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It's the Feeling Inside My Head: A Qualitative Analysis of Mental Contamination in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2011

Anna E. Coughtrey ,
Roz Shafran ,
Michelle Lee  and
Stanley J. Rachman
Anna E. Coughtrey*
Affiliation:
Reading University, UK
Roz Shafran
Affiliation:
Reading University, UK
Michelle Lee
Affiliation:
Reading University, UK
Stanley J. Rachman
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
*
Reprint requests to Anna Coughtrey, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, Reading University, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 6AL, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background: It was recently proposed that feelings of dirtiness and pollution can arise in the absence of physical contact with a contaminant. At present, there is limited data regarding the qualitative features of this construct of “mental contamination”, although it is hypothesized to be particularly relevant to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), where compulsive washing in response to contamination fear is a common symptom presentation (Rachman, 2006). Aims and method: The aim of this research was to explore the qualitative features of mental contamination in 20 people with contamination-based OCD, using a semi-structured interview. Results: All participants reported times when they had felt dirty or contaminated in the absence of physical contact with a dirty or dangerous object. Mental contamination generated diffuse feelings of internal dirtiness not localized to the hands, which evoked urges to wash (100% participants), neutralize (80% participants) and avoid (85% participants). Conclusions: In support of the theory outlined by Rachman (2006), mental contamination was found to take a number of forms, be primarily associated with a human source, generate internal dirtiness and cause emotional distress and urge to wash. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed and ideas for future research are proposed.

Keywords

Contamination fearOCDcompulsive washingmental pollution
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , March 2012 , pp. 163 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2011

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