Helping a partner with contamination OCD is hard when you're also managing rumination. Learn how to stop accommodating rituals and build resilience.

Relief is temporary; resilience is the ability to feel the distress and know you’re still safe. It’s about moving toward what matters while you’re still a little afraid, rather than waiting for the fear to go away before you start living.
I want to learn about OCD and how to manage it. I have Rumination OCD and I’m medicated my boyfriend has Contamination OCD due to sexual abuse in his childhood and is not medicated. How can I support him? Use books and papers written by medical doctors


Создано выпускниками Колумбийского университета в Сан-Франциско
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Создано выпускниками Колумбийского университета в Сан-Франциско

Lena: You know, Miles, I was reading about how OCD can feel like a record stuck on repeat, and it really hit home for our listener today. She’s managing her own Rumination OCD with medication, but she’s also trying to be there for her boyfriend, who’s navigating Contamination OCD tied to childhood trauma without any meds.
Miles: That is such a heavy, complex layer to add to the mix. It’s interesting how we often think of contamination as just a fear of germs, but clinical research shows it can be deeply rooted in past experiences like abuse.
Lena: Exactly. And did you know it takes an average of seven to eight years before someone even reaches out to a doctor about these symptoms? That’s a long time to feel like your mind is being held hostage by intrusive thoughts.
Miles: It really is. But there’s so much hope in the research, especially regarding how partners can move from "accommodating" rituals to actually supporting recovery. Let’s explore how to navigate these different types of OCD together.