Can anybody recommend a wash basket?

[phil06]

I had another big contamination issue tonight

My partner done a wash and there was clean washing on the radiator so I had to rewash these clothes and worry about having to replace the radiator.

I know you will say my ocd is lying but for me it’s a genuine worry. I mean I don’t worry if she goes near the heater when there is no clothes it’s barely the thought that the washing isn’t clean or the thought the washing if kept on heater would have contaminated my sofa and drawers and anywhere I worn these items.

I feel my world is being hoovered up and I feel like the last house eventually lots of Areas become “forever contaminated”. Like I say it’s mostly dirty laundry that is worrying me right now so perhaps someone can reassure me that perhaps they do things differently in there house.

 For me dirty washing near clean washing causes me too much stess. Yes I mean I can name times when I got changed in my bedroom and there was clean washing around and it only caused me mild anxiety.

The laundry on the heater issue happened in my old house I can’t remember much of what I done other than I would move it when doing a dirty wash so I’m guessing this happened in the past and I kept using the heater. This time I’m not overly keen on using the heater I mean yes it’s rash as when I use a suitcase it carry’s both clean and dirty washing so it does contradict but it seems my ocd just doesn’t like some stuff and wants to believe there is a danger or anxiety to be had.

 I worry about these issues forever more and don’t forget that’s the issue I can pin point 1,2,3,4,5..ect areas of my home where I believe a handle, an area of floor or whatever is tainted I don’t know how I can get out of that thinking. I mean it must happen to everybody whether it be a leak or something in there house that gets spoiled or dirty and they have to live with it for someone without ocd it’s not forever contaminated but for me this kind of ocd I cant live with and I moved house partly due to it. My reaction is to avoid it but this seems typical of ocd from what I have been reading

Also my partner put some Xmas presents in cupboard and she walked over bed which had a dirty washing item so I worry cupboard is tainted?

[phil06]

My anxiety so far has told me:

1. I need to move house

2. I need to replace the radiator

3. It will take me a long time to accept the radiator like it did with the door

im guessing I should I be aiming for number 3 to live with it but I find it hard like a suitcase has dirty washing plus clean yet I don’t worry yet this even if it touched the radiator would create a similar surface of so called germs yet I don’t feel or think like that? Is that something I can change or challenge because so often I have these contradictory situations and my head focuses on certain issues. Logically it makes no sense when another example is my bed I take my clothes off to change put them on the bed they are dirty yet my partner puts clean washing in the same spot without any worry from me.

Thus is where I don’t get my ocd it all seems unnecessary to worry like this. It I feel absolutely awful and think about stuff being “ruined”?

---------- Post added at 09:46 ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 ----------

It seems my irons worry has been replaced by this

[phil06]

Today has been even worse

I blocked the toilet and used the plunger again so that’s where all my anxiety started

I showered once, binned towels as I worried I touched them so I showered again and still wasn’t satisfied so I took another towel and showered again. I took some clean clothes out the drawer threw them on the ground as dirty washing as I wasn’t satisfied. In the end I had a big pile of clothes. So I went to the shops and worried I touched the toilet brush so I went and washed my hands I still wasn’t satisfied as I had a thought that maybe I touched the brush and some how never showered or touched it again after my shower yet I never so another false thought.

My behaviour is now well I can’t go in ANOTHER shower now so I am avoiding touching some stuff in fear my hands after dirty. Logically I know I’ve washed my hands lots so even if I did touch it I’m sure that’s enough for some people. But let me explain if a toilet water splashes my hand a tiny bit i shower sometimes situations happen where only showering safisfies me like I won’t wash the toilet unless I shower. My ocd is so bad that sometime hand washing isn’t enough to make me feel better. Another example I went shopping the other day and I ocd’d again worried my clothes were dirty I changed and because I never rolled my sleeves up when I put the clothes down for dirty laundry I wouldn’t buy any item in the shops in fear of spreading germs.

My ocd is crippling and it’s at its worst because no matter much I clean I sit every day feeling unclean now. This is a new thing as I said earlier in the topic compulsions use to work now the moment a thought flashes into my head I react to it like the thought is real and happened and I feel I have no control over this. People say that you can change how you react to a thought but I can’t seem to because my head pulses onto these thoughts like they are facts and I go on a journey to how everything will become dirty and do a compulsion and now I find the no matter how many compulsions I do the feeling of dirt never leaves. It feels like being trapped in a gold fish bowl of thoughts.

Where I need help is when a thought comes I believe it as a fact how can I some how fix this?

[phil06]

My partner left a magazine on the bed when I was changing my clothes so the relief of buying a new iPad never lasted long as she put the magazine back In my drawer next to the iPad. I usually like nothing on the bed when I change the clothes so yet again my partner has caused stress.

Its going to be a bit expensive to keep replacing iPads. I mean the magazine never touched dirty washing but the issue is my relief feeling my rucksack and iPad was clean was short lived.

A lot of it what I have is a mental contamination because stuff becomes dirty on my head

---------- Post added at 15:26 ---------- Previous post was at 15:24 ----------

The drawer contained my hosue key and Xbox controller but my urge would be to replace the iPad again despite me not using it much since I last used it. The thought is the rucksack with something dirty in it again like the last worry

[Carys]

I usually like nothing on the bed when I change the clothes so yet again my partner has caused stress.

No she hasn't, she is living a normal life doing things that don't bother most people. Phil, you have the issue that needs addressing with your contamination OCD.

[phil06]

A similar situation has occurred again when I did a compulsion to change my socks a few weeks back I refused to buy anything in the shops and worriee the stuff I touched was dirty.

Today I did the compulsion again it changing my socks but my watch was on so now I refuse to wear it. My ocd is so bad that like the shoes I won’t buy the “exact” same pair in fear I’ve been tricked into having the old pair again so I can’t even rebut exact same watch. But my financies are low at the moment so I won’t even afford to replace instead I wear an old watch and wear old shoes.

I realised some weeks ago the compulsions were not helping as I found myself forced into another compulsion it avoidance as my ocd is so bad. Not much can help here the watch will be binned and I will buy another but it’s an Inconvinence really my head says if I wore it I would contaminate everyone else and I would refuse to hoover. I already refuse to iron clothes since I took three irons back and two iron boards and only iron my work clothes now.

It sucks how ocd can be so bad avoiding or replacing. 2019 may be another expensive year having to replace stuff but at the moment I can’t even afford to replace.

[phil06]

I worry I have to throw towels away as when I was in the toilet my fingers brushed the towel and I worry it could have poo germs on it. I mean I don’t throw away my under wear and tops when I sit on a toilet and touch them but for towels I worry I need to

[phil06]

I need some help with my ocd

Basically anything I’ve not used in a while from dusters to bags to clothes I worry are dirty and need replaced

Anything I buy and take upstairs I worry is contaminated and been near the dirty laundry in the bathroom. I’ve had these themes for months remember with the iron boards.

Since that ANYTHING that goes upstairs I believe landed on the dirty pile another false thought but what’s happening is I am not using the stuff and want to replace. How can I programme my brain to once again use the upstairs of my house? It can be a crippling condition as I believe it I use the stuff it will contaminate the places I go?

[phil06]

I need some help again

 The iron board issue people say you forget it like what happened with the door but I can’t because I go on holiday soon and I worried the train seats would become dirty as I worried that item of clothing I ironed was dirty hence why I replaced two iron boards and took two back. If I replace I know I will worry the new one is dirty. If I don’t I still think the old one is dirty.

and tonight I unlocked the toilet with the plunger and I had a thought that because the plunger touched the side of the toilet I hit my wooden sill with all the bottles on it. It’s another one of these I think so it must be true. Basically I also had thoughts I ran round the house touching the plunger walls and ceiling and my head bashed it off as nonsense but I have decided I must have took the plunger up high and hit the wood. I have no recollection of this but my head has muffled it up into a real life scenario. 

Also I got stuff for my stag party a few weeks back and worry it’s all dirty each time I buy something I think of an excuse. In the end I have decided I have to continue and take the stuff to the stag.

For the past few months my head has been playing games with these false thoughts. It always starts with lots of random thoughts I bash off then some I can’t. My partner said if have ocd why don’t I clean the house perfect? That got me thinking perhaps what I have is either related to the bipolar episode I had or my generalised anxiety becuase I don’t actually fear germs harming me or keep stuff perfectly clean. So my question is do you think it’s definitely ocd can it take various forms? Is it coming from my anxiety what’s going on?

 And these false thoughts seem true 90% of them even if I worry I soon forget but 10% cause me a real anxiety and worry make me feel I’m going crazy and I struggle to function.

 So yes can someone explain what’s going on to me?

---------- Post added at 21:02 ---------- Previous post was at 21:02 ----------

I’ve had a disaster day for the ocd

Tonight I got changed put my dirty laundry on the bed then my partner brought clean washing up I wasn’t in the room she went downstairs and said she couldn’t place it on the bed as there was dirty laundry there but becuase I wasn’t there to prove she never put it down next to the dirty laundry I refuse to believe she just walked back out so what’s happened is we have had a disagreement and she can’t cope with my ocd.

My ocd wants to replace an expensive tumble drier as I fear all my laundry will be dirty now as this is another situation I have no proof like the letter box I had no idea if the envelope came from the bin so I worried there is simply no proof for me so I feel pretty bad here

I know people will say “ok it’s fine to put dirty laundry next to my clean stuff” but well first off it may not have happened but anyway but my fear here is that it did happen.

She places the items back into the tumble drier my fear is that she placed it on the bed next to the dirty washing yeah she may have turned round and walked back out as she said even that isn’t ideal for me as it’s dirtry laundry in the same room as clean washing all I can see in my ocd mind is germs in the tumble dryer no longer clean washing there..

People say live with these thoughts but they are putting a strain on my relationship not replacing means months off worry, I even find replacing doesn’t fully help as I worry hours later anyway. I’ve kept the old iron board for 4 months and not replaced yet I am STILL in a state of worry this is no quality of life living in this fear 

[Scass]

Your partner doesn’t have a grip of how bad your ocd is, or she wouldn’t make poor jokes about cleaning the house. There are different types of anxiety and ocd, like there are different types of potatoes.

All I know Phil is that you know these thoughts are intrusive and wrong. The more you ignore them then the more you can prove them wrong. You have done it before so you can do it again. Ignore the intrusive thoughts and treat the anxiety that then pops up.

It’s easy for me to say so, but I know it’s not easy to do. But then neither is living the way we do. Make a choice whether to continue or change.


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