Washing with bleach tell me I'm ridiculous

I am obsessed with using bleach to wash my hands and body with. Does anyone know if it's really bad to do ? I am 24 years old. What are all your thoughts?  Its the only way I feel clean I do it all day and can't lye in my bed without using it on myself.

I've always had weird rituals, its now taking over my life.

[ILADVOCATE]

Bleach is highly caustic and will deplete your skin. The best thing is to use a handwashing solution that has alcohol. That will kill the same amount of bacteria present. I always carry that with me for if I go to a public place and there's no bathroom or a toilet and no sink.
   However, if it preocupies you that much I'd reccomend seeing a psychiatrist for a consulation about getting treated for ocd. Behavior therapy works as well depending on the severity of it. But do speak to a professional.

[Jboy284]

hey, i have obsessive compulsive disorder and the best way to help yourself with ocd is to face your problem. when you feel like you have to wash ur hands in bleach, tell urself that its the ocd making u think this way, and dont wash with bleach. of course , you will probably worry about it because of the ocd, but if u dont wash off with bleach, eventually the stress will go away, the feeling of needing to wash with bleach will probably come back but you should tell urself again that its the ocd. dont act on what ur obsessing over. me for example, i have trouble with numbers, i feel like certain ones are unucky and i usta scratch them out after i wrote them, but the best way to help myself is to just write the number down and not stracth it out. ocd is a stressful thing, i know, but tell yourself that it is the ocd that is causing this.

[ILADVOCATE]

That's good advice but what can work better is doing that under the guidance of a behavioral therapist. I have a friend who has ocd and before there were effective medications available (years ago now there are of course, that's an option as well) a behavioral therapist officially worked with him on techniques like that and he was able to stop having to take literally 4 hours to take a shower and many other issues he worked on as well.

[sonic1000]

Thanks everyone. I just get discourage and feel like it will never go away. I also have a problem with the number 39, and racing thoughts. Is their like a support group, or maybe if we just tell each other everyday how ridiculous we are being it will start to subside.

Thanks again.

[ILADVOCATE]

You could call your local NAMI hotline and ask them about support groups. I know there is one, Obsessive Compulsives Anonymous but I personally don't support the 12 step method for controlling psychiatric disabilities as opposed to compulsions that one can willfully control. If these thoughts overwhelm you speak to a psychiatrist. Perhaps you should consider the idea of medication but they could tell you for sure.

[sonic1000]

do you have contact info on a psychiatrist, do they take insurance, any pro bono? I am a student with no health insurance.

[ILADVOCATE]

You could call your local NAMI hotline for contact information on a psychiatrist and as for coverage options I would suggest speaking to your local indepdendent living center. They could provide you with some information about that. There's one in every county of every state. Here's a list:
http://www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/index.html

[sonic1000]

Thanks.

[frustrated12345]

i use bleach on my hands if i've run out of soap...... i try not to though but sometimes i have nothing else. you wrote this in 2008, how are things now?

[omendata]

I too have an ocd and shower with bleach.
I feel contaminated when i go out of my flat so tend to stay in as i take an hour or more to shower.

I had many ocd problems but managed to get them sorted to level that is ok but the bleaching thing just makes me feel completely clean.

I do wonder about the health implications and wonder if anyone has any info - I havent suffered any ill effects and the bleach isnt concentrated and usually diluted with water.

[i_am_who_i_am]

washing with bleach is really a bad idea. from someone who has had ocd for 25 years i will tell you washing with bleach is only making your condition worse. when it comes to ocd the only way to overcome your fears, in your case its germs, is to face them head on. accept your fears to be reality by telling yourself there are germs everywhere on me and in my enviroment and are not avoidable. then try not washing your hands next time they come in contact with something you would normally wash your hands for. eventually you will desensitize yourself and not fear germs anymore. the one and only thing making you do this and feel like you have to is the anxiety that creates ocd.

[LivingwithOCD07]

I cannot believe you wash your hands with bleach! I am not ridiculing you, but that is extrememly harmful! Its bad enough cleaning your enviromental surface with TOO much bleach, please stop using this on your skin otherwise it could have deadly or harm affects later on, such as chronic skin problems!