Hey all,

So i’ve been dating someone for about 4mo now, and it’s going really well. Early on he mentioned somewhat jokingly that he lives with OCD, and as we’ve continued seeing each other, he’s opened up a bit more on how it’s affected him in the past and now.

It seems like it was extremely debilitating a few years ago, and drawing from what he’s told me + research, the thoughts and actions are in line with harm and contamination OCD. He’s stopped to kick stuff like glass/sharp debris out from behind tires and will make sure it’s safely out of the way. The obsessive thought being “if i dont, a family will blow out their tire and crash.” He’ll do other precautionary things like walking between me and the road, no touching the bottoms of shoes(diseases), etc. and at first I thought it was just him being extremely considerate, but I understand now that it’s probably extremely unpleasant to worry this much.

So i’m left wondering how best I can support him. My initial thought was “I’ll just keep disposable tweezers in my purse in case we have to pick up a piece of glass” buuut I realize reinforcing the behavior isn’t the most helpful. Obviously, step one will be asking him how I can be supportive. But i wanted to see if anyone has advice to share on dating and supporting someone with OCD.