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Hello,

I'm severely Emetophobic (vomit/ing phobic) and have heard that my poor sister-in-law has Norovirus. It has been so bad that she had to go to hospital last night. I am terrified but as she and my brother live 300 miles away I have managed to stay calm until now. However I've just remembered that it's my Dad's birthday in a few days (I am living with my parents), which means that they might send a card. 

The likelihood that any card sent from their flat will have this nasty strain of Norovirus on it, is very high. I am now terrified. I don't want to ruin my Dad's birthday but honestly if they send a card from the flat I think I will have to bin it and spray the carpet where it landed. Even then I'll still be worried about the letterbox and the front door for weeks afterwards. 

I have asked my brother to send a Moonpig card but he may have already bought and signed one already or he might just send one anyway to challenge me. 

I could plan to stay in a hotel if he does send a card because I will be that concerned about it but I would need to stay for a week to avoid any threat AND that would mean missing both of my parents' birthdays, which will definitely ruin their celebrations. 

Help! :( 

Edited by BelAnna
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Hi BelAnna,

Sounds like you're in complete fear mode...can you tap into the more logical side of things at all?

I have contamination fears as well so know how quickly the fear of threat can get really out of proportion to what is realistic.

Try thinking about how someone without these fears would approach this situation...going to a hotel sounds like a pretty extreme plan!

Also just wondering if there is any way you are working on the Emetophobia?

 

Really feeling for you and wishing you well!

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I can relate to wanting to go and stay in a hotel because of situations.  It's pretty extreme as someone from the outside looking in.  Have you ever actually caught norovirus?   Surely the germs or whatever, if there were any on the card, would be dead by the time they reached you. And you'd have to touch the card which i'm sure you wont do, even though you probably should, exposure and all that.

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You mention likelihood of contamination when mentioning the card. What is this based on? As Don K says it does sound like an extreme response. I have stayed with friends and in hotels when I was living in accommodation with rodent infestations. I am phobic with regard to these beasts and can identify with the protagonist in George Orwell’s 1984. I think that Don K is right in suggesting that the exposure approach would mean touching the card. I think that you should stay and ride the anxiety.

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You state that the likelihood thst the card will have Norovirus on it is high. That is your fake news OCD speaking. It's a bald faced lie. The problem, however, is not the lie but that you put any stock in it.

You are severely overreacting to a non-event. Someone 300 miles away is sick and you are making plans to stsy in a hotel? I can't tell you how sad and absurd that is.

Even contemplaying these compulsions, let alone doing them, sends a signal to your brain that the original fear had something to it. Sustains the irrational fear, ensuring it will stick around.

 

Edited by PolarBear
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6 hours ago, BelAnna said:

The likelihood that any card sent from their flat will have this nasty strain of Norovirus on it, is very high.

This is your OCD talking not reality. There is no reason to fear the card, no non-OCD person would even think twice about the card in a situation like yours.
 

6 hours ago, BelAnna said:

if they send a card from the flat I think I will have to bin it and spray the carpet where it landed. Even then I'll still be worried about the letterbox and the front door for weeks afterwards. 

Again, there is nothing realistic about this sort of reaction to the situation.  Non-suffers don't do anything like this.  Be like them!
 

6 hours ago, BelAnna said:

to avoid any threat

It is impossible to avoid ANY threat.  Its a totally unreasonable goal that OCD has pushed you to accept but that you don't have to.  Staying in the hotel presents numerous theoretical threats.  Driving to the hotel presents more.  Leaving your house presents more.  Staying IN your house presents more.  No matter where you go in life there are risks, its simply a part of the reality of the world we live in.

You can take reasonable precautions (wash hands after using the toilet, before eating),  getting enough sleep, and so on, but its impossible to prevent all risks.  

Further, people get sick, its unfortunate, but it happens.  Untold millions of people suffer from norovirus every year alone, it sucks, and then they get over it and get back to life.  Your sister in law will suffer through it for a little while and then get better and move on with her life.  In a small fraction of cases, particularly ones where the patient has an underlying health condition (including significant old age) yes its possible norovirus can be more serious, no one should seek it out, but nor should someone spend the amount of time and effort you are on mitigating extremely low odds of risk.  So unless you have a compromised immune system for some reason (and frankly even then) the level of risk you aren't willing to accept is simply unrealistic, an impossible standard OCD is demanding, that yes is anxiety inducing but in the end is not the risk you have come to believe it is.

