then refocus the mind gently, but firmly, away. 

This weakens the hold of the OCD over us and, combined with structured exposure and response prevention, is an integral part of the recovery process