Are you a germophobe? People have phobias of all sorts of things — heights, insects, blood, needles, dogs, you name it. However, people with a fear of germs typically do not have a phobia. Often, this is the contamination subtype of OCD.
This will often manifest in tendencies to avoid people, places, or things that are thought to be contaminated. Sometimes the concern is about a specific disease like HIV or hepatitis, or just general “germs.” Other times the contamination can be more vaguely defined. In its extreme forms, this type of OCD can result in people feeling that their homes are too contaminated to continue living in.
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