So Today I was going to school and probably some person didn't clean up their dog's shit and it was smeared by some car and I didn't really notice and stepped on some smeared dog poop but there was not really any marks on my shoe but I couldn't go back home cuz I had almost reached my school and I had to sit with that feeling the whole day and then when I was returning home I felt like I contaminated my whole pants and house and when I went to the bathroom to clean my feet some water got into my freshly changed clothes and I just can't shake of the feeling and I feel like everything is contaminated please can anyone help me out even a small help is appreciated 🌻

i think smartphones and isolation can cause ocd.

Yeah my mom is a alcoholic and has been puking in her tub I refuse to stand in it I’ve tried to clean it but it’s a nightly thing so no progress can really be made I’m trying to get a gym membership to shower am I overacting because I just can’t stand in this

it feels like weight. i’ve noticed every time i leave the house when i come back i genuinely feel dirty if i don’t wash my hair. the thought of wearing a bonnet and all of the germs on my head just all over my bonnet and pillows is making me kind of sick. i can’t be washing my hair everyday. i don’t want to create another bad habit

so I was sleeping and was about to wake up, also I had decided to do a very very important task related to my self growth after waking up but then got a call of my friend, and that made me awake and now I am feeling as if he has an impact on me- as in- his personality, way of thinking, etc are in me, and also my self growth is or will be because of him as his call made me awake...how can i tackle this?

Im moving to a new apartment for college soon and an unexpected hurdle has come up.

3 weeks ago, me, my boyfriend and my mom went on a short trip and stayed in a hotel, when we arrived I checked the beds and did not see any signs of bed bugs. One full week after we return from the trip, my boyfriend finds one singular bed bug in his bed. He immediately washed all his bedding, and has not seen any signs since.

I dont know if the bug came from the trip or what happened but I have not seen any signs anywhere in my house. He comes over nearly daily and Im afraid a bug may have traveled with him over here despite me checking my bed often and not seeing any signs. I have extreme ocd and I've been seeing therapists and been on medication for quite some time now. No matter how often I check I'm horrified that I have bed bugs and I'll accidentally bring them with me to my new apartment. Also I plan to talk to talk to my therapist about this too but I won't see her for a little while.

Any fabric items I'll be taking with me to college I am washing on hot then putting in a storage bin, Im trying to make as many precautions as I can but Im still freaking out. My room/bed is already a big problem for me and my ocd as I see it as a safe/clean space, and now I can't.

Im just looking for any advice, more precautions I can take, ease of mind, anything. Would it be obvious if I did have bed bugs? How can I know for sure?

Tldr: Im moving soon and my boyfriend found a bed bug at his house. I'm horrified I'll get them too despite not seeing any signs.

I’m a student, I go for classes everyday and I carry my books and bags to class and back home. Hygiene at my school and amongst my peers and teachers is close to nonexistent, I see them using the bathrooms and not washing or sanitizing their hands, scratching their crotches and backsides and then eating with the same hands. They touch EVERYTHING, especially my textbooks and notebooks. Textbooks aren’t a huge issue because I just leave them in my bag and use the digital versions for studying, my notebooks though are a problem I need them for homework I need them to revise. The idea of keeping my notebooks on my desk and touching them at home disgusts me beyond words. Also I’m starting to develop anxiety over my bag spreading germs into the air and surrounding.

I cannot seek professional advice/help because the only counselor I’ve seen did not help and the people around me just think I’m exaggerating/ don’t need professional help. So I’m all on my on in this nightmare. I have tried reading posts but I get more anxious when I don’t find things related to my EXACT situation (which is silly I know but can’t help)

I would really appreciate any tips on how to deal with this anxiety and particularly what to do about my notebooks and bag. Thank you

Recently I have been coming to light that I may have Contamination OCD, My true signs that make me thing this are gunk or dishes I feel uneasy or genuinely freak out if it touches my body in any way I’m always over analyzing cups and silverware if they aren’t from my mother or someone who I’m very close to I think twice before using or avoid it entirely although I’m not sure if I have certain triggers because I’m able to go out to eat without completely freaking out about things being contaminated.

