OCD Action

Nicx
Member

Hi all.
A week on Monday people are coming to put in a new shower, it means they have to take the old one out as well as the bath. They we will be without a shower for a week and I am really worried sick about it as cause of my OCD I have to have a shower every morning, help what can I do.

Nicola xxx

Sat Dec 5 2009 18:24:02 #
Unregistered

Hi Nic
You poor soul, what a nightmare. Why do you have to be without a shower for a whole week, surely the job could be done in less time. I suggest you speak with your GP immediately and get him or her to present a special case on medical grounds. I am wondering if this is something Jude could help with?
Good luck, Joyce

Sat Dec 5 2009 18:47:36 #
Unregistered

Dear Nicola
Can you possibly have a strip wash in a sink instead? ie make it clear to yourself that this is as clean as having a bath or shower and then give it a try. You will certainly be as clean washing this way. I had to do this when I was a child in the 50s as we had no hot water and could only get one bath a week. I sound ancient don't I? Also, if you manage to do this it will really help to get some control over your OCD. I have had to use my sink in similar circumstances and managed surprisingly well even though my OCD also centres on contamination.

All the best
Glad

Sat Dec 5 2009 19:00:21 #
Unregistered

Hi Nic
Me again
Some more thoughts. I am assuming the work has been arranged by the Local Authority or a Housing Association otherwise if you were having it done privately you could insist on either the new bath or shower being installed on the same day the old one comes out. Are special arrangements being made for homes with large families, small babies or for elderly people with perhaps incontinence problems? If so then you need to be allocated the same level of priority because of your specific needs.
I find it helps to make plans in my mind for coping strategies if the worst happens rather than worrying which then leads to sleep problems and a worsening of the OCD. Presumably you will still have running water and a sink and failities to heat water. It is possible to wash as thoroughly as showering by standing in a very big plastic tub (baby bath or larger), wet yourself all over, soap up and then rinse in clean water with a big jug. It may help to use a bath product for babies which will rinse off easily. Time consuming and messy but better than feeling contaminated.

Sat Dec 5 2009 19:23:18 #
Nicx
Member

Thank you for your reply's. someone else has said to me to get a little paddling pool to wash in, which I am going to go and look for next week. I know it is a lot of messing around but I need to wash. my husband thinks I am being silly but what else can I do I need to keep clean. We are having it done privately, me and my husband live with my mum and dad. My dad had a bad accident and really hurt his leg so as he gets older he can't get in and out of the bath so needs a walk in shower. Cause they are doing all the bathroom they said it will take a week, I know that it is going to be one of the longest and hardest weeks of my life.

Nicola xxx

Sat Dec 5 2009 20:06:08 #
Truddles
Member

Hi Nicx,
I can empathise with you, I was at my parents home when they had the same thing done for similar reasons. I nearly had my OCD under control then but our neighbour let us use their shower as it took so long to do the bathroom. I also used a bowl to stand in and poured water over me whilst in the kitchen.
I don't know how I'd cope now.
That aside once it's completed it'll make showering a far more pleasant experience.
I hope that you'll manage to find a way to keep clean that you'll feel relatively comfortable with.
If you find the experience really difficult use the forum to help you through the week.
I wish you luck.
Best wishes
Truddles

