obsession with cleanliness (but not germaphobia!)

[AutumnGypsy]

recently (within the last 4-5 months) i've developed a very severe issue with being unclean. i know this is common with OCD, except it has nothing to do with germs or a fear of getting sick or dying. mostly i have an issue with getting dirty from food (grease mostly, but any other food substance). oddly im not worried about my food itself getting contaminated! i have been known to drop french fries on the floor, blow them off, and eat them without issues. instead i freak about getting food on me, or any of my things. i obsessively wash my hands after eating, touching the fridge door, the food closet, or anything food or drink related. this makes it very difficult to cook or eat out (yesterday i was cutting a potato, slipped with the knife and was splashed with water from it, and became so enraged i threw the whole potato away! changed my clothes and skipped lunch entirely!) eating out means worrying that the seats aren't clean (my bf and i always end up in booth seats...ALWAYS with crumbs from something greasy such as onion rings or french fries..i can't understand why the waitresses cant just wipe down the seats!) i have no choice but to place my purse and coat on the dirty booths (i can at least console myself with the fact that my jeans can be thrown into the wash)
anything that touches something else "taints" it in my mind, for example if i have to put my coat on the dirty booth seat, then come home and place it on a chair, the chair is now dirty in my mind (illogical but still an issue!) this means keeping mind of everything all day, whats dirty, whats touching what, what needs to be washed or cleaned, etc. im always washing my hands. the issue is that certain things that become "dirty" in my head, are difficult things to wash and/or would be ruined with water (or i just feel i can't clean it enough!)
my day becomes so stressful worrying about my things all day! especially the material objects that mean very much to me, like gifts from my loved ones. i just want everything, clean perfect and pretty forever.
does anyone else feel this way? if so how do you deal with it? i'm hoping this will go away on its own, since this obsession has appeared out of thin air!

 

[fitftw]

I open every door with my pinky if it's a handle-type. I use my knuckles on both hands to open knob-type doors. I never touch a knob or handle with bare fingers (except my left pinky)

I wash my hands first thing upon entering my apartment.

I don't see a problem. I don't want to be nasty and open handle doors with all my fingers. On campus I'd wash my hands before I ate lunch, making sure not to touch anything with fingers that would be on my food. This is tricky when handling money.

 

[springk]

anything that touches something else "taints" it in my mind, for example if i have to put my coat on the dirty booth seat, then come home and place it on a chair, the chair is now dirty in my mind (illogical but still an issue!) this means keeping mind of everything all day, whats dirty, whats touching what, what needs to be washed or cleaned, etc. im always washing my hands. the issue is that certain things that become "dirty" in my head, are difficult things to wash and/or would be ruined with water (or i just feel i can't clean it enough!)
my day becomes so stressful worrying about my things all day! especially the material objects that mean very much to me, like gifts from my loved ones. i just want everything, clean perfect and pretty forever.
does anyone else feel this way? if so how do you deal with it? i'm hoping this will go away on its own, since this obsession has appeared out of thin air!

HI autumngypsy,

this is something i would say sounds like ocd to me, though of course i m no expert. you say it gets ''tainted'' in your mind.
now of course your mind then attaches everything that comes in contact with some form of that ''tainted'' feeling. it is illogical as you say, cos everything can't become unclean.

you feel anxious when this happen. so it causes you discomfort.
what i would suggest u is that you should try to control your impulse to throw things away or wash them.
you will feel anxiety and discomfort but it is the only way to deal with it, dont do those compulsions.
this is early so you may able to control it.