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19 hours ago, leif said:

Hi BelAnna,

Sounds like you're in complete fear mode...can you tap into the more logical side of things at all?

I have contamination fears as well so know how quickly the fear of threat can get really out of proportion to what is realistic.

Try thinking about how someone without these fears would approach this situation...going to a hotel sounds like a pretty extreme plan!

Also just wondering if there is any way you are working on the Emetophobia?

 

Really feeling for you and wishing you well!

Thank you Leif. I really was in fear mode at the time I posted this and to be honest I think that the only thing that helped was that my brother agreed to send Moonpig cards. 

I know that hotel-situation sounds extreme, it's just that I find stomach bugs so incredibly distressing that the idea of having a source of the virus in the house is pretty unbearable. 

I am currently having EMDR for my Emetophobia. I've had a lot of CBT for it (including at one of the specialist NHS OCD centres) but it didn't really help as there's not really an exposure situation that can mimic Norovirus and looking at picture of puke and fake puke conconctions didn't help at all! 

Thank you so much for caring!

 

18 hours ago, Don K said:

I can relate to wanting to go and stay in a hotel because of situations.  It's pretty extreme as someone from the outside looking in.  Have you ever actually caught norovirus?   Surely the germs or whatever, if there were any on the card, would be dead by the time they reached you. And you'd have to touch the card which i'm sure you wont do, even though you probably should, exposure and all that.

Thanks Don K. Yes I guess it is extreme but I've always run and stayed away when anyone has been sick in my home wherever I've lived (e.g. when someone was sick in the previous flats I lived in I would travel 300 miles home or stay at a friend's; when someone was sick at home when I was a teenager I would run away to a friend's house or my Gran's etc.). 

I had Norovirus (which is basically the name for all viral Winter sickness bugs exc. Rotavirus) a few times in childhood and found it fairly horrific! I've also read some facts about Norovirus, which haven't helped (e.g. there are millions of viral particles in norovirus vomitus/diarrhoea and it takes just 10 viral particles to be ingested to cause the virus; the virus lasts on hard surfaces for up to a month and is in a sufferer's faeces for up to a fortnight).

I would never touch a card that might have Norovirus on it nor would I want family members to but I would like to be able to go about my everyday life without feeling constantly fearful! 

 

18 hours ago, Angst said:

You mention likelihood of contamination when mentioning the card. What is this based on? As Don K says it does sound like an extreme response. I have stayed with friends and in hotels when I was living in accommodation with rodent infestations. I am phobic with regard to these beasts and can identify with the protagonist in George Orwell’s 1984. I think that Don K is right in suggesting that the exposure approach would mean touching the card. I think that you should stay and ride the anxiety.

Thanks Angst, your response to your phobia sounds reasonable to me but I can understand it does sound extreme to people without phobias. 

 

18 hours ago, PolarBear said:

You state that the likelihood thst the card will have Norovirus on it is high. That is your fake news OCD speaking. It's a bald faced lie. The problem, however, is not the lie but that you put any stock in it.

You are severely overreacting to a non-event. Someone 300 miles away is sick and you are making plans to stsy in a hotel? I can't tell you how sad and absurd that is.

Even contemplaying these compulsions, let alone doing them, sends a signal to your brain that the original fear had something to it. Sustains the irrational fear, ensuring it will stick around.

 

Thanks Polarbear. I wouldn't stay in a hotel just because they are sick 300 miles away, it's only if they send a card, it would invariably have norovirus particles on it. When someone is unwell with Norovirus it gets on everything in the house, including post and it takes just 10-20 of millions of particles (each quantity of norovirus vomit and diarrhoea has millions of viral particles in it) to make someone unwell. People are often surprised that they catch these bugs/viruses out of nowhere but in reality they are often caused by spreading contamination. 

