Contamination OCD

For most people, the phrase “OCD” conjures up images of someone compulsively washing their hands, and they might think of OCD as a condition that only affects “germaphobes.” The reality of OCD is much more complicated and variable. Case in point, there are over 10 different subtypes of OCD covered on my website that have nothing at all to do with germs!

Furthermore, though research in the 1990s seemed to suggest that contamination obsessions were the most common presenting concern in OCD patients, studies conducted since then have not always replicated this finding. Nonetheless, it is true that contamination concerns do affect many OCD sufferers. 

Contamination obsessions in OCD can take many forms, but generally speaking, sufferers are afraid of the possibility of coming into contact with some dangerous or harmful substance or pathogen. Consider the following examples:

• Fears of contagious diseases

• Fears of harmful chemical agents - household cleaners, carcinogens such as asbestos or lead

• Fears of exposure to radiation 

• Fears of “‘emotional contamination” - becoming “infected” in a moral or psychological sense by contact with certain people

The feared consequences of coming into such contaminants may include: 

• contracting a dreaded disease or suffering bodily harm/death

• accidentally spreading the contaminant to others, thereby causing them harm

• Transforming psychologically or morally

• A sense of disgust that is intolerable (or a fear that such feelings will persist forever)