Sat Dec 5 2009 20:24:06 #
Unregistered

Hi Nic
Whatever you buy bear in mind it will have to be stored, emptied and it will also need to be strong enough to take your weight. A collapsible or inflatable pool could cause a problem. You may find it possible and easier to use the sink for above waist and a large container for below. As it is a private job you may be able to get them to put in the shower base and connect the drains so even if you can't use the shower you can go in there with a bucket of water and a jug and not have to worry about empying water away.
You are not being silly, you are being very brave about it. I have to bath and wash my hair daily, and if I go outside the house and anything touches me I have to bath and put on clean clothes when I come in. Am I being silly, no, I have a disability which has not responded well to treatments and I have to live my life with it. Anyone who says it is silly needs to experience what it is like, then they would very soon think differently - and be eternally thankful that they were not inflicted with this evil disorder. At Uni before I got OCD I was in digs where we were not allowed to have a bath or do any clothes washing, we used to go once a week to student facilities in the town where we put our week's washing in one of the washing machines and then had our weekly bath. The baths were always filthy and it was a case of clean the bath before getting in and then leave it dirty for the next person or clean it twice. It caused me no problems whatsoever. Then at the age of 23 OCD struck and life became a daily struggle.
Before you go and buy anything could you face testing how far your OCD will let you go eg by taking a bucket and jug into the shower and using it instead of the shower and see if you get an acceptable level of relief from the contamination feeling. Then you will have a better idea of what you are going to need to get through next week without too much pressure on yourself.
Do hope it all goes well for you and you find you manage better than you are expecting. Joyce x

Sun Dec 6 2009 10:42:02 #
Nicx
Member

Hi all.
Got me paddling pool ordered hope it comes in time. It's really getting me down but I just keep trying to laugh about it. Hope it all goes ok.

Nicola xxx

Tue Dec 8 2009 17:33:04 #
Truddles
Member

Good luck with the paddling pool, I hope they work quickly to finish for you.
Love
Truddles

Tue Dec 8 2009 17:48:10 #
ash007
Member

Hi nicola, why not make this the step, in the right direction, and maybe
treat it as an exposure.

Who knows, it may be the point, that helps you to gain control over the ocd.

ash

Tue Dec 8 2009 18:44:19 #
Parvez Choudhry
Member

Hi Nicola

I had to go through the same ordeal about a year ago. We had our bath removed and a special disabled shower (for my mum) installed. We were without a bath or shower for a week because the builder had to rearrange the whole bathroom and lay new pipes underground. I found it stressful but it wasn't as bad as I had expected. I used lots of baby wipes to wash myself in the mornings, but I think a flannel & soap at a washbasin would have been more effective because baby wipes leave your skin feeling slightly sticky.

It helped me to remind myself that even a shower or bath does not make you 100% clean. Tap water contains bacteria and impurities, bath towels are not sterile, and everything you touch when you step out of a bath is at least slightly grubby. So the difference between a proper bath/shower and 'roughing' it with a spartan paddling pool is not as big as you might imagine. It may help if you can acclimatise yourself beforehand to the fact that you are still slightly 'dirty' even after a proper bath/shower, however clean you might feel.

Best wishes,
Parvez

Wed Dec 9 2009 13:47:14 #
Parvez Choudhry
Member

Hi Nicola

How are you coping this week without a bath/shower? I hope you haven't been too stressed. No doubt you're glad your ordeal is probably more than half over by now and the end is in sight. Hope you're surviving OK.

Parvez

PS. I've just found out that Mrs Tiggywinkle was famous for laundering clothes, ironing, and starching shirts. An apt avatar for people like us!

Thu Dec 17 2009 11:45:25 #
Nicx
Member

Hi all.

Just one more day of not being able to use the bathroom. It's been a really long week, been so stressed out. I have been feeling ill because of it. It makes me see how much I use the bathroom each day and it is so hard not to be able to go in it, as well as having people I don't know in the house. can't wait till it is over.

Mrs Tiggywinkle.

Thu Dec 17 2009 19:26:23 #
nettlenoo
Member

hey nicx
welldone you should be proud youve got this far hun imagine the lovely rewarding shower or bath you can have when its done. but you should be proud it was hard for me to let strangers in too but this week ive had workmen and builders in most of day and ive not reacted so im proud of myself plus i had my friends over last night first time in months. we will all make it through this and should be proud after
bestg wishes
netti xx

Thu Dec 17 2009 20:11:06 #
Nicx
Member

Hi.

Thank God I could use my shower today. it's been along hard week, now I have to get use to using the new bathroom. I think I coped better than I thought I would which goes to show the worry about something is worst than the thing you worry about.

Mrs Tiggywinkle xx

Sat Dec 19 2009 12:06:22 #