I realise that in order to recover from my Emetophobia and OCD I just need to put up with these risks but it is very hard. 

 

14 hours ago, dksea said:

This is your OCD talking not reality. There is no reason to fear the card, no non-OCD person would even think twice about the card in a situation like yours.
 

Again, there is nothing realistic about this sort of reaction to the situation.  Non-suffers don't do anything like this.  Be like them!
 

It is impossible to avoid ANY threat.  Its a totally unreasonable goal that OCD has pushed you to accept but that you don't have to.  Staying in the hotel presents numerous theoretical threats.  Driving to the hotel presents more.  Leaving your house presents more.  Staying IN your house presents more.  No matter where you go in life there are risks, its simply a part of the reality of the world we live in.

You can take reasonable precautions (wash hands after using the toilet, before eating),  getting enough sleep, and so on, but its impossible to prevent all risks.  

Further, people get sick, its unfortunate, but it happens.  Untold millions of people suffer from norovirus every year alone, it sucks, and then they get over it and get back to life.  Your sister in law will suffer through it for a little while and then get better and move on with her life.  In a small fraction of cases, particularly ones where the patient has an underlying health condition (including significant old age) yes its possible norovirus can be more serious, no one should seek it out, but nor should someone spend the amount of time and effort you are on mitigating extremely low odds of risk.  So unless you have a compromised immune system for some reason (and frankly even then) the level of risk you aren't willing to accept is simply unrealistic, an impossible standard OCD is demanding, that yes is anxiety inducing but in the end is not the risk you have come to believe it is.

Hi Dksea,

You're right- no normal person would even think twice about the card BUT equally I still maintain that based on the facts it's fairly likely that there could be viral particles on post sent from someone's house when they are firing off viral particles! Even if a norovirus sufferer was a keen handwasher they could touch the bathroom door handle with a slightly dirty hand and then touch it again on the way to pick up the card and it would spread very easily. Norovirus lasts up to a month on hard surfaces so wouldn't be denatured in the time it would take to be sent through the post. 

All that said, you really have a point that it's impossible to avoid any threat and that I should just take normal precautions. OCD is destroying my life so I need to get a grip. I haven't had Norovirus for 14 years now and haven't been sick for 12 years but live life in fear of contracting it again! 

The problem is that even though Norovirus is just a short-lived viral infection, which wouldn't harm me in any lasting way, I find it so unbearably unpleasant that it causes me so much fear. I have had a lot of CBT for this but no amount of looking at videos of people puking and photos of vomit have helped! 

 

Edited by BelAnna
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1 hour ago, BelAnna said:

I am currently having EMDR for my Emetophobia. I've had a lot of CBT for it (including at one of the specialist NHS OCD centres) but it didn't really help as there's not really an exposure situation that can mimic Norovirus and looking at picture of puke and fake puke conconctions didn't help at all! 

I really hope the EMDR helps--I've heard really good success stories with that for certain situations.  I can imagine how hard it would be to have such a severe phobia around something that is not that uncommon. It complicates the ocd situation I'm sure.

I am really glad for you that you'll be able to enjoy your parents' birthdays with them :)

 

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5 hours ago, BelAnna said:

Thanks Daja. I'm honestly not sure how to tackle this one especially as I keep hearing about how awful norovirus is! 

I don't "keep reading about how awful norovirus is" and I doubt anyone else (without this theme of OCD) does. 

What does this mean? Very likely you are carrying out compulsions, or at least that OCD "scanner" inside your head is constantly watching out for mentions of Norovirus, then bringing it to your attention and you focus in on it. 

Until I read this post I have barely considered Norovirus, even during my fairly frequent visits to Northampton hospitals with my wife during the last year as she has various consultations and investigations. I just simply used hand gel when requested to. Nothing more, and no more thought. 

That is therefore your goal BelAnna - to give this obsession no more consideration than I and others would. 

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11 hours ago, BelAnna said:

BUT equally I still maintain that based on the facts it's fairly likely that there could be viral particles on post sent from someone's house when they are firing off viral particles! Even if a norovirus sufferer was a keen handwasher they could touch the bathroom door handle with a slightly dirty hand and then touch it again on the way to pick up the card and it would spread very easily. Norovirus lasts up to a month on hard surfaces so wouldn't be denatured in the time it would take to be sent through the post. 

