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Are your contamination fears worse in Winter?


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Hi All,

I just wondered if I'm the only one! My contamination OCD stems from my phobia of vomiting (emetophobia) and I am most afraid of Norovirus (the winter stomach bug). I am starting to really struggle with this fear again, particularly as I am going to Scotland for Christmas this year and am concerned that I'm more likely to catch the bug whilst travelling and seeing family. It doesn't help that a lot of people go out whilst contagious with stomach bugs (it's important to stay home for at least two whole days after the diarrhoea has stopped) so they get everywhere!

This year I'm also scared of contracting flu- I've had the flu jab this week but it takes a fortnight to start working so I won't be covered whilst travelling and apparently the jab I got only covers 3 flu strains.

Does anyone else struggle more with contamination OCD fears in the Winter? :xmas_sad:

 

 

Edited by BelAnna
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Hi Belanna. I taken the flu jab for some years as I have a medical condition for which it is recommended. And the peak of the flu period is seasonal in nature. Do you have an underlying medical condition?  If you don’t it isn’t going to be a major problem. I didn’t know that it took three weeks for it to be effective and that it only covers three strains. Sound as if you have doing some research.

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1 hour ago, Angst said:

Hi Belanna. I taken the flu jab for some years as I have a medical condition for which it is recommended. And the peak of the flu period is seasonal in nature. Do you have an underlying medical condition?  If you don’t it isn’t going to be a major problem. I didn’t know that it took three weeks for it to be effective and that it only covers three strains. Sound as if you have doing some research.

Hi Angst,

Thanks! The pharmacist told me it takes two weeks to work and the NHS website says 10-14 days. 

I do have asthma but it's relatively mild and I have not needed steroid inhalers this year so I got a jab at Boots- I'm not sure whether most GP practices are providing the three-flu-strain jab or the four-strain-jab. Both vaccination types cover two type A strains of flu (which tend to be the most severe) but either one or two type B strains. I have a newborn nephew who I don't want to give flu to over Christmas and the one time that I caught flu several years ago I had a chest infection followed by very bad asthma for about a month afterwards.

I'm much less afraid of flu than of Norovirus! It's difficult to explain quite how terrifying I find sickness and being around anyone who has been unwell with a stomach bug within the previous month!

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Yes my OCD is all about vomit too. It gets much worse in winter. I find December the absolute worse time for my fears. 

All we can do is carry on fighting it. I've just started CBT again so I'm going to have to challenge my fears at the most stressful and germy time of year. Oh well I guess that's a good thing.

 

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2 hours ago, legalseagull said:

Yes my OCD is all about vomit too. It gets much worse in winter. I find December the absolute worse time for my fears. 

All we can do is carry on fighting it. I've just started CBT again so I'm going to have to challenge my fears at the most stressful and germy time of year. Oh well I guess that's a good thing.

 

Hi Legalseagull,

That's great that you're starting CBT again! It might be good that it's at a time when your OCD is at its worst. How are you managing at the moment?

I think December is the worst for mine too; I'm very scared about Norovirus throughout Autumn/Winter but I'm most scared of catching it and ruining Christmas or worse still being stuck in the house with someone throwing up and knowing that it's inevitable/very likely that I'll catch it (I've actually gone to stay elsewhere every time anyone has been unwell in the last 10 years).

Do you have a lot of 'safety behaviours' for your emetophobia (e.g. using wipes/sanitizer, anti-emetics, mints, avoiding certain foods etc.?) I hardly leave the house, insist everyone uses sanitizer and cleans their hands after going out, wash my hands until they bleed and use anti-emetics if I feel very unwell... so lots of compulsions!

Hope you're ok!

 

1 hour ago, PaulM said:

I find the stress around this time of year adds to how sensitive I am to things.

Poor you, yes I definitely feel the same! Hope things are as relaxing as possible for you this Christmas!

