A 2021 study looked at the link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and OCD. Germaphobia: Symptoms, When to Be Concerned, Treatment, and More However, this stereotype does not illustrate the correct image of many sufferers. What about a simple walk in the park where you might brush up against a sharp plant or step on a discarded band-aid? Contamination OCD is simply one kind of OCD. Some people have intrusive thoughts and fears about harming others or being harmed themselves. So, despite there being nothing inherently dangerous about blood, somewhere in our genetic database is probably an urge to avoid being in its presence. The problem with OCD is the cyclical nature of obsessions and compulsions. In an attempt to keep clean and minimize compulsions, some sufferers will create two different worlds for themselves; one clean and one dirty. My fear is touching things that he may of touched and leaving sperm on things that I have to touch with my hand, and my real fear is eating something with the hand I touched the object with and consuming the fluids. People dont get Hepatitis C from hugging. This disgust may be an evolutionary necessity. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health issue in which the person suffering from it experiences unwanted intrusive thoughts and engages in repeated behaviors aimed at getting certainty that the thoughts wont come true. For more general information, please visit our "About OCD" section. Many people are surprised to learn that children can have OCD too. Similarly, if a thought about blood is present in the mind, mindfulness enables you to see it for what it is, a thought about blood. Genetics seems to play a role in whether you develop OCD or not. They may . Whats the outlook for people with OCD-related cleaning compulsions? Saying special words or prayers, thinking opposing or good thoughts to cancel out bad thoughts, and doing actions in reverse, are just some of the compulsions that can be seen. Individuals with OCD experience persistent intrusive thoughts and a compulsion to carry out certain ritualistic behaviors. Brain scans also reveal differences in estrogen receptors and in the amount of white and gray matter in the brains of people with the contamination and cleaning symptom dimensions. By staying with the anxiety, sufferers come to learn the truth of the matterthat nothing really happens when they face their fears, and that their efforts at taking precautions serve no real purpose. OCD can affect your time management by making you overthink, strive for perfection, or have trouble focusing. For example, ERP for contamination OCD could include avoiding your usual washing rituals or allowing yourself to get dirty. In this first installment, I will be focusing on blood, how fear associated with blood often presents in OCD, and how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be used to treat it. Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Advances in diagnosis and treatment. It may be a total stranger or a member of their immediate family. There are practically no limits to the things that can be contaminating. Symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Phenomenology and treatment outcomes with exposure and ritual prevention. Poor sleep and diet can worsen your mood, which can increase your stress levels and OCD symptoms. or call 410-927-5462. Studies have shown that CBT strengthens connections throughout your brain, especially in areas that deal with your ability to control your thinking and balance your emotions. A 2022 study found that people with OCD were more likely to have an imbalanced microbial biosystem in the gut, which can affect digestion. What about shaking hands when you meet someone? Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life. Facts about obsessive-compulsive disorder. Did You Know Anxiety Can Enhance Our Relationships? You need to start looking at bodily fluids without the disgust. (n.d.). (2013). Gradually, patients learn to merge their clean and dirty worlds as they cease to protect themselves. Because the threat of contamination is so vague and. When it comes to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), preoccupations differ from person to person: one person might have obsessions around car accidents, another might have obsessions around fires or natural disasters, while others might have obsessions about germs and cleanliness. Have you considered getting some CBT? Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Symptoms, causes, and treatment It often includes fears around dirt, germs, or illness, and it can involve excessive cleaning and washing rituals. Germs and Contamination - Peace of Mind Foundation With OCD, recurring and persistent obsessions result in significant anxiety and distress. Being a perfectionist about cleaning doesnt necessarily mean you have OCD. People will also think I did something pretty awful to get the disease in the first place and that is the only story that will ever be told about me.. (2013). Obsessions can revolve around the fear of: These obsessions might center on the feeling of uncleanliness. Daniel Kelly, author of Yuck! Anything could make you sick, so everything should be treated as a possible source of contamination. With ERP, youll be exposed to the things that trigger your obsessions without being allowed to engage in your compulsions. Treatment is tailored to each particular persons symptoms and is done at their own pace. After all, dirt, germs, washing what could be simpler? Antibacterial soaps, peroxide, and disinfectants, such as Lysol, can be used to excess by some, causing further skin damage. Jalal B, et al. The most effective treatment for any form of OCD is exposure with response prevention (ERP). (2021). There has been some kind of accident, an act of violence, or a sickness that brought the blood out of its home in the body and into your presence. In response to these unwanted thoughts, people with OCD may feel an intense urge to repeat certain actions. It can include fears about illnesses, bodily fluids, and even more abstract contaminants like bad words, thoughts, or images. For example, you might experience intrusive thoughts about having diarrhea in public. I should know I've lived it. The gut microbiome and inflammation in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients compared to age- and sex-matched controls: a pilot study. Course and outcome of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes repeated actions or thoughts, and it can manifest in a variety of ways. This remains the most widely used and accepted form of behavioral treatment for OCD. Contamination OCD: . The relationship between OCD and cleaning hinges on obsession (recurrent, intrusive thoughts) and compulsion (repeated behaviors or actions). But when OCD puts all the focus on dangerous, all of lifes other qualities become obscured. Another is that the feeling of disgust, the state of gross is somehow dangerous; that the experience is so unacceptable that it should not be tolerated or that the experience itself is an indicator of impending harm. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association. They also concentrate on learning to accept that there will always be a certain amount of risk in life that can never be eliminated, and that life can still be enjoyed and lived freely in spite of this fact. It is not unusual for them to wash their hands fifty or more times per day. OCD can revolve around one or more themes, or major areas of focus. To those of you familiar with OCD, the answer should be obvious behavioral therapy and possibly medicine. The causes of contamination OCD are the same as the causes of any other type of OCD. It involves a sometimes debilitating and distressing need to clean and reclean specific areas or items. Finding a therapist can be a great first step in learning to manage your symptoms. Many years ago cancer was one of the more commonly feared illnesses, but in the last two decades or so this seems to have been replaced by AIDS. If I am sitting with someone (usually my wife) at t. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. Mayo Clinic staff. The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding. In more extreme cases, hands may be washed up to 200 times per day. So, having something get on a cut is not the threat your OCD is telling you it is. I like to tell my patients that When everything is contaminated, nothing is contaminated.. If you are diagnosed early and you participate in a treatment program consistently, its possible youll be able have a good quality of life. DOI: Moreira PS, et al. Both are treatable. If the concern of getting a blood-borne illness is about being isolated from the people you love, incapable of enjoying relationships, work, daily life, then why let OCD create that very same environment with avoidance and other compulsions? 2nd edition. Employing mindfulness skills can be an integral part of revealing distorted thinking and compulsive urges. Everything You Need to Know About Contamination OCD OCD symptoms include not only obsessions and compulsions, but significant anxiety as well. OCD produces serious anxiety. Common Obsessions in OCD* Contamination Body fluids (examples: urine, feces) Germs/disease (examples: herpes, HIV) Environmental contaminants . Non-Violent Harm OCD. Bodily Fluid Contamination. Often, these unwanted thoughts involve sex, violence, or religious images. OCD: Fear of Getting Sick. Changes in the stool and oropharyngeal microbiome in obsessive-compulsive disorder. One unusual belief sufferers have is that very small amounts of contaminants can cover very large areas. Eventually, your anxiety will decrease. Not everybody with contamination OCD will have the same obsessions and compulsions. (2017). (2017). Author of Triggered: A Memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (St. Martins Press), named one of Booklists Top 10 Science & Health Books of 2012.. People with contamination OCD may fear getting diseases, touching bodily fluids, spreading germs, and more. If you suffer from this, or any other type of OC disorder, my suggestion is that you seek help. Here's what can cause OCD guilt and how to reduce symptoms. Contamination from germs, bodily fluids, chemicals, dirt, and environmental pollutants is an extremely common obsession. Generally speaking, so are the types of avoidance and decontamination compulsions. Mental or emotional contamination OCD is when one is triggered by gross or disturbing thoughts and they think they're mentally or emotionally contaminated from their pure state of . It can also include such things as: This list is by no means complete. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Tips for helping someone you love with contamination OCD, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Getting Over OCD: A 10- Step Workbook for Taking Back Your Life, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8057190/, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2614194, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7691644/, new.ejpsy.eg.net/article.asp?issn=1110-1105;year=2018;volume=39;issue=3;spage=140;epage=149;aulast=Michael, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Screening Quiz, How to Support a Child with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Podcast: NHL Goalie with OCD & Anxiety Featuring Corey Hirsch, OCD and Multiple Sclerosis (MS): What to Know, How to Support a Loved One with OCD: 7 Ways. If you suffer from food poisoning, it might have been caused by your most recent meal, or the one before that, or anything you ate in the past forty-eight hours. Some will go as far as to make lists of things they believe may have happened in the past, so as not forget this vital information. Similar to symmetry and order compulsions, checking compulsions have been associated with anger and trauma. This dirty world usually takes in most of the outside world, and can also include parts of their home or work areas. You also describe your obsessive thoughts and your compulsive behaviors to your therapist. This doubt can be hurtful, but there are ways around it. While this can be difficult in the short term, it eventually reduces the strength of the obsessions. Although not a replacement for therapy or medication (if needed), self-care strategies can be helpful for people with OCD. spending a significant proportion of your day cleaning, washing your hands or showering in excess, worrying excessively about illness, germs, or dirt, experiencing intrusive thoughts about becoming ill or getting dirty, throwing away items that you think are contaminated or dirty, engaging in specific washing rituals (e.g. How do we develop a capacity for uncertainty tolerance when the OCD makes it seem impossible? (2017). If you think youd benefit from talking with others who have OCD, you may want to check out the IOCDF OCD support groups list for local groups or the IOCDF online or telephone support groups list for remote support groups. OCD can affect your time management by making you overthink, strive for perfection, or have trouble focusing. DOI: Impact of the DSM-IV to DSM-5 changes on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Protection: Wearing gloves or using paper towels to try and stop germs from touching your skin. Last medically reviewed on October 18, 2022. Understanding differences in brain structures is important because it may point to new directions for treating the condition. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Fear of coming into contact with potentially harmful things like viruses, bacteria and bodily fluids. People who have an obsessive fear of blood contamination often focus as much on the fear of spreading harm to a loved one as on being contaminated themselves. You can find a therapist by searching in the IOCDF resource directory. Previous research has suggested that those who are particularly sensitive to the emotion of disgust have a higher chance of developing contamination OCD. Contamination OCD can also include the fear of more abstract contaminants like thoughts, words, or images that you perceive to be immoral or bad luck. OCD produces serious anxiety. But what do these look like, and how are they related? Obsessions and compulsions intertwine in OCD, and they can drive an overwhelming desire to repeatedly clean things. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) doesnt distinguish between different types of OCD, which is why contamination OCD isnt a diagnosis in itself. PDF International OCD FoundationInternational OCD Foundation | OCD and Contamination Their hands often become bright red and chapped with cracked and bleeding skin. One of my favorite OCD therapists & writers, Jon Hershfield, has put together a series of articles exploring the common contamination triggers of various bodily fluids. However, a common obsession is the idea that germs will infiltrate your immune system and make you ill. A common compulsion is to wash your hands excessively to avoid spreading germs. St. Martins, New York, NY, 2007. To further complicate our contamination picture, there is a variant that veers off into what is known as hyper-responsibility. This is where instead of being fearful of becoming contaminated, sufferers fear spreading contamination to others. Are you willing to sacrifice time with your family because youre stuck in the shower? They can be every bit as disabling as the items on the previous list. Mysophobia (Germophobia): Causes, Symptoms & Treatment - Cleveland Clinic Not everyone with OCD needs SSRIs in order to