Sure its possible that viral particles are on the card.  Its also possible they are on everything you interact with on a daily basis.  The reality is we live in a "dirty" world.  The degree of risk you are at from a card that was sent from someone in a house where someone has a norovirus infection is infinitesimal.  Your odds of being struck by lightning are higher.  Heck your odds of being struck by lightning twice are probably higher.

 

11 hours ago, BelAnna said:

The problem is that even though Norovirus is just a short-lived viral infection, which wouldn't harm me in any lasting way, I find it so unbearably unpleasant that it causes me so much fear. I have had a lot of CBT for this but no amount of looking at videos of people puking and photos of vomit have helped! 

So instead of getting ill temporarily, a decidedly unpleasant experience no question, you have suffered for years in an even worse fashion.  Emetophobia was my first OCD fear, I struggled with it for over a decade to one degree or another.  Truth be told I'm probably still more vomit averse than most people.  But eventually I reached a point where I had to choose to accept the risk (in my case being on SSRIs helped), I had to choose to live in the world despite the chance that I could get sick.  Like I said, I'm still not the same as a non-OCD person/non-emetophobe.  I continue to try and work on it.  But just yesterday on my way to work I passed a spot on the street where someone had been sick the night before.  It was unpleasant, I did not enjoy it, but I walked past it and went on with my day.  If not for this thread I'd probably not even be thinking about it now, but I can and still be ok.  I believe the biggest thing holding you back, the biggest thing keeping you suffering is you still aren't willing to accept that this is a thing that can happen, that you COULD get norovirus, and that possibility is simply something you have to live with.  You are still fighting the idea of getting sick as hard as ever.  Look at your comment I quoted at the top of my reply, where you go in to detail about the possibility of a particle surviving.  You are using that technicality to continue to justify your avoidance.  That is keeping the OCD alive, its a compulsion.  Researching the behavior of norovirus is a compulsion.  Avoiding any and all situation you think might be even remotely connected to norovirus is a compulsion.  Honestly the best thing you could do for your OCD (though I doubt you'll want to and I can understand that) would be to take that greeting card and lick it.  It sounds both silly and, to you, I'm sure, terrifying.  But that would be a way to challenge your anxiety at its fullest without taking an actual unnecessary risk.  Because the reality is licking the card won't hurt you (I suppose a paper cut is possible?) but it would trigger your fear response big time.  However at the very least you need to simply accept that the card is coming and do NOTHING about it once it does.  No cleaning, no sterilizing, no throwing it away.  You should, at a bare minimum, keep it.  Better would be to open it and display it.  Trust me, life is SO much better not going through the avoidance rituals.  You are so much more free.  Its worth the effort.  Yes throwing up sucks, no one enjoys it, but OCD sucks way worse.

 

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I read in therapy that contamination OCD is all about the exaggeration of nil, or minimum, risk. 

It made sense to me at the time - though I don't have contamination OCD - and it makes even more sense, reading Belanna's topic. 

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3 hours ago, taurean said:

I read in therapy that contamination OCD is all about the exaggeration of nil, or minimum, risk. 

It made sense to me at the time - though I don't have contamination OCD - and it makes even more sense, reading Belanna's topic. 

I feel like exaggeration of risk is pretty much part of every OCD sufferers problem.  An OCD sufferer who worries about whether or not they are gay over evaluates the risk of certain thoughts and assumes they have stronger meaning than a non-OCD sufferer would for example.  Same for a person who worries they left the stove on, overestimating the risk of not being able to remember clearly.

The question is do they overestimate risk because their brain is misfiring and not giving the expected all clear signal, thus leading them to believe there must be SOME risk and therefore whatever risk they can think of must be great enough to give them anxiety?
OR do they improperly evaluate the risk for some scenarios for whatever reason (faulty brain, faulty thinking, etc.) and thus the brain doesn't fire the ALL CLEAR because its not being given the proper information?

