Can anybody recommend a wash basket?

[phil06]

No you don't have to buy new ones neither is the cupboard ruined as very short term it may help, long term it's not going to help and I think you know this, the previous poster has also given good advice but you seem to ignore this Phil. This may sound harsh but you aren't going to recover unless you keep up with the help you are receiving, spend you money on private OCD help you could even be seen weekly once a month doesn't cut it really. Keep asking your self do I (meaning you want to get better??) Its up to you, you can either keep posting here the same concerns etc or you can do something about like phone your therapist today and tell her it's getting you down simple as at and I want to know what she says nothing else will do now. ATB

Weekly could cost me £160 a month I would soon have no cash. I’ve been wondering if I should continue it as even £40 a month is a lot to me however replacing stuff also costs money. No advice can stop me rebuying it’s a habit I’ve picked up and find it hard to break the cycle.

If I was living on job centre money it may be good for my ocd as I couldn’t replace stuff. For example at work they put lots of toilet rolls in when the cleaner is on holiday they don’t get replaced as much so I use a small amount and take less time. It doesn’t cause me too much anxiety but sadly Argos is too close by and i can be skint for one rucksack and no anxiety. I can use a full roll of toilet paper as I can buy more. I admit I don’t buy as much expensive loo roll these days due to me spending my cash on expensive holidays. The expensive holidays cuts my anxiety down and relaxed me.

Some ocd I have been able to improve like not coming out the shower however I only managed this by wiping my backside with wet towel before I go in. But yes because stuff is readily available and easy to replace, toilet paper easy to use loads when they replenish it this means I do it more. I resisted buying another hoover when I moved onto this property a month or so ago you may remember I posted about this. The worry has since passed however not all my obsessive thoughts dissapear.

Biggest issues right now:

*Grass At the bottom I use a different strimmer due to the bathroom bin going there

*The cupboard worry and the urge to buy new rucksacks. The printer is in the same cupboard and the rucksacks were on top however I have a lesser urge to believe these are contaminated so I don’t think I will replace.

I purchased a book today called break free from ocd perhaps you could look it up I was recommended I try this with my theropy. It has some good ideas but basically aims for you to forget the thoughts however I find this hard but it explains the ocd well.

But yes I can’t afford anymore sessions right now for therapy. It might mean I suffer still but people moaned at me on here for seeking no theropy so I believe I’ve taken a step towards trying out cbt. The doctors and nhs never helped much for my ocd and I’m not the type who would persist and keep going to the doctors. I’m hoping the sessions will help and I may even consider doing more driving lessons not done them in 8 years I could use the money once the theropy finishes to do this or maybe save the money away instead.

I do wonder if when the therapy finishes if I need more help or if the therapy will mean I come on here and discuss ocd less and recover? The book I’ve read says it’s impossible to be sure something is 100% clean it picks up on perfectionism too. See I would like things to be 100% clean and unspoiled but that may not happen

[MyNameIsTerry]

I believe the cupboard and rucksack is contaminated it sat on the bed same surface I put my dirty laundry when I get changed. So my mind has been on this for about a week that its contaminated and the cupboard is ruined I fear this worry will last for years. The cupboard is no longer perfect and I feel something dirty has been placed on it. I use the rucksacks for holiday so I will probably rebuy.

I put dirty laundey on my double bed however because I “frequently” use the spare bed it’s out my comfort zone so I believe the bed is like a wash basket full of germs. I’m not sure why I find dirty laundey contaminated it’s something that’s caused me anxiety in last 2/3 years

---------- Post added at 21:20 ---------- Previous post was at 19:24 ----------

Anybody help? I believe the cupboard and rucksacks are contaminated

If they are then they are no more so than anything else you put on that bed, this includes you sitting on that bed.

So, what else has gone onto that same surface yet you are not worrying about it?

[phil06]

If they are then they are no more so than anything else you put on that bed, this includes you sitting on that bed.

So, what else has gone onto that same surface yet you are not worrying about it?

Well nobody really sits on the bed anyway as it’s a spare bed. I don’t usually put anything on the bed. My bed has had dirty washing on it occasionally but I don’t worry too much like when I get changed I may throw the stuff on the bed before moving it to the spare bed. My own bed has clean washing on it when putting it away or mobile phones or wallet ect.

Because I use the spare bed more frequently this is my concern. Had it been placed on that exact spot where I put the dirty washing perhaps my anxiety would be more? Logically because it wasn’t on that patch it should be ok but I believe one time I put something dirty there but only once.

