Contamination OCD

[Laura91213]

Hi everyone, so I have been suffering with checking ocd my whole life but have recently developed severe contamination ocd also. My main triggers are things like sticky food, toilets, and the biggest one at the moment is cat food. I hate even being around cat food as it makes me feel like it's all over my hands and that I need to keep washing them, which is ridiculous as I used to be able to feed my cats no problem but now my mum always has to do it. 

I had to get a new phone recently as my current one broke. When i looked at the parcel there was a sticky mark on it which my dad reassured me was just jam from where he was eating breakfast. This already made me anxious because I felt like the jam was already all over my brand new phone, and my phone is normally a "safe" uncontaminated item that I know is clean and safe to touch. Anyway, I was just starting to get past it when the thought suddenly popped into my head "what if it's cat food?" So now I have convinced myself that it's cat food, even though there is no logic as my dad had not fed my cats or anything that morning. But now I am scared to even open my new phone  I keep telling myself that what i'm thinking can't be true but I just can't get past it, and now I'm worried that I won't have a phone because I can't bring myself to use it. My dad even helped me pay off my old phone (I am paying him back monthly) and now it just seems like I am really ungrateful  Any tips on how I can overcome this?

[Bismah OCD-UK Volunteer]

Hi Laura91213,

You are currently stuck in an obsessive cycle. Right now you are avoiding things (understandable as contamination is your fear) but it is important you expose yourself to these situations that feel 'dirty'. You are ruminating on whether your phone is contaminated or what your dad during the morning. Unfortunately, rumination will only feed your OCD. Are you seeing a therapist for your OCD? ERP would really be beneficial for you right now as it will help you to face your fears. 

Bismah 

[agreatsummer]

Quote

So long as you pay attention to necessary hand hygiene and wash your hands after feeding your cat, there is absolutely no need to worry about getting cat food everywhere or so.

In truth, there's no particular hand hygiene needed after feeding the cat.....unless you're feeding it my hand.

As you're finding already, this obsession is already creeping to more items that could be sticky and is likely to do more and more so.  There isn't a problem with any of these things, only with the belief you have associated with them.  As Bismah has asked, are you getting any help with addressing the OCD?

[Laura91213]

On 16/10/2021 at 20:00, Bismah OCD-UK Volunteer said:

Hi Laura91213,

You are currently stuck in an obsessive cycle. Right now you are avoiding things (understandable as contamination is your fear) but it is important you expose yourself to these situations that feel 'dirty'. You are ruminating on whether your phone is contaminated or what your dad during the morning. Unfortunately, rumination will only feed your OCD. Are you seeing a therapist for your OCD? ERP would really be beneficial for you right now as it will help you to face your fears. 

Bismah 

I have just started anti-depressants after putting off taking them for about a month after the doctor prescribed me them. I’m currently on the waiting list for therapy and have been told it will be about another month until I can book an appointment which isn’t so bad. I think the ruminating is the worst part of the ocd for me as I am already an over thinker, so I can spend hours just sitting thinking about whether or not something was clean and the tiniest thing can completely ruin my day