No idea what the answer is there or if there is a way to test a person to see which part of the brain is at fault (if not both), but it does make me wonder.



 

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I think in the OCD sufferer the brain switches on an OCD scanner with instructions to go out and find examples of the feared thing to bring to the subject's attention. 

The subject's brain then focuses right in on this trigger, applying the exaggerations and giving them centre stage. 

This sets up the fear behavioural response. Should a non-sufferer encounter such a trigger, no threat is seen and no adverse response created. Plus there is no focus and no repetition applied. 

Non-sufferers do apply tests. The "sentry" in their brain will check against its memory back catalogue to see if the issue has been deemed a threat before. If not, it will sound the all-clear. 

If not previously encountered, it will apply common sense and learned knowledge, or failing that intuition, to the issue to decide if the alarm needs to be sounded. 

It won't take chances - this is our survival instinct at work. But it won't sound the alarm without a real threat perceived. 

This is why, in CBT, an important element for me is the "OCD twin" - what a sensible non-sufferer would do if faced with the same issue? ? 

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Thank you Dksea. It's great to hear that you are so much better from the Emetophobia, even if it is still a minor problem for you.

I am panicking now because I've realised that although my brother is sending a Moonpig card, which won't be contaminated, his mother-in-law, who has been looking after my sister-in-law when she's ill, probably will send cards. I picked up the post today with gloves on and shoved them in a bag but I'm now tracking the contamination from the letterbox to the telephone unit where I put the bag. 

You are definitely right that the years of suffering OCD are not worth it just in order to avoid a virus. I am scared of literally anything that has been handled by other people- so items (including food packets) bought from shops, clothing which has been in the outside world, pens that have been used away from home etc. I haven't touched a coin for over five years and couldn't touch a door handle or lift button. If someone could create a vaccine to prevent all strains of norovirus then 95% of my contamination OCD would disappear overnight! (leaving me with just the other hundred symptom types of OCD!). 

I have had Emetophobia and contamination OCD symptoms since I was 7 and my other (completely) unrelated OCD symptoms started a few years later. I sometimes feel like Emetophobia is so much a part of me that it's very difficult to treat. I honestly cannot imagine deliberately exposing myself to a bug- the thought of licking a card, which would have Norovirus on it is pretty unbearable! However if I ever have kids (which is seeming increasingly unlikely) I would like to be able to look after them and that would involve coping when they are sick so maybe I do need to try to reduce the compulsions as much as possible. 

I just don't know how I'll cope if someone in my household gets it. We have two loos but only one shower in the bath so that I cannot avoid the sick-room if someone throws up. This literally cripples me because if it happens I cannot eat, use the toilet, wash my hands or shower/dress, nor touch anything outside of my bedroom. 

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Hi BelAnna,

 

You mentioned in another thread that you were considering meds for the ocd--have you tried them before? How much cbt are you currently doing?

43 minutes ago, BelAnna said:

If someone could create a vaccine to prevent all strains of norovirus then 95% of my contamination OCD would disappear overnight!

 

I have a friend with emetophobia, but no ocd and she doesn't suffer  much at all with it and lives normally, not avoiding everything that might have a germ on it...I really think its mostly the ocd that is the problem and that even if there was some  vaccine against norovirus your ocd would find something else to focus on, so I would try and tackle it from purely an ocd direction.

 

12 hours ago, dksea said:

Emetophobia was my first OCD fear, I struggled with it for over a decade to one degree or another.  Truth be told I'm probably still more vomit averse than most people.  But eventually I reached a point where I had to choose to accept the risk (in my case being on SSRIs helped), I had to choose to live in the world despite the chance that I could get sick.

That's interesting and speaks to what I am thinking--once the ocd was dealt with the emetophobia was not so difficult to put up with...

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8 hours ago, dksea said:

I feel like exaggeration of risk is pretty much part of every OCD sufferers problem.  An OCD sufferer who worries about whether or not they are gay over evaluates the risk of certain thoughts and assumes they have stronger meaning than a non-OCD sufferer would for example.  Same for a person who worries they left the stove on, overestimating the risk of not being able to remember clearly.

