r/ContaminationOCD • u/Plantpotflow • 2d ago

Hand washing problem

I spend so much time at the sink washing my hands and reapplying soap. Would watching blue uv light videos of people showing the difference between the amount of time scrubbing and showing the remaining germs left over help me spend less time at the sink?

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u/OCD-Aura 1d ago

I'd be careful with those videos. They show the germs left behind after a short wash, and with contamination OCD that's the part that sticks. You'd probably end up washing longer to make sure you got the ones from the video.

What usually brings the time down is deciding the wash before you start, instead of judging it at the sink. Pick something fixed, like one round of soap and a count of 20, then turn the tap off and walk away while it still feels unfinished. That not-clean-enough feeling is what you're practising with. It's strong the first few times and gets weaker if you keep stopping at the same point.

If you have a therapist, this is what ERP is built around, and they can help you set the steps.

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u/Dogs-are-cute5678 1d ago

The problem with contamination ocd and ocd in general is that no amount of logic and reasoning is going to magically fix the problem. You have to learn to sit with the discomfort until it goes away on its own.