How to Stop Obsessive Hand Washing

Obsessive hand washing, although typically incurable, is treatable. Effective treatment of OCD and prescribed medication can make your obsessive thoughts and compulsions decline dramatically. Seek help and information now to prepare you towards that path to recovery you've always wanted. Manage your life with these successive steps.

Instructions

• 1

  Locate a doctor in your area who specializes in obsessive compulsive disorders, such as hand washing. Find a doctor in your local clinic or medical center, or locate a doctor online at the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation.

• 2

  Choose behavioral therapy to open yourself to the cause of your obsessive hand washing. Generally, obsessive hand washing is an attempt to reduce anxiety you feel about a specific stimulus, one you might not even be aware of. By increasing your awareness and teaching you new behaviors, this type of therapy restrains the behavior itself.

• 3

  Use cognitive therapy to target the thoughts that accompany your obsessive hand washing. This technique involves finding other ways to manage fears and anxieties by retraining your brain to pacify those mental obsessions.

• 4

  Seek psychopharmacologic medication to stop the inflow of serotonin. The medication reduces psychological symptoms associated with obsessive hand washing.

• 5

  Couple behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy along with the medicine to treat obsessive hand washing. Psychiatrists and psychologists recommend cognitive and behavioral therapy, as well as medication, for the best results.

• 6

  Join an OCD support group as you get treatment for your obsessive hand washing. OCD support groups give you a place to talk about your treatment and offer support to others with OCD. With support, your treatment is more likely to have lasting effects.