If someone was to sleep in the spare bed perhaps that would cause me more anxiety I’m not sure. I mean like I say the washing isn’t there long it goes into the machine quickly to avoid having a basket. If I had a basket I would believe the carpet was contaminated. In my last house I put dirty washing on the floor but I would worry what was placed there but only slightly my anxiety was about a 4/10.

My big concern was the wash basket where the wet towels were as I believed bits of toilet paper hit them so that caused me extreme anxiety. Later I put non towels on the floor like items of clothes and this dirty washing caused me a lesser anxiety. But still anxiety because I believe it was “dirty”. However when I wear it say ten mins before I don’t feel anxious the task of taking the clothes off and saying I will no longer wear them gives me a black and white thought that it’s dirty and contaminated and can’t be touched anymore. I mean do people wash there hands after putting a load of washing i don’t know? I’m so caught up in my own anxiey I’m not sure how other people deal with dirty laundry.

[Juustopallo]

What's the fear behind the fear of contamination? If you fear you get contaminated with something dirty, what's the worst outcome? Maybe you'd get a little sick for two days and then recover. My little brother used to eat dirt every once in a while to get a day off from school xD

But seriously you need to study how ocd works. By continuing to engage in compulsions, you make sure to have even more obsessions in the future.

[phil06]

Work clothes that I wear twice sit on the bed too and I then go to work then come home sit on sofa but I don’t believe my sofas are contaminated. Yet the rucksack issue is different why is ocd only certain situations when surely I should fear the sofa too?

---------- Post added at 21:06 ---------- Previous post was at 19:40 ----------

Update

Decided to sell the rucksacks

[phil06]

My exposure is not going too well I touched the rucksack and then touched kitchen door handle as was some medication left in the bag so I wouldn’t place it on the work counter anyway I believe the kitchen handle is dirty now

Anyway someone is coming to collect these rucksacks tonight so my torment is over. This is the issue if I kept them out my holiday clothes or iPad on it potentially I would want to dispose of more stuff!

---------- Post added at 20:21 ---------- Previous post was at 20:19 ----------

If I put the rucksacks everywhere in the house the whole house would become off limits and contaminated

Like I say I wear clothes more than once sit them in the bed then sit on sofa yet don’t worry yet it’s the same surface??

[Bigboyuk]

My exposure is not going too well I touched the rucksack and then touched kitchen door handle as was some medication left in the bag so I wouldn’t place it on the work counter anyway I believe the kitchen handle is dirty now

Anyway someone is coming to collect these rucksacks tonight so my torment is over. This is the issue if I kept them out my holiday clothes or iPad on it potentially I would want to dispose of more stuff!

---------- Post added at 20:21 ---------- Previous post was at 20:19 ----------

If I put the rucksacks everywhere in the house the whole house would become off limits and contaminated

Like I say I wear clothes more than once sit them in the bed then sit on sofa yet don’t worry yet it’s the same surface??

Ok lets look at like this Phil what happens when something looks dirty etc take a carpet for eg you get the hoover out right. Same with dirty dishes they get washed up follow. dirty door handle in my case wipe it with cloth and if needed antibacterial spray in your case you do nothing because it's contaminated(dirty) whats going to happen if you don't clean it nothing really Nah I cant really say any more part from right everything down and tell your therapist everything. Re the bed is it your bed you put the dirty clothes on for my own sanity I cant do any more to help cause your OCD is well out of control and it sadly will be unless your grasp the help given to you. ATB

[Phuzella]

Yep I agree with you BB

[phil06]

Ok lets look at like this Phil what happens when something looks dirty etc take a carpet for eg you get the hoover out right. Same with dirty dishes they get washed up follow. dirty door handle in my case wipe it with cloth and if needed antibacterial spray in your case you do nothing because it's contaminated(dirty) whats going to happen if you don't clean it nothing really Nah I cant really say any more part from right everything down and tell your therapist everything. Re the bed is it your bed you put the dirty clothes on for my own sanity I cant do any more to help cause your OCD is well out of control and it sadly will be unless your grasp the help given to you. ATB

Ok what do you mean my bed? And I will write stuff down tell the therapist. Carpet or dishes getting dirty doesn’t bother me too much. It’s all wash basket and toilet germs and black and white thinking either clean and new or contaminated but I read that book and seemingly that’s common with ocd to think this way.

I admit this house isn’t as dirty as my last house I clean it more. I can’t seem to get over the ocd that something is ruined or spoiled tonight I sold the rucksacks as I couldn’t bear the anxiety the good news I recouped some cash before I buy a new one but bad news I couldn’t resist the ocd it’s only the cupboard I fear now not the rucksacks.

But I’ve only had one therapy session I would be surprised if I had got over my ocd after one try

[Phuzella]

You have to help yourself between sessions.