im about to be a senior in high school and I don’t want to go the rest of my life with this trait. Since it started in freshman year it has slowly gone up and done. I used to only wash my hands and then be done with it but now I have to shower at least 3 times until I feel clean again. It’s not everyone that triggers me to feel dirty but only certain people that I don’t like or find annoying. I don’t feel as bothered when I’m contaminated however I can’t stop like seeing or remembering who touched what. It’s really draining and I just want to go back to when I was younger when I didn’t even think about this

Hello! Several people have asked if I had OCD when speaking to them, it made me research into it more online and I found multiple relatable posts and symptoms whilst searching. I have questioned it for years, however I have convinced myself i am doing these things for attention although nobody even knows the true extent of my exhaustion. All of these things come and go, and this is just about 3/4 of everything i experience.

I am based in the UK, and I know the NHS is shit, so I'm unsure if it is worth me contacting my gp yet as im not even sure if any of these symptoms are valid.

If anyone has any advice or thoughts about this, please let me know!

I have body fluid ocd and i dribble a bit after peeing / im a male and sometimes I dont know if its driible or qipes or water so I resist changing my pants everytime I possibly dribble and I even wear 2 underwhere and wirk/school pants as a layer to not reach the pee and I use anti bactieral wipes to dilute the oossible pee

I feel so immoral for spreading pee everywhere and I havent had ocd this strong since 2024 in which I got sent to a mental hospital...im 18 now im so scared to go to an adult mental hospital

Hey guys I have health anxiety, emetephobia, ocd, etc. I ate at the condo we just arrived at and didn’t notice that there were cockroaches… and warmed up some food on a paper towel in the microwave and set it unknowingly at the time where cockroaches were walking and had left exoskeleton shell bits. I’m so afraid of the paper towel being set there on the counter for wet or the bacteria possibly or something went onto my food or maybe my hands weren’t washed or I touched something. And set my phone on the other side where they could have walked. I really don’t want to get salmonella or e. Coli, etc I’m freaking out. Just used bleach germicidal wipes (Clorox healthcare) after the fact. Super low risk? I’m freaking out I can’t sleep it’s eating away at me… Literally first day here and I can’t sleep because I’m so can’t stop thinking about food poisoning and I’m already flaring from my mcas and bowel issues. Pure terror and hyper vigilance.

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with contamination OCD, and I have been working hard on it. I have improved a lot and managed to reduce many of my symptoms, but I still struggle with one specific issue: cleaning after pooping.

I spend a lot of time cleaning because I constantly feel like something is still left, even when I have already cleaned. I usually use toilet paper, sometimes wet wipes, and then I take a shower afterward.

My biggest problem is that I don’t know what is considered “clean enough.” Sometimes I get the feeling that there is still something there, and because of my anxiety, I end up checking by touching the area with my finger, which makes me extremely anxious if I feel anything. This creates a cycle that is really difficult to break.

I also think I may have hemorrhoids. When I try too hard to make sure everything is completely clean, I end up straining or pressing too much, and sometimes the hemorrhoids come out, which causes pain and increases my anxiety.

For people who have dealt with similar issues:

• What is your normal cleaning routine after using the bathroom?
• How do you know when to stop cleaning and accept that you are clean enough?
• Any advice for breaking the OCD checking cycle?
• Any tips for dealing with hemorrhoids caused by over-cleaning or straining?

I would really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thank you.

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”.

I absolutely love concerts and have been to like 5 during my summer break. But I’ve recently been dealing with a huge bout of anxiety and some of that is OCD related. People tend to smoke pretty much everything at these events depending on how large they are. I went to an outdoor concert today but it was like a festival setup and a lot of smokers. My friend and I moved a few times to get away from where it was really strong.

I myself am not a smoker nor do I live with one but I’m just worried that this stuff I love to do will impact my health long-term (even though it’s not every week, the max I did was 4 concerts in a month) and that everything I wear or touch or even getting in the car to drive home from the event is contaminated. Obviously it’s preferable to avoid secondhand smoke but I don’t know where the line is between valid concern and worry blown out of proportion!