Kelly, Daniel. As with other kinds of OCD, contamination OCD is treatable. There is not only a fear of possibly harming others, but also a fear of having to live with the resulting guilt. attending support groups, such as those on the, finding healthy ways to relieve stress, such as, engaging in enjoyable activities and hobbies, cultivating relationships with loved ones. If the concern of getting a blood-borne illness is about being isolated from the people you love, incapable of enjoying relationships, work, daily life, then why let OCD create that very same environment with avoidance and other compulsions? Use this brief screening measure to help you determine if you might need to see a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment of OCD. Its not a thing. Can you prevent OCD or an OCD cleaning compulsion? Enter OCD stage right. Many years ago cancer was one of the more commonly feared illnesses, but in the last two decades or so this seems to have been replaced by AIDS. You may feel stressed in circumstances where you feel out of control or uncertain. In response to these unwanted thoughts, people with OCD may feel an intense urge to repeat certain actions. As of now, scientists know that if your parent or sibling has OCD, youre more likely to develop the condition. Washing may in some cases be strongly ritualized. There are many online OCD support groups, whether you want to attend regular video meetings or participate in online chats. It asks you to sacrifice all the same things. Answering that question requires a deeper look into what OCD is and why some people with OCD are compelled to clean. If you suffer from this, or any other type of OC disorder, my suggestion is that you seek help. Washers as they are referred to are probably the most visible among those with contamination obsessions. How is OCD with compulsive cleaning treated? The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding. Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions. If you have or think you may have this condition, consider looking for a therapist who is experienced in treating OCD. For some people, contamination is a theme. People often call this issue "bathroom OCD." Clothes that are considered contaminated must be worn when living in this zone. In this first installment, I will be focusing on blood, how fear associated with blood often presents in OCD, and how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be used to treat it. Antibacterial soaps, peroxide, and disinfectants, such as Lysol, can be used to excess by some, causing further skin damage. To break the cycle, the OCD sufferer has to remove the only removable element. By observing and allowing, you are weakening the glue that binds unwanted thoughts to compulsive urges. Yet OCD creates the same problem. All rights reserved. Contamination OCD is simply one kind of OCD. Theyll be best equipped to help you understand and manage your symptoms. OCD: Semen Contamination. Bodily fluids (such as urine, feces, spit, or blood) Environmental contaminants (such as asbestos, lead, and radiation) . People with OCD will fear infection or disease from certain triggers. Their hands often become bright red and chapped with cracked and bleeding skin. (2019). In people with mysophobia, this may include: Ataxophobia: Fear of untidiness. In blood obsessions, it typically presents as: Rituals in blood fears can become extreme rather quickly. Many people also develop OCD around bowel movements or urination. Nothing in it has to be cleaned or avoided. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. As a result, stress can cause digestive issues. Yet it also includes the fear of being infected with them. Yuck! Obsessions can revolve around the fear of: These obsessions might center on the feeling of uncleanliness. On the surface, the contamination fears associated with OCD dont seem to be a very complicated subject. Because OCD is biochemical in origin, medicine can often be of great help as well. Talk therapy, also called psychotherapy, is one of the most common and effective ways to treat OCD. In addition to emotional reasoning, black-and-white thinking and magnifying can play an important role as well. Contamination OCD and the Fear of Germs: Symptoms and Treatment It is characterized by fear of getting contaminated with something and compulsive behaviors that are performed to eliminate the. Therapeutic encounters are like small experiments to test patients theories about the dangers of their particular type of contamination. OCD, then, is much more than a desire to work or live in a clean environment or a preference for neatness. Sometimes OCD goes into remission on its own, especially if it initially appears during childhood. (2016). I've always had it to an extent but not like this. Behavioral therapy would be in the form of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). These feelings result in compulsive and repetitive behaviors that provide some relief. There are also some that suffer from both types of fears at the same time. From my own experience, I would guess that the fear of certain illnesses may still the leader. You have obsessions or compulsions that take up at least an hour of your day. Two of these symptom dimensions have a clear link to cleaning tasks: contamination and cleaning as well as symmetry and ordering. Some patients can only touch something that has touched a feared substance or object, and only later do they go on to touch directly what is feared. I know in my house there is one person who ejackulates. There are many examples of obsessions that may affect people with OCD. Fear of coming into contact with potentially harmful things like viruses, bacteria and bodily fluids. Hirschtritt ME, et al. A 2021 study looked at the link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and OCD. People affected by checking compulsions describe a feeling of incompleteness unless they perform certain rituals or behaviors. