Quote:
Originally Posted by Return To Sender
Thank you Christina. I'm sorry that you have a fear of germs too, but I'm glad you've come up with ways to manage "it" so that it doesn't manage "you"!  In hindsight, I definitely should have just jumped in that shower when they left and had a good night's sleep and let tomorrow take care of itself. What stopped me from showering was that I knew they would be back the next morning with breakfast and that I would have to shower again, so I thought I'd save myself the trouble of showering twice by sleeping in my clothes. Boy was that a mistake!!! The leason learned here is to take it literally one day at a time, even if it means two showers in two days! 
P.S. To answer your question, I'm afraid of germs both when at home and when I'm out. For example, at home I can only sit on "my" chairs, and if I touch a light switch, door knob or cabinet handle I need to wash my hands, that sort of thing. And when I'm out it's the same sort of thing. Thank you for caring and sharing!  |
Well I’m glad my advice is something you can maybe use.
As for a shower two days in a row ?? Showering daily is a good thing. Not only just good personal hygiene but it helps build structure and plus it just feels good.. it’s a law I made for myself I shower daily no matter what. It literally takes 10 mins from start to finish, nothing feels better than a shower and clean jammies.
I do not wash my hair each time , I only do that twice a week as daily would dry it out and that’s unhealthy.
As for home .... start to daily clean light switches , doorknobs etc over time you will realize that hey it’s clean because I wiped it down today. That takes some time , but well worth it.
It takes maybe 10 mins a day to take a Clorox wipe and walk around wiping things down
Yes ideally the long term goal is to learn to be okay and not clean things daily.. but it’s 10 mins out of a day.
I am a cleaning freak but it’s about control. Personally my T and I know I’m never going to be ok not wiping down my bathrooms daily and cleaning the toilets and all surfaces. My husband has COPD so I’m hyper alert for keeping germs out of my home, he can get sick easily.
Being proactive against things that can emotionally paralyze you is taking steps forward
