Individuals with disgust OCD often experience intense anxiety, fear, and shame related to their intrusive thoughts and images, which can center around a variety of themes, such as bodily secretions, bodily fluids, feces, vomit, germs, and other contamination-related themes. These thoughts can cause significant distress and interfere with daily functioning, leading many individuals to engage in repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing their anxiety, such as excessive washing and cleaning, avoiding contact with objects or places they perceive as contaminated, and seeking constant reassurance from others.

While disgust OCD can be a debilitating condition, it is treatable. The most effective treatment for disgust OCD is a combination of acceptance and committment therapy (ACT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP).