COVID OCD!!! HELP

[ocder]

I have had every kind of OCD ever...but since Covid started....I can no longer function! I don't care about getting it ( I have had it) , but take care of my very old and sick parents...CAN't bear the thought of giving it to them!!!Can't stop washing (to the point that my hands BLEED) and sanitizing EVERYTHING!!! I work in a busy casino,, want to quit my job! Please help

[deValentin]

It’s difficult to accept the necessity of a choice if you have OCD, but I don’t know how else you can regain some control over your life. The choice is that you either accept the negative consequences of your compulsion (hand bleeding, fear of losing your job, constant torment, etc.) or you practice Exposure and Prevention therapy by refraining from compulsive washing, just taking normal precautions to protect your parents from covid, and accept that, whatever you do, you can’t eliminate, with absolute certainty, the possibility for them to be sick. OCD doubts are very selective. You doubt that a reasonable level of cleanliness is good enough, but you’re probably 100% sure that, if you keep on washing and sanitizing you’ll eventually get the peace of mind you’re desperately looking for, which is an illusion. It takes time to reverse the pattern: to believe that standard hygiene is sufficient to care for your parents, and to doubt that OCD will keep its promise.