AfraidOfManyThings

So here in the USA one of the big national news is the search for Gabby Petito. Many have already blamed her boyfriend. I have tried to keep an open mind. People are innocent until proven guilty. He has shown great patience in the police recording. It was even her who got physical and gave him some bruises. And of course she shouldn't have done that. But it doesn't completely absolve him. But for all my open mindedness and refusal to jump to conclusion about what happened to her or if her boyfriend is really guilty, I can't help but imagine, speculate that maybe her boyfriend got tired of her and her OCD and just did away with her I hope people out there who are in a relationship with an OCD person is always patient with what we're going through. I know how tiring it could be. I know some people who even use to have OCD are impatient with people who still have it. This is why I celebrate little steps that people make against OCD. And I'm always patient. Some people seem to scream at you even through forums, to just do it, get over it, not to think, etc. Some of these people are people who had OCD themselves. Good for them that they don't have to deal with it anymore but I always felt there was something violent in the way they're going about it. Even if it's just words in a forum, even if they're not cussing. I don't know about you but being rushed or being yelled at does not work for me, and all to often I've found such people I've met in real life suspicious, and often I'm right. And I don't want to inure myself, to get used to such behaviors and such people. But i also want to say to those suffering with OCD to please be patient with those around you. They don't know or may even forget that something is triggering your anxiety at such a high level. And hopefully your love and understanding will be part of the drive to get well, may even be a direct part of not responding to your OCD. Good luck everyone.

Like I said I'm not sure if it's OCD. Right now to me it seems to be paranoia. But that could be wrong and you might be right, it can be OCD. But try to remember not everyone is laughing at you. If the people surrounding you are truly laughing at you, not everyone in the world will. If they are laughing at you then shame on them. I have no idea where you are, what culture you come from. But there are places where short people thrive, in some cases they band and stick together with other short people, in some cases their friends are tall and even their special love one, girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, is tall.

I sort of understand. Just like now with covid, which is very real, and very dangerous. Yeah normal people are washing more often and taking extraordinary precautions now. But at what point does it become unnecessary? I don't know if it's OCD but maybe you should try to read also the positive experiences of short men? And remember Micheal J. Fox? haha. It sounds more like paranoia which is also a bad thing, and can be just as bad equally or even a lot worse. But I don't really know what your personal situation is. Even short men can have very different experiences. Perhaps you indeed have been judged often by your height where you live. If that is so, please remember the world is a big place. If the people who have surrounded you in your life have been that superficial, then I hope soon you find people who are more open minded. But like I also said, possibility of paranoia. So please keep an open mind about people, and being accepted for your height.

Yeah it could be anything. Even obsessions of being in a forum everyday and/or video games. I think those tend to be more addictions or well just something people enjoy doing which can be healthy even but it's also possible that some of them are obsessions. Did the psychologist specifically tell you what type of OCD you have? You can type your diagnosis in a search engine and see if anyone has written or made a video about theirs to feel less alone maybe. They might not exactly have your same obsession, but maybe they can still relate a bit more.

Hello there. I also have OCD but of the contamination type. I admit that I don't exactly understand what you're going through. . I don't understand it cause my OCD is a little different but at the same time I relate to preparing for a long time and all that. Especially a few years back when my OCD was super bad. I also wonder being stuck with this pandemic at home is partly the cause of your OCD? I mean you couldn't go out and only ended up sinking deeper and deeper into your OCD. You said you didn't have it before the pandemic and you traveled quite often. And then 2020 came and you had it and it got really bad. Coincidence??? I also like to travel. Before I got my OCD I travelled. Then I got it and for a long time, and I barely left my house. But then within after a few months I was able to go out again. Finally my mother wanted to go to Southern Europe so I also wanted to go along. It was an amazing experience and after that I even improved a little. Were there some issues at my trip? Just two, a woman who bumped into me and I got wet, she had some drink with her I think and when the flight attendant who herself had gloves on touch my bare hand as she was collecting cups and paper plates. I struggled a bit but it wasn't the end. I was so in love with travelling that I wasn't gonna let my OCD stop me. Would it be possible if you didn't bring your phone in your next travel? I wish you well. Maybe you can try to do some visualizing techniques? 1) I want you to visualize all the fun you can have in your journey. I also want you to visualize all the fun you had in your past travels and try to take some of that experience and imagine your new one in light of that. Can you maybe visualize your future travel without your OCD? Just pretend you don't have it. What does that feel like? 2) Imagine the beauty of the place without your body. I mean be almost like a spirit, like the wind, moving through the different places. Imagine moving fast, slow, going through the walls, appearing instantly from one place to the next. 3) Pretend you did not do a ritual or that a certain day when the universe isn't with you. But instead of doom and gloom think of something funny happening, like maybe with upbeat music? To sort of get your brain to stimulate a different vision, a different part of your brain, a different pattern. Like I said I don't know if this will help, if maybe you've even tried it, but maybe worth a shot, and maybe try it again anyway if you have tried it before in the past even. You have to try something, yes? I have one more exercise for you, and you can try it also id next time your fear and panic starts to rise. I want you to count, maybe count backwards. Also do you know another language? Maybe count in that language, perhaps if you can backwards in that language too? Try different counting techniques too, like odd numbers only, even numbers only, by twos, fours, tens. The counting by the way is just to organize your mind. I'm not trying to get you to be obsess with counting! It's just a relaxation technique.

It's alright. You did well. Good job.

When I use tissue I notice now and then some of them have what looks like a small liquid that has dried on a few of them. I remember how it freaked me out the first time I saw it. But when I began to notice it in other boxes I began to calm down. Yeah the thing with you is you only have these 3 samples and you tried to compare it with other photos online with no signs of stains there either. I hope it's just a factory thing, either normal, that perhaps some of them have it or maybe there was a slight accident.

Are you comfortable using the other two and just leaving out the third one? Or you feel the the third one has contaminated the other two? Either way I completely understand you. I wonder if it was some slight factory accident. Can you get into more what the glue marks look like? So is it even white or just some liquid thing that seems to have dried? Could it even be something else other than what you fear and glue? Like could it just be the ink on the paper lantern did not apply properly?

Yeah that is kind of strange how that one is different. There's nothing broken with it though? It's one whole piece or is the glue there to attach loose parts?

Hey there. I myself recently put up a post regarding contamination OCD. It could still be new but that just it isn't sealed right? Did the one with copious amounts of glue have any broken pieces on it? You have no idea why it had that there? The other 2 were completely glueless you say? Or just small enough to be not as conspicuous? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to understand what exactly it is you see.

Also not sure what CBT is fully, but I'm basically doing some exposure therapy on myself. The fact that I just didn't avoid the van completely and even opened the hood up and put the cables on the batteries myself is a testament to that. I could have easily let my mother do that. Me wearing gloves is not exactly just someone with OCD, as you can see in many YouTube videos where you have professional mechanics wearing gloves themselves.

Is that because you're pro medication and treatment? I've done pretty well without professional help. I get the feeling you didn't get or even read everything I wrote. Have you ever even opened the hood of your car? You know it gives out a black stain on your hand. I mean maybe you just buy clothes that are just $15. And you're books and stuff have ink in them. And you don't care about ruining them. I myself don't own any suits costing $10,000 or above. But still not about to keep ruining and buying em.

Hi. I have contamination OCD which has been lessening over the years. I'm proud cause I never even went to see a doctor or any professional help, no medications for it. It use to be really bad. I use to take 3 hour long showers. I've been able to reduce it to 1 hour, sometimes even 30 minute showers. And I have even been able to go on trips to other countries, sleeping in beds many others have used. Using the toilet in those rooms. My Contamination OCD is mostly concerned with stain. Stains bother me. Yeah I'm not gonna die cause of stains but I want things to look new. A lot of my old stuff still looks nice. My old books look new. My clothes don't have stains in them. And I don't want them to fade out or have stains then have to buy new ones I'm not rich. I don't want to waste my money on that. So the battery in my van went dead. And I actually even tried to jump start the van with my mother's car. My main concern was the dirt when I opened up the hood and also touching the cables themselves which get put in the hood. So I used a few pairs of disposable gloves. Every time I had to go inside the van, I would dispose the gloves and when I needed to touch the hood I'd put on a new pair of disposable gloves. It was easier than I imagined, except that the battery was so dead. I mean I got to turn on the light when at first it wouldn't but the engine wouldn't run at all. So just a few hours ago we have someone change the dead battery into a new one. I did not want him getting into the van with his dirty hands, so I did everything inside the van, like pop the hood and turn on engine. He just worked at the hood, change the battery, etc. So nice that he never got inside the van where he would have dirtied it with his hands and plus I have not been vaccinated yet, so I didn't want anyone else in there. I also moved the electric lawn mower stationed in front of the van. That way he doesn't make contact with it at all, or the dirty cables. So what bothers me is that before he changed the battery to a new one, he first tried to charge the old one, and so he had a cable running from the old battery to a charger in his van. Well that dirty cable went on the floor and also he picked it up later and his dirty hands touched the ground probably. Ok normally I wouldn't really be so worried cause that's the ground. But the electric lawnmower I tried to keep clean. Like I said I even moved it. Well when he was done and gone, I did not want to put the mower back yet. I thought maybe wait a few hours and the dirt would somehow not be as dirty and staining as it dries up and the little wetness evaporates. But I was feeling a little pressure from my mother. She was saying stuff like the mower could get stolen as I had it left outside the house. Well at first I relented and I moved it a bit, but then I got so annoyed that I put it back to where it was again. Then I went inside the house and was angry and told my mother no, I'll do it later. By the way yeah I don't want that dirty stuff from the hood even just on the wheel of the mower and I feel it would get contaminated not only from the ground where cables touch but also transferred there from my shoes but also another thing, the battery powered mowers you stand them up when storing them. and when I was moving it I had it partly in standing mode, I had to tilt it to move it through it's back wheel and it bothers me also that now and then the ground would touch the steel part of the stand. I feel like cleaning with soap the steel part now. Anyway I'm gonna wait till evening to put the mower back to where i belongs, and I might even put plastic table cover where I usually place the mower so it wouldnt have to be parked on the bare ground. Sorry if this was difficult to make sense, but basically, to put it simply, I'm stressing that there's some contamination from the dirty hood of the car into the mower that I want to keep clean. If there's anyone who can say something that might ease my mind about the dirt, please don't hesitate. Like that's just mostly soil and dust right? Also maybe it dries up fast in the exposed air so it doesn't stain anymore maybe?

The thing about being busy is it can be another form of OCD? after all, OCD is always busy, sure takes up a lot of work. just my thouguts.

Yeah it's quite alright to clean this time around. But after you've cleaned, you shouldn't have urges to clean further and wash hands more than necessary

Do you feel that this person really needs you? You have done well without this person. Do you think you have hurt this person just cause you have moved away?

Well thanks for all the support, lol

Hello. I have anxiety over stains. they bother me very much. i want to keep my clothes and other things free from stain. I try my best to take care of them. If I eat in a restaurant there are some clothes I will not wear at all in case there is food stain and can't getrid of it, so I pick my clothes carefull for whatever occasion. No I don't think I'm gonna die if I get stains but I have come to value my stuff over my health. Books and other media especially. I imagine when I die someday my stuff will be passed on to someone who can appreciate them. some of my books include ones that are no longer published. some of them are photo books with pristine pages that are now becoming expensive to get in Amazon. Anyway, I drove to another country, was hoping it would be an easy entrance into their country. i have visited their country before and they seemed like nice and easy going people. But back then I visited it with my mother and she was usually the one talking at the border. For the first time I'm going there alone. I thought it would still be a cinch. well they searched my vehicle. They had these gloves that they must have used to search other vehicles. Their hands touching car seats and whatever was left in my vehicle. One of the things that most bother me is that they might have touched the tire pressure gauge which is used with the tire. the tire as you know leaves black soothe. it bothers me that maybe there's some black stain that went into their hands then went into the seats, the camera I left there which I put on my neck and against my chest therefore my shirt later on, etc. I'm also very afraid of chocolate stains. and though I am careful to eat chocolate and definitely don't leave them or wrappings in my car I'm afraid they get contact of it from other people's car. Anyway I manage to get through the day without breaking down, but my flight and fight response was activated. I felt it in my body. The interview itself with their questions also gave me anxiety. But the thought of stains really bothered me. when I went back to my country and got home I placed my used clothes to the hamper right away where the used clothes needing to be washed go. At first I was hoping to use them another day but now I'm afraid. also I'm somewhat afraid to touch the camera and use newly washed clothes with it, same thing with the vehicle. I'm afraid to go inside it and my newly washed clothes would make contact with the "stained seats", even they are indeed stained. I'm hoping for support. any words to help me relax? Any facts to help me relax? like does chocolate and soothe from tires dry quickly or what? I would like to drive my vehicle in a few hours, tommorow afternoon. also wear my watch and carry my walet, items Imused and touch also that day I was searched, therefore causing me anxiety also. I don't want to be anxious all day. thanks very much.