Rob77

Hi Simon, brilliant, very well done! Sounds like you're taking some really positive steps and working hard on it - will try to do the same. I pretty much ruined Christmas with my pointless worry... Will take inspiration from you and try to look at CBT again and some exercise. Keep up the good work!

Cheers Superinfinity, some interesting and good advice there, and I like the way your're thinking about the positives. As you say, it's trying to get to a good middle ground on the worry front (at the moment I'm thinking and worring about it 90% of the time, so would definitely like to cut that down). I'll try to take sensible actions where I feel there's a genuine risk but I need to work on then reducing the ruminating and 'move on' once I've taken sensible actions/precautions that are within my control.

Yes, I've had very similar thoughts too - you're right about the need to stop analysing. Having now researched it so much it's very difficult not to notice it (saw some today in a relative's house - I was desparately trying not to think about it but couldn't help noticing it - and of course then felt highly anxious). Will keep working on reducing my ruminating and see how it goes.

Thanks for the advice, will try! I think those steps could be something I could potentially do... The ruminating/thinking is a bigger challenge though. Pretty much constant at the moment (even find myself unintentionally assessing buildings I see on TV for likely risk!).

Thanks Polar bear, will try. Have started working on reducing some of the things I do such as internet research - not very successful so far but early days. Because my main anxiety is focused on the health of my family and putting them at risk of asbestos contamination/not doing enough to prevent it, not doing the compulsions makes me feel extremely guilty as well as anxious. I know the risk to them is either low or not really in my control but it's not easy.

Thank you for you useful advice OCDhavenobrain - I really appreciate it. No, not an old member, so thanks for your welcome! I've had a pretty difficult few days and haven't thought about much else really, which I'm sure has affected my family's Christmas too. I can see that I need to stop asking about buildings for reassurance, as you say. At the moment I'm assessing every building I go to for it's age and likely risk - that's why I'm spotting asbestos hazards that no-one else seems bothered about. I find it very difficult when I can see that people aren't even following the basic laws on asbestos management and knowing when I should try to step in and do something or just let it go. I guess good ERP for me would be to try to spend time in old buildings and force myself not to analyse the surroundings for asbestos etc.?

Hi Simong - Have been extremely anxious about similar issues as you over Christmas and also feeling guilt that I should have done more to protect family etc. (just posted a similar post then noticed yours). You've done really well to power through and enjoy your time with your family - will try to do the same for the rest of my week off too! How has the last few days been for you?

Hi New member here and would be really, really grateful for some advice. For many years I've suffered from anxiety about contamination by hazardous substances, diseases and parasites, and I tend to focus heavily on a particular topic before moving on to another one. Now I have a children, the anxiety its getting worse and worse and I now spend most of my time worrying about them rather than me. Since the summer I've been particularly focused on asbestos after a few unlucky episodes where I was exposed to it - one where I spotted loads of the stuff and reported it (later confirmed) after I was already covered in dust. This led to months of behaviours I now realise may be compulsions - throwing away clothes, bagging clothes, wiping my car, vacuuming, running an air purifier, endless internet research, precisely calculating risks to me and my family, checking all buildings on google to see if they are pre-1980's before visiting them etc. I've started to worry constantly (pretty much every waking moment for months now) about my child's nursery, which is in a 1960's/70's building that is fairly likely to contain some of the more dangerous types of asbestos. I've had some sessions of CBT which haven't helped much yet, but I can see how ERP potentially could help for some of my issues like lead paint, dog poo and lyme disease. I have a couple of questions that I would be really interested to hear others' thoughts on: As my anxiety if now largely focused on my children’s health rather than my own health, what is the best way to go about ERP for this? e.g. I think I could probably expose myself to lead paint relatively easily now, but the thought of one of my children touching old paint and then not washing their hands fills me with anxiety. What would be the best way to go about ERP for asbestos? It really is hazardous in tiny amounts so not good to expose yourself too, and you can’t see the effect (or lack of) on health for decades so it’s not easy to dismiss fears after, for example, spending time in an old building. How/where do you draw the line between thoughts caused by OCD and taking action on something that might actually be a risk? I have emailed the nursery a couple of times for reassurance about their asbestos. They have responded saying they don’t think there is any, but they don’t appear to be actually doing what they legally are required to do (have asbestos surveys and keep a register of locations etc.). I quite often see workmen drilling into things like old panels with the nursey windows open etc., which sends my anxiety through the roof. This absolutely could be a major health risk to the children but no-one else apart from me seems worried! I guess the ERP approach would be to try to ignore it rather than seek further reassurance, but what does everyone think would be the best approach?