 

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Hi BelAnna

Things are pretty bad at the moment. I keep getting bad anxiety that comes out of nowhere and makes me feel sick - which of course makes me panic more ...and feel more sick. I'm also finding it hard to leave the house. 

Yes I have lots of safety behaviours and avoidance but I'm trying to cut them down. On a more positive note, my therapist really seems to be making an effort to help and so far, both times has seen me for a full hour. Much better than the 15 min appointments I got last time I had CBT. 

Sorry things aren't good for you. Don't give up. 

 

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13 hours ago, legalseagull said:

Hi BelAnna

Things are pretty bad at the moment. I keep getting bad anxiety that comes out of nowhere and makes me feel sick - which of course makes me panic more ...and feel more sick. I'm also finding it hard to leave the house. 

Yes I have lots of safety behaviours and avoidance but I'm trying to cut them down. On a more positive note, my therapist really seems to be making an effort to help and so far, both times has seen me for a full hour. Much better than the 15 min appointments I got last time I had CBT. 

Sorry things aren't good for you. Don't give up. 

 

I'm really sorry you're struggling at the moment. I know what you mean about the anxiety producing nausea and then making you more anxious- it's a vicious cycle! Do you find that you can leave the house for some things but not others or do you spend most of the time at home? I can cope with going for a run (providing I avoid other people and don't run on any suspicious vom-like substances on the ground) and with going for dog walks in the countryside because the chance of norovirus exposure is quite low but can't cope in town very well. 

That's great that your therapist is providing you with more time each appointment- 15 minutes is just a joke, no one could make progress in that time. 

Personally I think you have severe OCD and not just Emetophobia with OCD features because you have contamination fears and because of the level of disruption that your contamination fears cause. The contamination OCD is triggered by and resulting from Emetophobia but I do believe it's OCD.

People have with simple Emetophobia do not have extensive contamination obsessions and rituals and their lives are not severely affected. So someone with simple emetophobia would avoid being around drunk people, ill people and perhaps places like hospitals- they might have some limited OCD features such as handwashing briefly after meeting someone who has recently been unwell with a bug. For someone with OCD they have a contamination obsession, extensive compulsions and it severely affects their lives! 

For an OCD diagnosis (according to DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria), you only have to have: 

 A. Either obsessions or compulsions (you have both!)

B. Acknowledge that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable. 

C. Marked distress resulting from symptoms, which are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), OR significantly interfere with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships

So it's clearly OCD. 

I have multiple variants/symptom types of OCD and also label my contamination obsessions and compulsions as OCD even though they are related to my Emetophobia. 

 

 

Edited by BelAnna
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Thanks for your opinion BelAnna. You put it really well. Yes the way I think and behave definitely fits with OCD not solely emetophobia. The therapist has only met my faulty mind twice, I've lived with it for 31 years. It's not her fault; I've not told her the full extent of it all. This is because she said they only offer 4 sessions, then maybe 2 more. This doesn't seem like nearly enough time to get bogged down in too much detail.

I'm actually pretty good with going out. I force myself to do it as I know I'll get seriously depressed if I stay in all the time. It would be another victory for OCD. It does cause extreme anxiety though and sometimes I just can't do it. I'm always on edge in case someone is sick or I touch something germy. Sometimes I end up going home cos I'm panicking. 

Please try and go out more. I know it's hard but staying in is no way to live. Get someone to support you with this. You deserve to get better.

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Some people with OCD have various other mental health problems such as depression and SAD. Personally I find that when one of my mental health problems is lousy it exacerbates the others. It is widely recognised that cold, dark evenings in winter affect certain people and cause depression, and this may be linked to a deficiency in vitamin D. I recently started taking a vitamin D supplement and it has lifted my mood. Note I am definitely not saying that taking a vitamin D supplement directly improves OCD, but I would suggest that if you have a vitamin D deficiency then getting that put right may give you a better platform on which to deal with your OCD. Why not get your vitamin D level checked out?

Edited by Philip
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