roo007
New member
Hi. I'm new here but not to OCD. I have pretty severe fears of contaminating my possessions, apartment, car, etc., among other manifestations of OCD.
One of the main things I struggle with is how difficult I find it to perceive that I am actually washing my hands or cleaning something. For example, I'll wash my hands and be looking down at the soap in my hands but not really be able to say definitively that the soap is there. It sounds ridiculous when I write it but in the moment it's a different thing.
I also have trouble when thinking about a contaminant, not just actually coming into contact with it. For example, if I touch my ear I have to wash my hands but if I even think about touching my ear I'll usually have to wash my hands too. Part of it goes back to the perception thing I think--what if I did actually touch my ear while I was thinking about it?
Does anyone have similar experiences?
One of the main things I struggle with is how difficult I find it to perceive that I am actually washing my hands or cleaning something. For example, I'll wash my hands and be looking down at the soap in my hands but not really be able to say definitively that the soap is there. It sounds ridiculous when I write it but in the moment it's a different thing.
I also have trouble when thinking about a contaminant, not just actually coming into contact with it. For example, if I touch my ear I have to wash my hands but if I even think about touching my ear I'll usually have to wash my hands too. Part of it goes back to the perception thing I think--what if I did actually touch my ear while I was thinking about it?
Does anyone have similar experiences?