Several years ago, I had OCD to the point where I could no longer function well. My version made me refuse to touch absolutely anything at all, which you can imagine doest work with daily activities. Medication helped a little, but being a youngish child I didn't like the idea of daily pills, and just stopped taking them. I did however, discover a trick which helped me immensely, and I believe it is the key to recovery. I thought I'd share it with this forum, so that any with conditions similar to me can hopefully find relief.
I had one room, my room, that was free of "contamination" and I was able to touch things. This was my little safe haven. Quickly I realized I could not function without touching anything, so I made a deal with myself essentially. I would go through the day ignoring the desire to wash my hands when I touched things, but then shower and retreat into my haven at night. This worked for a while, and after that I moved to the next step; If I can ignore it during the day, then I could ignore it forever. In my mind I set the "norm' as "contaminated" rather than "clean."
I truly believe that's the trick. Try reset your norm to match and ignore the urges, and soon they will just cease. I have no resemblance of anything compulsive as of now, and have had no relapses since. I don't know how well this will work for other types of urges, but hopefully someone here will find it useful.
I had one room, my room, that was free of "contamination" and I was able to touch things. This was my little safe haven. Quickly I realized I could not function without touching anything, so I made a deal with myself essentially. I would go through the day ignoring the desire to wash my hands when I touched things, but then shower and retreat into my haven at night. This worked for a while, and after that I moved to the next step; If I can ignore it during the day, then I could ignore it forever. In my mind I set the "norm' as "contaminated" rather than "clean."
I truly believe that's the trick. Try reset your norm to match and ignore the urges, and soon they will just cease. I have no resemblance of anything compulsive as of now, and have had no relapses since. I don't know how well this will work for other types of urges, but hopefully someone here will find it useful.
