Contamination ocd & anxiety . Need help.

[Amiebluebelle]

Just feeling so fed up . I've suffered with contamination ocd for about 8 years now but since being ill last year everything has got worse. I am so scared of getting ill and I think about it everyday . I go through so many anti bac wipes but still nothing feels clean enoough. I wash my hands up to 60 times a day and I try to control my partner's / family cleaning habits as I don't want anyone to get sick. Recently my anxiety has got so bad that I will randomly start feeling really sick to the point where I think I will be . I now just want to stay in my bedroom and the thought of going to family meals completely scare me . I don't know what to do anymore . I've got CBT therapy in July . Hoping it will help . Sometimes I really feel like what's the point with life if this is how I'm going to feel . How the heck can I think about starting a family etc when I'm so scared about getting ill. Does anyone have any coping strategies? I don't want to go on like this. Thank you.

[Dubba61]

Hello Amie, I've not had this myself ( luckily). But, I did used to have a friend who had it. She was only young and it was painfull to watch her go through these ritual's. It turned out eventually, that she had been abused and was sort of scrubbing herself clean from it. I don't think it helps that each day we are bombarded with advertisements, for cleaning and de -germing every surface. As if the slightest contemplation would kill us. When actually the opposite can be true. We need to be exposed to a certain amount of germs in order to build a resistance to them. So that we don't become ill from the mildest of infections. I hope that your therapy helps you. 😊✌️🌻