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Contamination OCD


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Hello, I’m new here.

I have had OCD for many years. It has come and gone somewhat but has always been there in the back of my mind somewhere.

My OCD has had a variety of different ways of presenting, but for the last 5 years or so I have been getting more and more caught up with contamination OCD. I have two young children and my intrusive thoughts centre around them being harmed by something (e.g. lead paint, chemical, germs) that I should have protected them from. 

I have received some treatment in the past but I am not currently receiving any. It just hasn’t felt like the right time to start trying to challenge myself and fight the OCD, but this evening I had conversation with my husband that made me really think about what I am doing.

There’s a lot more I could and would like to say, but I just wanted to introduce myself and possibly meet some other people who are working through contamination OCD.

Thanks :)

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Hi GreyhoundMum 

Sounds like a tough time for you. Do you think you're in a position to get some more treatment?

How have you found Covid? I know it's affected people in different ways. 

Was your previous treatment successful?

Take care

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Lollipop

Thank you so much for your reply. 

I am thinking of asking to be referred for more therapy and possibly medication. I didn’t take medication or engage as well as I could have done last time due to circumstances at the time.

I have managed not to get too worried about covid, as my OCD usually centres around my kids health and obviously kids generally aren’t as affected by it. However the massive focus on how contamination is spread and handwashing etc hasn’t been helpful to me as it has normalised my irrational beliefs about spread of contaminants by touching etc. 
 
Thanks again for responding ?

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Go for it with the therapy and ask about the medication, you deserve to get better. 

I saw a post early on in the pandemic where someone with OCD posted how she had had the realisation that all her contamination behaviours pre pandemic had not actually been needed. So completely turning on its head the idea that Covid normalises these rituals and safety behaviours. I probably haven't explained it very well but I hope it's helpful.

For me I am hoping everyone keeps up the increased handwashing and cleaning etc post pandemic ? ?

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On 26/01/2021 at 12:30, Lollipop said:

Go for it with the therapy and ask about the medication, you deserve to get better. 

I saw a post early on in the pandemic where someone with OCD posted how she had had the realisation that all her contamination behaviours pre pandemic had not actually been needed. So completely turning on its head the idea that Covid normalises these rituals and safety behaviours. I probably haven't explained it very well but I hope it's helpful.

For me I am hoping everyone keeps up the increased handwashing and cleaning etc post pandemic ? ?

I can relate to that. I wouldn't say Covid has taught be how to not do the behaviors I was doing before outside of pandemic times, but I have found a few changes. For example I would always wash new clothes before wearing them in case they had any germs on them from viruses that hang around on items a lot longer than Covid does. Now if I buy clothes online I quarantine them for the three days Covid can survive and then I can wear them. It's not that the risks from other bugs have gone away, it's more like my head says Covid is the worst one, as you long as that's not on there everything else is more manageable. If that makes sense?

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  • 2 weeks later...

That absolutely makes sense. I can see how it could actually be helpful to lots of people with contamination OCD.

Unfortunately, my contamination fears don’t often centre around germs- more around things like lead paint harming my kids. Part of what’s really irrational in my OCD is how I imagine contamination spreading. E.g my daughter’s toy MIGHT have touched a door frame with chipped paint on it, she picks up the toy and then touches another toy. Now in my brain, both toys and her hands are contaminated with lead paint. One of the ways I could try and challenge myself not to do compulsions was to try to remember that contamination doesn’t spread and multiply endlessly like that, and that “normal people” wouldn’t consider it to be a threat. So with the pandemic, the constant reminders about handwashing and how contaminants can spread by touching surfaces is really unhelpful to me. Particularly things like “normal people” wiping down their shopping because someone with covid MIGHT have touched some items in the shop or touched the trolley and then they have touched the shopping etc.

Hopefully that makes sense!

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