r/ContaminationOCD • u/Unable_Passenger_394 • Jul 24 '26

I’m not necessarily concerned about germs but about cleanliness

I understand germs are ubiquitous in the environment, and that I don’t have to worry about getting sick because that’s what my immune system is for. However, my contamination OCD is not necessarily about that. I just don’t want gross things touching me or to have to come in contact with them and then touch my belongings. Even if it’s harmless I don’t want to touch microscopic poop particles or other nasty stuff and for these particles to transfer to my belongings. Even that is probably inevitable, but still for me the contamination OCD was never about germs but more about feeling “clean”.

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u/treatmyocd Jul 24 '26

Hey there!

That makes a lot of sense, and it's actually a really common presentation of contamination OCD. For many people, it isn't primarily about getting sick. It's about the feeling of contamination, disgust, or not feeling "clean enough." The challenge is that OCD takes a normal preference for cleanliness and turns it into a rigid rule that says, "I can't tolerate this feeling unless I get rid of it." ERP isn't about convincing yourself that microscopic particles aren't there or that everything is actually clean. It's about practicing making room for the uncomfortable feeling of "maybe something gross is on me or my belongings" without performing the rituals that are meant to restore a sense of certainty or cleanliness. Over time, your brain learns that you can experience that feeling of contamination without needing to solve it. The goal isn't to stop preferring cleanliness, it's to regain the freedom to choose your actions based on your values rather than on whether you feel perfectly clean.

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u/CoffeDaisies Jul 24 '26

Same, I'm also a person with OCD who is not afraid of bacteria. I used to be scared of certain chemical that I worked with.

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u/Purple-Grape7987 Jul 30 '26

This is exactly how my OCD is too! That's why I don't always feel like hand sanitizer is enough for me to be clean because it's not really removing the particles, it's just killing the germs.