Contamination OCD
Contamination OCD is a type of OCD with which the sufferer feels like he or she may have got or will get an incurable or severe disease. The person often comes up with a scenario in which he or she may have
somehow gotten contaminated or have contaminated others. For example a person who works in a hospital may try to avoid touching anything when she gets home in order to prevent her house getting contaminated. Another example may be a person who avoids touching doorknobs at all costs to prevent from getting a particular type of illness.
Here are some common traits of contamination OCD:
A person with this type of OCD will always be afraid of a particular illness and not worry so much about other illnesses.
A person with contamination OCD will often worry of others catching an illness either from them or from what they view as contaminated object. They are worried that if that does happen it will be the
sufferers fault and they will be responsible.
The sufferer will go above and beyond what is considered standard safety precautions to ensure that they or others do not come into contact with contaminated objects.
A sufferer of contamination OCD will often have their doctors perform tests to ensure that they do not have a particular illness. Most of the time they are not satisfied with just one test and require more reassurance.
They spend a lot of time researching their feared illness to try to figure out whether they or their loved ones are in danger of it. This type of research gets them nowhere and set them up for more OCD because they will still be unsure and no amount of research or doctor knowledge will feel like enough.
If you doubt whether or not you are suffering from contamination OCD, ask yourself these questions:
1. Am I doubting this as an OCD thought?
2. Is this thought repetitive?
3. Does the thought bring on extreme anxiety?
4. Do I feel the urge to solve this thought and figure out whether my fears are valid?
5. Are you the only person you know who would go to this extent to ensure hour own safety or safety of others?
If you answer yes to these questions it probably means that you have contamination OCD.
If you are suffering from this type of OCD it is important to recognize it as OCD. Once you do, you need to react to it without fear. After all, you are not in danger; you are just experiencing a symptom of OCD. To make these thoughts go away start to view them as OCD and not as valid fears. Once you do that, the thoughts will lose their power over you and will go away.
“The OCD Recovery Program has high recovery rate because of continous text support throughout the day between Ali Greymond and her clients. She guides you through the difficult moments and pushes you to fight for recovery. You are never going to feel alone in your daily battle against against OCD and as long as you follow the program, you will recover.”
OCD Recovery Program Testimonials
I would just like to say a massive thank you to Ali Greymond for all of her help and support through what had to be one of the hardest and most fearful times in my life. Hell sounded appealing to what I was living with- false memory OCD! I’m very private and the thought of telling someone my intrusive thoughts was agonising. I listened to Ali’s shows on YouTube and I knew the best person to help me was her, Ali made me feel so comfortable, I never once felt as though she was judging me in anyway in fact she made me feel the opposite like I was normal and none of this meant anything. She gave me the tools and skyped me every day I felt like She was in the next room the support was amazing. This wonderful lady changed my life, it’s hard work and determination daily but if there’s one person that can help you recover from OCD it’s Ali Greymond. She’s amazing at what she does and me and my family are blessed we found her because I don’t know where I’d be now. Thank you Ali your programme is amazing. (L.)
I came to Ali with a severe case of contamination OCD. Ali graciously offered me an introductory session free of charge. When I asked her when we could start, she said “how about today”? I liked that she was that proactive and willing to jump in immediately. I looked at the packages she offered and signed up immediately for the “Severe OCD” package, because that accurately described the state I was in. Ali almost immediately became my anchor, my support system and friend through this very frightening and lonely disorder. With Ali by my side, I had hope for the first time and I made strides that even surprised me. I was amazed at how quickly I started to recover. It felt like magic to me.
Having been a fellow sufferer herself, she truly understands the disorder. I felt that Ali intuitively knew when to push me through a fear and when to back off. When she felt that I was not ready for an exercise she told me. When she felt that I could push through a fear, she told me and 100% of the time, she was on point! This was extremely important as feeling in control is such a huge element of this disorder. I would recommend anyone suffering with this disorder to work with Ali. She helped me get my life back and that is priceless. (J.)