The question is do they overestimate risk because their brain is misfiring and not giving the expected all clear signal, thus leading them to believe there must be SOME risk and therefore whatever risk they can think of must be great enough to give them anxiety?
OR do they improperly evaluate the risk for some scenarios for whatever reason (faulty brain, faulty thinking, etc.) and thus the brain doesn't fire the ALL CLEAR because its not being given the proper information?

No idea what the answer is there or if there is a way to test a person to see which part of the brain is at fault (if not both), but it does make me wonder.

Thank you Dksea. It's great to hear that you are so much better from the Emetophobia, even if it is still a minor problem for you.

I am panicking now because I've realised that although my brother is sending a Moonpig card, which won't be contaminated, his mother-in-law, who has been looking after my sister-in-law when she's ill, probably will send cards. I picked up the post today with gloves on and shoved them in a bag but I'm now tracking the contamination from the letterbox to the telephone unit where I put the bag. 

You are definitely right that the years of suffering OCD are not worth it just in order to avoid a virus. I am scared of literally anything that has been handled by other people- so items (including food packets) bought from shops, clothing which has been in the outside world, pens that have been used away from home etc. I haven't touched a coin for over five years and couldn't touch a door handle or lift button. If someone could create a vaccine to prevent all strains of norovirus then 95% of my contamination OCD would disappear overnight! (leaving me with just the other hundred symptom types of OCD!). 

I have had Emetophobia and contamination OCD symptoms since I was 7 and my other (completely) unrelated OCD symptoms started a few years later. I sometimes feel like Emetophobia is so much a part of me that it's very difficult to treat. I honestly cannot imagine deliberately exposing myself to a bug- the thought of licking a card, which would have Norovirus on it is pretty unbearable! However if I ever have kids (which is seeming increasingly unlikely) I would like to be able to look after them and that would involve coping when they are sick so maybe I do need to try to reduce the compulsions as much as possible. 

I just don't know how I'll cope if someone in my household gets it. We have two loos but only one shower in the bath so that I cannot avoid the sick-room if someone throws up. This literally cripples me because if it happens I cannot eat, use the toilet, wash my hands or shower/dress, nor touch anything outside of my bedroom. 

 

1 hour ago, leif said:

Hi BelAnna,

 

You mentioned in another thread that you were considering meds for the ocd--have you tried them before? How much cbt are you currently doing?

 

I have a friend with emetophobia, but no ocd and she doesn't suffer  much at all with it and lives normally, not avoiding everything that might have a germ on it...I really think its mostly the ocd that is the problem and that even if there was some  vaccine against norovirus your ocd would find something else to focus on, so I would try and tackle it from purely an ocd direction.

 

That's interesting and speaks to what I am thinking--once the ocd was dealt with the emetophobia was not so difficult to put up with...

Thanks Leif.

I tried Fluoxetine for a very short time but just felt more anxious and irritable and had awful nightmares. I'm considering trying either St John's Wort or another SSRI but I cannot visit the GP at the moment (because of the Norovirus worry). I have weekly sessions with a Psychologist but I've had therapy for about 16 years now on and off and it hasn't really helped so far. 

That's great that your friend isn't too badly affected by Emetophobia. I think that quite a lot of sufferers of the phobia avoid situations where vomiting might occur, for example on an Emetophobia forum that I used to use, lots of sufferers said that they avoid situations like restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres where people congregate and could vomit but some people have quite a mild phobia where they're only scared in the moment/in the immediate situation when someone pukes. You're right that the contamination OCD definitely makes this a much more significant problem as I'm scared of anything that might cause viral or bacterial gastroenteritis. My contamination OCD could just change focus if my Emetophobia disappeared and I have had fears about chemical contamination in the past BUT the fact that I have evidence that vomiting can and does happen makes dealing with this tricky! (i.e. people always say 'stop worrying about germs- you won't die' but if I stop worrying about germs, I might well contract a stomach bug, which is what I'm scared of!). 

I think if I lost the contamination OCD I would still be scared of quite a few situations (e.g. anywhere where someone might throw-up) but that obviously a sickness bug would be a traumatic situation when it occurred, rather than a situation that I constantly feared and completed compulsions to avoid. 

