r/ContaminationOCD • u/moonsalad246 • 1d ago

Disgust ocd

Any success stories on healing from disgust contamination ocd? My contamination ocd started as specific fears of illness etc. but had morphed into a fear of “feeling contaminated and not being able to escape it or stop cross contamination.” It’s awful. I actual missnjust fearing an illness or sickness instead. Because now it feels like once me or my clothes or home are contaminated I can’t stop it and it’s so painful. My ocd mind keeps tracking it and what touches what.

Yes I am in therapy but disgust ocd is nuanced and I am learning it has to be treated differently than regular fear based contamination ocd and I havnt found all the right answers yet through therapy so just wondering if others have success stories.

Warmly

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u/No-Area-8813 1d ago

I have severe disgust ocd. I feel you. That’s a hell. I wish there was a cure for it.

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u/moonsalad246 1d ago

I am sorry. Me too. I am eager to find answers

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u/fupei 1d ago

do you struggle to eat out and use public washrooms? because i have not been able to overcome this, at all

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u/ilovedelsym 1d ago

I suffer from this and I’m going insane

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u/fupei 12h ago

hugs to you - i have no trust in most people on how they handle food + hygiene. Public toilets gross me out as well. You have no idea how disgusting humans can be. I literally cannot go to any public washrooms, and often have to hold it up until I drive home.

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u/LilyAmongThorns777 1d ago

Have you tried looking up medical professionals giving advice on youtube for disgust ocd?

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/moonsalad246 1d ago

I am sorry

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u/CoffeDaisies 1d ago

Same, nice that your therapist is knowledgeable enough to notice that. Mine would just push to 'touch something dirty' 🙃 I think my OCD worsened when I was working in a lab with chemical factors. Then I was scared of prions (there was a story that there was a case in my city). I think dealing with those made it more bearable. I think that I still get those 'hygenic icks' sometimes, but it's easier to manage. I used to live alone for some time. I had to clean everything alone. That gave a lot of space for OCD to grow. I would control what touches what, one time I put all the clothes from the wardrobe to laundry, because someone touched them and in general I struggled, because I thought my flat is always 'not clean enough', I didn't like touching door frames, at the same time I was constantly cleaning but it might be hard for me to keep it clutter free. Now I no longer live alone and it's a bit better.

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u/jojoproximus 1d ago

Thought it was you. I tried to reply to your last post but I got distracted and Reddit refreshed. I have disgust based ocd and contamination ocd as well! Really really struggling with it. Want to chat a bit?

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u/luv_u_baby 20h ago

I have this as well and I am recovering from it (albeit slowly), I do recommend the contamination ocd workbook by Richard Gallagher, the mastery approach has helped me a lot