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Hi. I'm new. Diagnosed with OCD but not sure if that's right.


Guest Miss Lemon

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Guest Miss Lemon

Hello. My name is Lily but I'm not quite sure if I'm in the right place here or not. I wonder if you guys can help me.

My GP has diagnosed me with OCD but I'm not sure he's correct. Two of my best friends have OCD and it's nothing like my problem.

I think my problem is more like a pure phobia - a phobia of illness/disease (which started when I was very ill years ago, and in so much chronic pain that I was considering ending my life).

This leads me to protect myself from infection/germs etc with excessive hygiene precautions (using antibacterial hand foam and wipes more than other people) and be extremely anxious if I am exposed to a clear risk of infection (like shaking hands with someone who has something infectious like a cold sore or a fungal nail infection).

There's no ritual or pattern to my behaviours - my use of antibacterial foam/wipes is excessive, but is only in response to whatever I'm in contact with. My anxiety when I'm exposed to infection is extreme, but once I've done what I can to limit the risk of infection (washing my hands, using antibac wipes, sometimes throwing my clothes away), the anxiety is then just anxiety - I don't continue to do any behaviours (because it's too late).

So is this OCD then? It seems more like phobia/anxiety to me but maybe this sort of thing is all grouped together for diagnostic purposes? I'm having a really hard time with it at the moment so I need to find some help, but I don't know where to go.

Any opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

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Legend is correct. It's OCD.

I think you have a bit of a skewed idea of what OCD is.

Compulsions can be ritualistic but do not have to be.

OCD is an intrusive thought that causes distress and a compulsion that is performed to alleviate the distress. That's the disorder in the simplest form.

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It could well be OCD but it's possible to have something like health anxiety or emetophobia (vomit fear) without OCD. Some people with health anxiety or emetophobia display very similar behaviours to contamination type OCD but they don't think the same way as somebody with OCD. In my opinion the way you think plays a big part in OCD.

I'm not saying you don't have OCD, maybe you do. It's certainly not helpful to compare yourself to your friends as OCD is such a massively varied and wide ranging condition. Probably no two people have identical OCD. Anyway my advice would be to ask to be referred for CBT.

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Guest Miss Lemon

Thanks so much for your replies guys - it really helps me to get opinions from other people, especially those with knowledge of it all.

The GP referred me to a counselling service for an assessment. I've got some questionnaires to fill in, and then a phone consultation, and then they decide what sort of therapy is most suitable. Sounds like you guys think CBT is the best option?

I've been reading a lot about OCD over the last day or two and I agree with LegalSeagull - it's difficult to find the line between contamination OCD and health anxiety.

Either way though, I can really relate strongly to a lot of posts on this forum about contamination OCD, and it's a comfort to find other people who are experiencing the same kinds of things.

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Yeah CBT is the recommended treatment for OCD and for things like phobias and anxiety so don't worry if you're not convinced about the OCD diagnosis. The treatment is pretty much the same for all those things - gradual exposure to the things you fear. When you start therapy it would be an opportunity to ask the therapist if she thinks you have OCD and to explain it to you.

I have emetophobia and health anxiety but for me they're part of my OCD. I have lots of rituals involving numbers and touching things to stop myself getting sick, as well as more obvious things like cleaning and avoidance. I also have intrusive thoughts about bad things happening to my cats. I used to puzzle over which of my behaviours was to do with OCD and which was the phobia. I've only recently realised that the phobia is part of the OCD.

Sorry, I'm waffling on. Just trying to make the point that sometimes things aren't clear cut, but getting help is the important thing.

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Guest Miss Lemon
legalseagull, on 28 Aug 2014 - 1:15 PM, said:

Yeah CBT is the recommended treatment for OCD and for things like phobias and anxiety so don't worry if you're not convinced about the OCD diagnosis. The treatment is pretty much the same for all those things - gradual exposure to the things you fear. When you start therapy it would be an opportunity to ask the therapist if she thinks you have OCD and to explain it to you.

I have emetophobia and health anxiety but for me they're part of my OCD. I have lots of rituals involving numbers and touching things to stop myself getting sick, as well as more obvious things like cleaning and avoidance. I also have intrusive thoughts about bad things happening to my cats. I used to puzzle over which of my behaviours was to do with OCD and which was the phobia. I've only recently realised that the phobia is part of the OCD.

Sorry, I'm waffling on. Just trying to make the point that sometimes things aren't clear cut, but getting help is the important thing.

Please, waffle away! It's so great to find some people to talk to about this who actually understand that it's real to me, and to feel that I'm not a complete freak. I'm really interested to hear about other people's situations.

I'm learning quite quickly that everybody's case is different and we don't all fit into one clear-cut category like counting, checking or contamination. Lots of you guys seem to have multiple overlapping 'threads' to your OCD.

Mine is very specifically just about not catching infectious diseases, and my behaviours are pretty straightforward (wearing gloves for dirty tasks, avoiding people who cough/sneeze, using antibacterial foam etc). It doesn't normally interfere with my life very much, but recently I visited a friend and used her laptop keyboard etc with my bare hands, before noticing that she has a horrific fungal nail infection (two of her nails were completely gone and the skin underneath was a lumpy crumbly mess). I'm now certain that she's passed the infection on to me and I literally can't think about anything else. I'm terrified. I know I can't take anti-fungal medications (I've tried before and had a serious allergic reaction) so I won't be able to treat it. If my nails go like hers I think I'd be so horrified by my own hands and the likelihood that I'd pass the infection on to my husband, that I wouldn't be able to live with it. So my huge problem at the moment is this overwhelming feeling of dread, like my normal, reasonably happy life is over. I'm not sure if CBT (or any therapy) can help me.

Oh dear, now I'm waffling!

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Guest legend

yes cbt will help you

it will teach you to change the way you are responding to the thoughts and fears both cognitivley and by doing

exposures to your fears

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Guest jayjay89

Damn can't edit my post - for me its not X happens so I need to do Y. I have a million Y's that help me make it through.

PM me if you want more detail, but I think we are on the same page

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Heya, I would also say its OCD, but would add something. Even if you gave it a different name, phobia / anxiety / etc, it doesn't really matter in this case. Fact is, you have a problem which can be dealt with through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT treats all of the things mentioned thus far and no decent therapist is going to miss-manage your case because of the name your illness has been given. In other words - don't let your worry about an incorrect diagnosis bother you!

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Lily. I have similar fears - any type of viral infection frightens me . This fear has led to many compulsions and rituals. CBT will help , as will opening up to people / therapists about your fears.

All the best - the GP Referral sounds similar to what I had. It's a strange process but will help .

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Guest Miss Lemon

Thanks for your input guys - it really helps. I'm struggling with this so much right now and I can't talk to my family about it (they disapprove of me being even slightly 'neurotic' about anything) and it's still nearly two weeks till the counselling assessment, let alone any actual therapy. I'm definitely going to ask about CBT though, when I get the chance.

thanks again.

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