Contamination Obsessions are one of, if not the most, common type of obsession. They centre around the idea that touching something or being near something could in some way contaminate you.
I get this one a lot. It was my first major obsession as far as I can remember. I first got it when I was about 7. My class at school were doing an experiment on germ growth by rubbing our hands on bread and leaving it for a few days. When mould grew on it they told us that the germs on our hands had caused the mould to grow. This set me off for the first time in my little life. I was sure that there were millions of dangerous germs on my hands that were going to kill me and I washed and washed my hands till my skin peeled off and I had to be taken to a doctor for all sorts of steroid and hydrocortizone creams.
Usually for me though this is the obsession that gets set off when I have stress but no other major obsession. It seems to be the first place my OCD runs to when it is feeling a little aimless. Recently, I've been getting it more and more because my obsessions change so frequently but my stress level doesn't. So in between major panics there is this constant cycle of everything I touch means I need to wash my hands.
Touch the dog... wash my hands. Touch a damp surface... wash my hands. Touch food... wash my hands. Wash dishes... wash my hands. Put clothes in the washing machine... wash my hands. Shower... wash my hands.
My skin is getting so dry and cracked and it doesn't even make my OCD feel very reassured. It is almost totally ungratifying. The other day I got pen on my hands and then couldn't settle till I had washed my hands. It's getting just silly.
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