Was it touched? How can I get past it?

[PinetownTree]

In the spring I needed to undergo colon surgery for the third time.

My coworkers sent some get-well cards to my house, but one of them drove out to put theirs on my car.

I was mortified cause my car is super sentimental to me even though what they did was super nice, my job is my big source of phobias like seen here:

healthunlocked.com/my-ocd/p...

My mom wiped my car off, we said that because my car was covered in gunk then my car wasn't touched directly but it has started to torment me endlessly...thinking I can't drive my car places or if I do it'll spread contaminations.

I like car movies so now I can't watch them because I think of my own car, how I couldn't save it from touching when I went out of my way for years to be sure people wouldn't touch it.

I recently cleansed my wiper blades the envelope was under, they were covered in thick layers of gunk. My windshield was covered in pollen when it occurred, plus they were cutting trees on my street so it was covered in sawdust. Who knew how long it was since my car was washed cause I was in the hospistol? I've seen where people say there's layers of oil on your windshield over time or other dirth buildup that happens from driving.

Our cams outside looks like the coworker just slide the envelope , didn't touch the car itself so is it possible with enough layers, the glass or the wiper wasn't touched by the person or envelope?

[PinetownTree]

Nobody?

Got some interesting comments on this site I usually post to: 7cups.com/forum/anxiety/Pho...

[SCC1]

Your car is a solid "structure". I don't believe people's germs, etc., can be transferred to it and "stick" to the car. Even if they had, you wiped off the car, and that is sufficient enough that no germs would linger.

[PinetownTree in reply to SCC1]

It's more my OCD saying it is or it isnt...for me contaminations don't just come from dirt or germs but in this case I'm hoping the dirt preserved my car from touching.

[SCC1]

I'm not sure how to advise you, but can you try therapy?

[PinetownTree in reply to SCC1]

I'm in it now.

[SCC1 in reply to PinetownTree]

Give it time to work. Don't give up. The positive results will come eventually if you stick with the therapy.

[TomFed]

Mate, no matter what OCD theme you have at the moment, logical assurances won't help. You gotta stop all the compulsions, all forms (including mental games) of trying yourself to assure out of anxiety. And as for obsession just let them be, let them linger in your mind, stay with anxiety and stress caused by it, don't run from anxiety, better welcome it. It is just you and your OCD affected mind playing tricks on you. Try ERP / CBT therapy. This in most cases will tremendously empower you to not do compulsions. As for the obsessions, they take time to diminish and go away. For me, I cut out 90 per cent of compulsions after first weeks of ERP. Still my mind was producing obsessions without a rest. I found N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) (natural aminoacids) cocktail one a day very helpful to help the brain wane off from obsessive thinking. Together with ERP it has helped me tremendously. Maybe you wanna give it a try. NAC is over the counter supplement. One way or another, DON'T DO COMPULSIONS. NONE. They are who keep the hell wheel of OCD spinning. Good luck and feel free to PM.

[PinetownTree in reply to TomFed]

I'm just looking for some logic or science based reason my car is ok, there's dozens of other issues for me to conquer right now but in this case I need some reassurance.

[TomFed in reply to PinetownTree]

No reassurance mate. Only thing you can be definitely sure about is that any reassurance for your OCD thoughts will only keep the loop spinning. And yeah I know how hard it could be sometimes without knowing.

[Hidden]

Reassurance and science will never be enough to overcome your doubt. Try sitting with the doubt--maybe she DID touch the car. And then flood about it: Maybe your co-worker infected your car with a new Covid variant and when you drive it you will spread deadly germs all over your neighborhood and kill thousands of people and set off a new pandemic. Do this until you either laugh or get bored with apocalyptic scenarios. It sounds crazy and scary, but it will help, I promise!