Is OCD more than just being a germaphobe?
It is not even about cleanliness and organization in all OCD cases. Some have nothing to do with these things. Let’s break down the name for starters:O: obsessiveThis is a more thoughts related component (from my understandings)It can be anything from recurrent intrusive thoughts (they hate me/ I’m nothing etc etc), to fearful thoughts that a person would keep at bay by making up irrational ‘rules’ as a way of coping: (what if my mom would get sick, then I’ll lose one of my most precious people, if I don’t check if the door is locked then she will or could die! / If I don’t tap the doorknob in X Y Z pattern something bad will happen— then they tap it and they feel better and safer— but that relieved feeling keeps getting reinforced and they seek it out.Obsessive thought process that keeps getting reinforced and by made up rules that provide relief and a false feeling of safety as a result of acting on the ‘rules’ aka the compulsionC: Compulsive / compulsionThis is the behavioral part, or rules that are acted out in an effort to prevent ‘bad thing’ from happeningIt could be the tapping in patternOrganization / cleaningIt could be simply a feeling of pleasure that’s induced from endorphins being released that keeps getting induced through performing the behavior— making it obsessive (“one more, just one more, pull one more hair , pull pull pull pull pull pull”) this doesn’t always necessarily have to be connected with obsessive thoughts out of fear.
Am I a Germaphobe or just OCD?
My families POV. 1. They think i'm a Germaphobe and they think they can "HELP" by annoying me when I wash my hands mostly my dad. 2. My Brother thinks that if I don't know someone touched it, it's not dirty to me so I think telling me I touched your stuff just makes things way worse cause now i'm paranoid to leave my room cause I think he will go in there and touch my stuff. 3. My mom is the one who calls me a Germaphobe cause she just sees it in that Perspective and she thinks that best describes me. 4. I also mentioned the thing about my Niece not washing her hands and my Parents both agreed and said they're uncomfortable with her in their room touching their stuff. Does this make me a Germaphobe or it's just OCD? is my Family full of crap?
How can I get over my germaphobia!?
I have pure o ocd and I'm constantly afraid of getting sick from germs. I feel like I always have brain fog and I'm worried that if I get sick it will get worse. I know this is irrational but I can't seem to get over this fear. Yesterday something happened that I can't stop worrying about and I know it's not a big deal. In my college dorm I had a basket to hold some stuff and an alkaline battery corroded and leak white powder. I remember I just wiped it off, but I was still scared to touch anything in that basket anymore. I recently came home and most of the stuff in the basket was thrown out I think and then my mom cleaned the basket. She gave me back my guitar capo which I think, but I'm not sure was in the basket. I keep worrying now that the white stuff from the battery touched the capo and if I touch that then eat something I could get sick. This is so ridiculous but I can't help but worry about it. I'm almost positive there isn't any of the battery stuff on the capo anyway and even if there was it's only an alkaline battery and is non-toxic. Why can't i stop worrying about this? What should I do? I'll be ok though right? Thanks.
What are some extreme things that germaphobes do?
I occasionally get stuck inside public restrooms because I can't touch the door handle.I have an interesting mix of germaphobia and OCD/ OCPD, and do many of the things mentioned in some of the other answers, but my disorder manifests in very inconsistent ways. I'm bad with feet, public restrooms, and frequently-touched surfaces (and many other things), but in certain contexts, even they don't bother me. One specific thing I do is occasionally linger inside of a restroom waiting for someone else to open the door, because I can't bring myself to touch it and there's no paper towels around to grab the handle with. I hate “pull” doors on restrooms! I've used my feet to try to pull open doors, I've grabbed wads of toilet paper from a stall (only if I can get in and out of the stall without touching anything) to use to open doors, and on infrequent occasions, I've found myself essentially trapped inside of a restroom waiting for someone else to come in, so I can get out without touching the door. When someone finally does open the door, I catch the door with my foot and slip out without touching it with my hand.And if I absolutely have to touch an unclean surface like a door handle or gas pump with my bare hand, I “quarantine” that hand, only use it for other “unclean” tasks, I don't eat with it, don't touch my face or other clean surfaces, etc., until I can wash. I keep an intricate mental inventory of the things around me and their state of cleanliness. If something is already unclean, I can touch it with a contaminated hand, and not make anything worse. But just like a clean hand can be contaminated by touching an unclean surface or object, a clean object can become contaminated by touching it with an unclean hand.This is just a taste. The rabbit hole goes a lot deeper than this, and as I said, my disorder is WILDLY inconsistent. These are just some of the things that happen on a regular basis.
How do I make my mother understand that I have OCD?
