OCD

[Zico]

I have suffered OCD on and off since i was around 10. It seems to manifest itself through different mediums some of which being sleep/germs/safety of loved ones. I have always been able to keep a lid on it and try not to let it get on top of me. I work in a healthcare setting and recently an intrusive though of catching a blood borne infection through a needle stick injury has been stuck on my mind. I regularly take bloods as part of my occupation and this thought has been stuck on my mind for a few months now, even to the point of checking my gloves after seeing a patient. I carry out the checks (fill glove with water to look for puncture marks) which seems to ease my mind but the doubts always seem to come back even after the checks. Is this typical OCD behaviour? Its even got to the point where i am looking for clinics to get tested.

[LizzyHoy]

Hi Zico,

The fact that you have been testing the gloves, and the intrusive nature of the worries, suggests that this is OCD. My OCD also went through a phase of focusing on HIV, even though the chances of me having caught it were tiny; I hadn't done anything that would have put me at risk. So this is definitely a topic that OCD has been known to focus on! 

It is of course normal and sensible to follow a certain level of precaution with this sort of thing. I would suggest gauging what other health professionals do and trying to emulate their behaviour, or look at the guidelines for dealing with blood samples etc. Anything beyond the guidelines/typical procedure is likely to be OCD and unnecessary. A psychologist once helped me by encouraging me to think 'would a mentally healthy person do this?'. If the answer is 'no', then you don't need to do it.

As I'm sure you know that it is best if you can resist getting tested, though I appreciate it is very difficult. If you did get tested, it would come back clear, OCD would settle down for a few days, and then it would start up again (e.g. what if I contracted a disease that the test couldn't pick up? What if I've contracted one since I had the test? and on and on!). 

Hope this is helpful!

[PolarBear]

Sure sounds like OCD. Testing your gloves after would be a compulsion, something you want to stop doing. Getting tested would also be a compulsion, so don't go there. The test won't make you feel any better. Doubt will surface and you'll want another test and another.

The reason this is on your mind so much is because you are doing compulsions. Stop them and set yourself free.

[Zico]

10 hours ago, LizzyHoy said:

Hi Zico,

The fact that you have been testing the gloves, and the intrusive nature of the worries, suggests that this is OCD. My OCD also went through a phase of focusing on HIV, even though the chances of me having caught it were tiny; I hadn't done anything that would have put me at risk. So this is definitely a topic that OCD has been known to focus on! 

It is of course normal and sensible to follow a certain level of precaution with this sort of thing. I would suggest gauging what other health professionals do and trying to emulate their behaviour, or look at the guidelines for dealing with blood samples etc. Anything beyond the guidelines/typical procedure is likely to be OCD and unnecessary. A psychologist once helped me by encouraging me to think 'would a mentally healthy person do this?'. If the answer is 'no', then you don't need to do it.

As I'm sure you know that it is best if you can resist getting tested, though I appreciate it is very difficult. If you did get tested, it would come back clear, OCD would settle down for a few days, and then it would start up again (e.g. what if I contracted a disease that the test couldn't pick up? What if I've contracted one since I had the test? and on and on!). 

Hope this is helpful!

This is very helpful. The most frustrating thing about this is I have done this job for years without giving it a second thought. Thank you for your help!