OCD cleaning

[Rachel W]

Hi,

I tried to ask in the OCD forum, but I think most people there (including myself) could not answer this in a rational way, but I am very panicked and upset right now and need someone's advice...I have OCD in regards to contamination from people (any bodily secretion including sweat and worse)...

I bought a new car today and was happy that there was plastic on the seat so I will be the first to sit on the fabric, but then just as I got in the car the salesman sat in the passenger seat to show me the controls (I was so shocked I did not even hear a word he said anyway).

Anyway, I know this is a support forum but I need advice/support.

The seats are cloth, but they are a very tight weave/polyester type car fabric.

Here is my question.

If I use about 5 slightly damp cloths with a mix of alcohol and water, do you think that this will take any residue from the guy off the seat? He is the only one to have sat on it as far as I know, and he only sat in it for about 5 minutes, but I don't know what he may have on his clothes (public bathroom? ughhh).

Please help. I don't want to have to use fabric cleaner and hope that someone here can put my mind at rest that the cloths would take anything off (rather than just rubbing the dirt in more).

Thank you so much!!!

Rachel

[Bill]

Rachel:hugs:

I've suffered from OCD at its worst but now it no longer creates a problem for me so I actually feel you're asking the wrong question and trying to treat a symptom rather than the cause.

The question you perhaps should be asking would be "Does the seat actually need cleaning?" Is there any rational reason why it should be cleaned other than to relieve your anxious feelings? Is there any actual danger if you don't clean the seat and what might rationally happen to you if you don't?

Also, what happens when a friend sits in your car or would you ban passengers? Would you then also ban people from your home or allow them in but go round cleaning everything they might have touched? Would you then clean everything you've bought in shops for fear of who might have touched the items?

Where would it end? You could end up constantly cleaning Everything all your life.....would you want that?

That's what could have happened to me if I allowed my OCD to control my life.

What I would therefore suggest is.....don't clean the seat. Just leave it and see if anything happens. When it doesn't, which it won't, you'll discover it's actually safe not to clean everything others might have touched.

If there is an actual rational danger of catching germs, then of course wash your hands (but Not for half an hour at a time!) but at least then you won't end up cleaning everything around you....and you'll then be able to spend more time enjoying life!.......but of course that's only my advice because I'd prefer to see you happy rather than constantly worrying due to irrational fears created by your anxiety.:hugs:

[Rachel W]

Thanks for the advice. I have actually had OCD for over 20 years and have been a lot worse and a lot better. I have been going through a lot of stress lately and it has just made it worse and I could not cope with just leaving it (as I would have been able to do at other times). I know that it was the wrong question but at the same time I had no one else to ask and I did not feel strong enough to let it pass at this time.

I understand the ins and outs of OCD and it is rare for me to get so panicked as I was yesterday.

Another issue which makes my OCD a little different is I don't think anything bad will happen, I just don't like residue (the thought of it on anything) but I don't fear germs or that it will cause anything bad.

This has been an issue with treatment as the wait and see that nothing bad is going to happen does not work.

When I feel less emotional I have been through stages where I was able to force myself to leave things, and it is true that this works to get better, but I also have found that I have to be in the right frame of mind to start this treatment as it can cause high anxiety and I have been feeling so fragile lately that I need to just be able to relax a little while and then I plan on putting myself through the paces again.

[charlotte83]

Hi Rachel,

I've suffered from Ocd for about 10 years and I used to suffer very badly from contamination fears. Mine was similar to yours in the sense that I didn't think you could actually catch anything or get ill from germs on things, but for example, I thought if somebody sat on the sofa that had been sat on the train, they might have sat on a seat that someone had been sick on once and traces of that would get on their clothes and then on my sofa. I knew you couldn't get ill from that but its just the thought of it. Its like I wanted everything to be perfectly clean all the time. The fact is, whether you are scared of getting ill from germs or not, it is still ocd and the only way to rid yourself of the the feeling that things are contaminated is to ignore the urge to clean. I haven't got over my cleaning compulsions 100% because I know some of the things I do, other people would think are mad but I find that I won't allow myself to do anything excessively anymore. If you are really really stressed, maybe wipe the car seat once but no more then that. Try not to allow the ocd to get hold. Take care.