improve, though. For people who do benefit from medication, their OCD symptoms can reduce by 40-60%. What is Contamination OCD & How to Overcome It | TAG You have obsessions or compulsions that take up at least an hour of your day. My current situation: I let out some gas, but it was the type where it sometimes makes you check your underpants for "just in case". There are a few different treatments for OCD. The virus is actually pretty fascinating. Are you willing to sacrifice being social because you might encounter a triggering person? Because OCD is biochemical in origin, medicine can often be of great help as well. Melli G. (2019). Outside of the body, it is gross (for many people anyway). Obsessive-compulsive disorder: When unwanted thoughts or repetitive behaviors take over. What is most interesting about the obsessive fear of HIV is that for all the handwashing and avoiding, HIV is not an environmental contaminant. There is recovery though, and many have achieved it. All kinds of OCD, including contamination OCD, are categorized as the same disorder as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The origins of this obsession lie with our prehistoric ancestors and their dangerous environment. Bodily fluids (such as urine, feces, spit, or blood) Environmental contaminants (such as asbestos, lead, and radiation) . A monozygotic twin difference study. Its not considered a separate disorder or diagnosis. I have a OCD fear of body fluids, especially sperm and blood. Because the threat of contamination is so vague and nebulous, it can overwhelm you and inappropriately occupy your thoughts. Types of OCD: Intrusive Thoughts and Behaviors to Know | SELF We avoid using tertiary references. Your therapist then helps you practice gradually facing stressful situations both in your imagination and in real life without using your compulsions. And how connecting with the OCD community changed her life forever. OCD: Semen Contamination. Over time, through a process called habituation, this practice of resisting compulsions becomes more automatic and the brain is forced to release its association between the thoughts and the responses that make them seem so important. The problem, however, is that compulsions fail to guarantee success. In this series on Contamination OCD, I will attempt to break down the symptoms and treatment for obsessive fear of contamination from three common triggers. Contamination OCD and the Fear of Germs: Symptoms and Treatment Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Domnech L, et al. What this means is that nobody wants to be the cautionary tale or the first person made famous by getting a terrible disease from casual contact with blood. One kind of medication that is commonly prescribed for OCD is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The Center for OCD and Anxiety. OCD includes two parts: obsessions and compulsions. While OCD isnt curable, it is treatable. The compulsion might be to avoid going out in public for too long or to locate a bathroom as soon as you get to a public space. OCD: Everything You Need to Know | McLean Hospital It can also include such things as: bodily excretions (urine, feces) bodily fluids (sweat, saliva, mucus, tears, etc.) Contamination, by bodily fluids, germs, dirt, and other . Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental health condition that can impact a person's relationships, work, and happiness. Mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder involve robust and extensive increases in brain network connectivity. It describes OCD as a disorder that causes people to experience distressing thoughts and mental images that wont go away. Magnetic fields interact with nerve cells in your brain in an attempt to lessen your OCD symptoms. Common obsessions in contamination-related OCD include the fear of getting sick with a serious illness like rabies, ebola, H1N1 (swine flu), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, mad cow disease, hepatitis, or avian influenza. As with all kinds of OCD, treatment can help you manage the symptoms of contamination OCD. For magical types of contamination the solution is often a magical decontamination ritual designed to remove or cancel out the problem, thought, name, image, or concept. Use this brief screening measure to help you determine if you might need to see a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment of OCD, Can Stanley Cup-Winning Goaltenders Have Anxiety and OCD? (2016). We look at 5 tips that may help. People commonly associate fears of germs and contamination with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), often with images of someone feverishly using hand sanitizer and Lysol to quell their fears. The disorder tends to appear at an earlier age in males. I have even worked with several people who poured straight bleach on their hands and bodies, resulting in chemical burns. I believe it should be regarded as a tool to assist in doing behavioral therapy. Compulsive cleaning is often related to fears of contamination, and compulsive arranging can be caused by a need for symmetry and balance. While there are many treatment options for OCD, ERP and SSRIs are the most effective.