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. First of all, this problem breaks down into two parts contamination obsessions and decontamination compulsions. Ekman, Paul. If I am not certain, then I may have gotten some blood on me and it may give me a terrible disease. People may believe that by cleaning objects or spaces in a specific order or with a particular frequency, they can avoid or recover from contamination or infection. They're normal, relatively benign and unharmful and no more dirty than getting some orange juice on your sheets and letting it dry. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a maladaptive reaction to these ordinary but unpleasant experiences of disgust, discomfort, and unease. Individuals with OCD experience persistent intrusive thoughts and a compulsion to carry out certain ritualistic behaviors. Being a perfectionist about cleaning doesnt necessarily mean you have OCD. Obsessions trigger discomfort, compulsions temporarily relieve discomfort, and the awareness of this relief triggers further sensitivity to the unwanted thoughts and greater urges to engage in more compulsions. OCD produces serious anxiety. Its not clear why this is the case. While OCD isnt curable, it is treatable. Challenging distorted beliefs and ideas about blood can help reduce the reliance on compulsions, so long as these challenges are not used as a ritualized form of a reassurance. It is not a suction cup pulling contaminants into the body. It's also common to have more than one specific phobia. With the right treatment for your OCD, you can reclaim the funny, the interesting, and the beautiful parts of life while mastering your discomfort with the dangerous. Common Contamination OCD compulsions: Avoidance: Avoiding objects, places and people that you fear could threaten your health. Counting may also be part of a washing ritual to ensure that it has been done long enough period, or a certain number of times. The compulsion might be to avoid going out in public for too long or to locate a bathroom as soon as you get to a public space. The best outcomes happen when people are diagnosed early and start a robust treatment program right away. Contamination & Health-related OCD: Obsessions, Fears, & Worries If you're curious about what OCD is or how it's treated, you can learn more with these frequently asked OCD questions. Genetics of obsessive-compulsive disorder. If you have OCD and contamination or cleaning are important to you, you may notice that you: If you have OCD and its important for you to keep things symmetrical or arranged in a precise order, you may notice that you: A doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist can diagnose your condition by interviewing you about your thought and behavior patterns or by asking you about symptoms listed in DSM-5. Last medically reviewed on October 18, 2022. These intrusive thoughts cause the person serious anxiety and distress, which they try to relieve with compulsive behavior, like excessive washing or avoiding crowded spaces. I have a OCD fear of body fluids, especially sperm and blood. OCD involves obsessions, which are unwanted, upsetting, intrusive thoughts and images, and compulsions, which are behaviors and rituals used to get rid of the obsessions or neutralize the anxiety (temporarily). Compulsive cleaning is often related to fears of contamination, and compulsive arranging can be caused by a need for symmetry and balance. The most effective treatment for any form of OCD is exposure with response prevention (ERP). First, our ancestors learned to recognize clues to the presence of contagions, obvious ones like bodily fluids, excrement, and corpses, but also subtler signals like the skin discoloration or subdued behavior of the infected. (2020). Obsessivecompulsive disordercontamination fears, features, and treatment: Novel smartphone therapies in light of global mental health and pandemics (COVID-19). The problem, however, is that compulsions fail to guarantee success. The relationship between OCD and cleaning hinges on obsession (recurrent, intrusive thoughts) and compulsion (repeated behaviors or actions). September 21, 2014. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Copyright 2023 International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). For instance, there are some sufferers who fear to touch the floor, the ground, outdoors, or any public objects. Generally speaking, so are the types of avoidance and decontamination compulsions. Fletcher Wortmann is the author of Triggered: A Memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. They are made to reassure to clean things that cannot be approached, to check the sufferer or the environment for cleanliness, or to touch or use things that are thought to be contaminated.