I'm pretty sure I have OCD. I use to excessively wash my hands when I was 8-10 years old. It started out of fear of things being contaminated, me dying, etc. I stopped though. Now it's like I'm starting to be a germaphobe again. I can't really explain it. I don't wash my hands as often as before (I did like 20 times a day before), but now I take like 2 showers a day, wash my hands after I touch something that doesn't look clean, I wash my hands after touching a newspaper, after I use cleaning products, etc. This is what I did before the hand washing got out of control last time. I was in therapy 2 years ago, but it was for depression. I was prescribed zoloft, and I heard that helps with ocd. And my sister said she thought this was ocd (as do I). My point: I stopped excessively washing my hands because of the medication. But, I now have those thoughts again. As in, "you have to wash your hands in order to be clean. You have to wash them thoroughly and quite often." So I think maybe I need a higher dosage or something. Also, whenever I don't have the medication for a few days, I feel different and the hand washing and excessive washing urges come back. Like I've started to rely on the medication. But even with it now it's like I still have the urge. I also count things, organize things, etc. I told my mom before but she doesn't understand. I told her before, but she was like, "you can stop." I said, "No I can't. I feel like I HAVE to do this. I can't control it." She eventually felt bad and suggested me going back to therapy, but then she said, "I don't think it's that bad. I think you're making a big deal out of it." She just doesn't get it. She just doesn't want to do anything about it because she doesn't understand how I feel. She thinks I can stop like I have before. But as I explained above, it was because of medication. Now I think I need a higher dose, and in order to get that I have to go back to therapy
Does my dad have ocd?
I think my dad may have ocd or some type of germaphobic disorder. He always rubs things down with alcohol because he thinks they're dirty. He refuses touch anyone if he or they are sweaty. He has a fear of sweat and refuses to sit anywhere or touch anything if he is sweaty. He always wears shoes on in the house because he thinks the floor is dirty and yells at any of my family if we are barefoot or without shoes. For some reason he refuses to sit on the couch in the living room because he believes it is "dirty". He hates touching food with his hands. He is obsessed with being clean and when go out to eat, he ALWAYS has to go to the bathroom to wash his hands after. I also think he may be a hoarder because his room and his office is so cluttered. It is filled with unnecessary things everywhere, and he always has to save things like plastic bags, receipts, etc. Whenever he goes shopping he always comes back with things we don't need and when my mom tells him we don't need it, he always says "well we might need it in the future" or something. When someone tries to tell him he might have a problem, he denies it. He has a lot of other weird habits but I am not going to waste time by saying them all. I know I shouldn't be because he might have a mental illness, but I am embarrassed by him and because of this I never invite friends over my house. And sometimes I get frustrated and don't want to be around him. Is my dad ocd and should he get help? If so how should I convince him?
Can OCD start at any time or at any age in a person’s life?
Yes, pretty much, but you need to first distinguish which many people, even clinicians like myself don’t always do, between OCD, true OCD, and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, which is often more frequent a diagnosis.True OCD is ego dystonic, meaning the symptoms are repugnant to the ego, meaning the person hates they are compelled to wash their hands 50 times or more a day. OC Personality Disorder, is when the compulsions and obsessions are integrated into the ego and are syntonic with it.“ So what if I want to have lists for everything I need to do, should do, and want others to get on board to stop being so damn disorganized all the time !“ I told you, I don’t want to go out to eat, we just did that last week end, and I won’t go out to eat more than once a week, I told you that a hundred times !”“ Where did you put my slippers ? Damn it, how many times have I told you to leave them where I put them, same with all my other things, just leave me things alone ! “( partner makes him scrambled eggs , and screams bloody murder)I told you, I will not eat eggs if you don’t fork out the chalaza * !!!!! And the sausages were touching the eggs anyhow !, nothing can touch on the plate ! Throw it all out, I’ll cook it myself.OC Personality Disordered people are very particular about how the conduct themselves, and expect others to go along with their trip with little insight into how much they are expecting. It’s an issue of trying to get cool, and reduce anxiety, achieve safety, or “control” over one’s life. But they don’t realize how it affects others within their sphere.It can begin young in life, after kids usually get into school, and fluctuate in intensity to the degree of stress the person is experiencing from external and internal demands, and how much grief they feel they’re getting, versus the environment being accommodating to their needs.cha·la·zakəˈlāzə,-ˈlazə/nounZOOLOGY(in a bird's egg) each of two twisted membranous strips joining the yolk to the ends of the shell.
Obsessive Compulsive or Germaphobe?
That was me when the baby was first born, but I'm much better about it now. I heard that a dog's saliva is more hygienic than people spit is...I don't know if that is true, but I think it is. When I clean the bathroom I clean the whole thing and then finish off cleaning the shower buck-naked and then shower myself. I am constantly wipee-ing my baby's hands off, especially after people touch him, but I think being a teacher has actually cured me a lot of my germaphobe-ness...Kids have all sorts of nasty stuff on their hands all the time and you don't always have the option of washing your hands after dealing with them. LOL! When I subbed a few weeks ago, one of the kids licked the entire edge of one of his papers to try and stick it to another one. It was hilarious and gross and the same time. I heard him talking to himself saying, "oh please let it stick!!". He was 7 years old. I could help but laugh, but I kept in mind which edge he'd licked. I've survived...so I figure I'll keep surviving. Everyone has their quirks. There's no harm in being extra clean. I wouldn't worry about it! :)