bus

Raiku · Post by **Raiku** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:47 am

i have OCD. i need a way to stop it. i wash my hands a lot whenever i touch something that i dont like.

help?

red umbrellas · Post by **red umbrellas** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:53 am

i think most people wash their hands a lot when they touch something they don't like

but excessive handwashing can be one of the signs of OCD. What kind of things make you really panic and need to wash your hands?
Would it be terribly unhygenic if you pulled back from the sink and said to yourself 'no, I CANNOT wash my hands this time?'
Could you start by reducing the number of times you wash your hands, or the amount of soap you use, or the length of time you wash your hands for?
Is there something else you can try and do in place of washing your hands?

What do YOU think might help?
I'd love to help more, but I'm not a professional

good luck,

Luci

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:59 am

Have you ever been to a professional? I don't know how bad the OCD is, but if its really bad then maybe you could go on meds, because it is usually neurological. Also a professional might have other ways to help you w/o meds. I don't really have any suggestions myself, but maybe you could visit an OCD website and see what experts and people with it say.

KB

pointeless · Post by **pointeless** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:08 am

hey, well I suffer from ocd, excessive handwashing being a major componant of mine. What are the reasons behind your handwashing? what will happen if you DON'T wash? ... I'm still struggling with my ocd, and looking into getting CBT for professional help. I recommend the Book brain lock as it helps to reilterate in your brain exactly whats causing this.
The only way to help yourself when your in the thick of it (from my experience) is learn as much is humanly possible about ocd, right the facts down. Statistics charts for the things that your really fear - put a label on the soap bottle saying 'it's not me it's ocd' Right down how stupid the ocd thought is, and right down a rational response. like I said I don't have the answers, I wish I could stop myself - but i've suffered from ocd since I was 8yrs old,so I know how you feel.
If it's really bad please look into professional help? are you on any meds?
How long have you had ocd for? If you need somebody to talk to in private pm me...
I also belong to a really good supportive ocd forum www.stuckinadoorway.co.uk that can help more specifically as Bus doesn't have a 'ocd forum'. My nickname if you want to register there to and pm me is Chemically_killed
take care of yourself...

Raiku · Post by **Raiku** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:27 pm

heres what i cant touch:

animals(like my cats, allergies)

anything around a toilet

blood

if i do do that, cant touch anything until i get my hands washed

pointeless · Post by **pointeless** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:43 pm

well atleast that's a fairly short list of things to have issue with... i'm sure that's little comfort, but with what you've said professional help should prove to be useful. You have fairly specific obsessions and compulsions which makes it easier to treat... have you sought any help before?

Raiku · Post by **Raiku** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 5:51 am

it just got worse recently

Green Beauty · Post by **Green Beauty** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:59 pm

Raiku wrote:heres what i cant touch:

animals(like my cats, allergies)

anything around a toilet

blood

if i do do that, cant touch anything until i get my hands washed

I'm not saying that you don't have OCD. But to me that just sounds like hygenic washing that most people would do. Animals, toilets and blood are not exactly hygenic to touch, and it is good that you wash your hands after that.

Do you have ritual hand washing? Having to wash a certain amount of times, the same way etc? Then i would lean towards the possibility of you having OCD. But at the moment i see it as good hygiene. But i may be wrong..

pointeless · Post by **pointeless** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:32 am

well the only way to truely differenciate is if Raiku said what exactly drives the handwashing. If you just wash your hands alot after touching certain things... that's not really ocd, ocd would drive you to wash your hands,most commonly in a specifically obsessional manner/procedure that was the same every time, but the purpose for the handwashing would be to overt an obsesssion in the mind.

Ok i'll explain what I mean with my ocd:
Lastnight went to pub with friends, got back and my mum had left the key under the plant pot in our porch. Well I once saw ant powder on my drive when I was like 9yrs old and it's been an obsession ever since. Anything on the ground out front of our house is counted as comtaminated.When I got in,all my clothes went in a 'dirty' place, and I began washing my hands for quite a long time - must have been a good 15mins. This is because my ocd made me feel that if I didn't, there would be molecules of ant poision on my hands, that may then transfer onto clothing, which I could then touch and touch a food surface,or my lip. It could get ingested, it could cause illness or death to me or a family member.

That's the kind of links ocd would attatch to 'I just touched something dirty'
It would make an enitre paranoid circuit of thoughts attatched to the one obsession that would lead to the compulsion.
I'm not saying ocd is always presented like that.
But that whether they just feel ' a little dirty' or whether your scared something bad will happen if you don't perform the compulsion - are two different things..

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