I don't know why but I keep washing my hands very often and feel the need to clean them because they feel dirty.
I also keep taking off my phone case and cleaning it with washing up liquid because of it picking up germs/dirt
Sounds like you're going through tough time. When did this all start? How often do you wash your hands in a day? How do you feel when you don't wash them?
if the thoughts are distressing and it makes you angry then it could be some sort of psychological problem..
do you do any other repetitive behaviours ?
I polish my room quite often and currently we've run out of it and I wanted to polish my room today and because we haven't got any I feel a bit stressed
Essentially OCD is where your brain tells you to do things that don't make logical sense. That can mean cleaning your hands, flicking light switches, counting steps or anything else. It is often paired with some form of fear (family dying, being contaminated with germs etc), but can just be an uncomfortable feeling.
OCD can be triggered by stressful events or just come seemingly out of nowhere. It is usually treated by CBT therapy to help you ignore urges, but reducing any other stresses can also help a lot.
There are also conditions and mindsets that are similar to OCD, but not quite the same. I don't know much about those, but your GP can help with them too.
Essentially OCD is where your brain tells you to do things that don't make logical sense. That can mean cleaning your hands, flicking light switches, counting steps or anything else. It is often paired with some form of fear (family dying, being contaminated with germs etc), but can just be an uncomfortable feeling.
OCD can be triggered by stressful events or just come seemingly out of nowhere. It is usually treated by CBT therapy to help you ignore urges, but reducing any other stresses can also help a lot.
There are also conditions and mindsets that are similar to OCD, but not quite the same. I don't know much about those, but your GP can help with them too.
I'll sometimes start counting steps when I walk as well be not that often but I have done it before
I polish my room quite often and currently we've run out of it and I wanted to polish my room today and because we haven't got any I feel a bit stressed
I'll sometimes start counting steps when I walk as well be not that often but I have done it before
Definitely worth you seeing your GP. I would write down all the things you do that you think are odd (hand washing, step counting, cleaning etc) and take it with you.
For now just remember that it's not your fault and try not to get mad at yourself for it. Stressing out just makes it worse. If you get an urge, tell yourself it's fine, see if you can distract yourself or stop yourself doing it for a while, but if you give in it's fine. It's a process to stopping and it's okay to slip up now and then or to take a while to make progress.
It also tends to help if you choose rituals to work on first. If you try to tackle everything all at once it puts you under a lot of pressure. So for now, you may want to let yourself do the hand washing and work on the phone case thing first. Once you've made decent progress with that it will give you some reassurance that you can do it and you can move onto something else.
You might also like to take some hand sanitiser around with you. That way it's not a big thing if you need to wash your hands- you can just pull out the hand sanitiser when you need to and do it subtly. It also gives a safety net so you can try to delay but know that the sanitiser is there if you need it.
Basically, work with it, not against it. It's not worth getting mad at yourself and making yourself feel worse. Get a feel for what you are and aren't comfortable with and push the boundaries a little more as time goes on. You should find you settle into it better that way.
I don't know why but I keep washing my hands very often and feel the need to clean them because they feel dirty.
I also keep taking off my phone case and cleaning it with washing up liquid because of it picking up germs/dirt
Wash your clothes instead 'for us border line o.c.d !!, its a clean thing, I have done the same its like a little respite cos the duration of the wash your mind relaxes somehow, doctor says as long as your mind believes you are doing something to keep Clean its less of a issue, great product bon the market now as well 1000 washes for twenty two quid 'washing powder in pellets' ecozone Its great and good for the Environment !! SUPERMARKETS hate it cos they will loose loads, I can get it at Almost cost get bak to me but it works , for me and saves my household bundles of Cash and I get to sneak a extra load or two, don't make your hands too much of a Issue or it may remain ,bye !!!