 

 

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You have - to use the jargon - a very high functional impairment because your fears. The avoidance of not touching coins, door handles, lift buttons and suchlike. So much of life and freedom of movement is restricted because of your fears.

So perhaps your strategy should be to start touching these things. How do you manage on public transport or pressing buttons at pedestrian crossings? 

You cannot test your suspectability to catching the bug by avoiding situations. The cost to your life is very high because of your avoidance strategies. You need to take the bull by the horn and experiment with new situations and perhaps the right medication might help.

Edited by Angst
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10 hours ago, BelAnna said:

I am panicking now because I've realised that although my brother is sending a Moonpig card, which won't be contaminated, his mother-in-law, who has been looking after my sister-in-law when she's ill, probably will send cards. I picked up the post today with gloves on and shoved them in a bag but I'm now tracking the contamination from the letterbox to the telephone unit where I put the bag. 

You are definitely right that the years of suffering OCD are not worth it just in order to avoid a virus. I am scared of literally anything that has been handled by other people- so items (including food packets) bought from shops, clothing which has been in the outside world, pens that have been used away from home etc. I haven't touched a coin for over five years and couldn't touch a door handle or lift button. If someone could create a vaccine to prevent all strains of norovirus then 95% of my contamination OCD would disappear overnight! (leaving me with just the other hundred symptom types of OCD!). 


I know it feels terrible, and scary, and like these things are impossible, I've been there, but just think of how much suffering you are going through on a daily basis, how little freedom you have now, all because of this vastly over-exaggerated worry?  I'm not saying the fear you feel is not real, of course what you feel is real and painful, but what you fear is not.  I really think that challenging that fear and reaching a better point would be so worth it for you and make your life so much better.  I can appreciate the desire for a vaccine for norovirus (or a cure for OCD) and I would be lying if I hadn't held out similar hopes at times, and thats ok to hope for something good, but odds are its not going to happen anytime in the foreseeable future.  In the meantime there IS an approach you can take that would give you back so much of your life.  

 

10 hours ago, BelAnna said:

I have had Emetophobia and contamination OCD symptoms since I was 7 and my other (completely) unrelated OCD symptoms started a few years later. I sometimes feel like Emetophobia is so much a part of me that it's very difficult to treat. I honestly cannot imagine deliberately exposing myself to a bug- the thought of licking a card, which would have Norovirus on it is pretty unbearable!

Aye, its definitely going to be harder to tackle something thats been a part of your life for longer.  But keep in mind you won't have to beat it all in a day.  If you take a complete couch potato and ask them to run a marathon the next day the results are probably going to be a cross between comical and tragic.  BUT if you put that person on a plan, regular exercise, slow improvement, in time they could do it.  The same is true of OCD, you can beat it if you take it one step, one day at a time?  Sure, licking the card right now would be too hard for you, so start with something easier, just letting the card sit on a table in your house.  You can choose an out of the way table, something people don't usually use.  Or start by touching a coin.  Pick something small, and work your way up step by step.  What have you got to lose by trying?  You are already suffering so much from OCD after all, its not like all the avoidance is stopping the pain, its just changing it into a different kind of suffering that like the fear, you have gotten used to over time.  
 

10 hours ago, BelAnna said:

I just don't know how I'll cope if someone in my household gets it. We have two loos but only one shower in the bath so that I cannot avoid the sick-room if someone throws up. This literally cripples me because if it happens I cannot eat, use the toilet, wash my hands or shower/dress, nor touch anything outside of my bedroom. 

I understand this fear, I faced it myself, and it was hard to deal with, but the OCD is lying to you when it tells you you can't do these things.  The reality is you can do them, there will be initial levels of fear and anxiety, but they don't actually stop you from doing anything if you don't let them.  Compare it to someone who smokes and tries to stop.  They get a STRONG feeling, an urge, a demand to have another cigarette.  They genuinely feel like they need it.  But the reality is they don't need it, in fact its better for them NOT to have it.  OCD is like that, though flipping craving for avoiding, it tells you you CANT, when the reality is you can.  It requires some serious hard work, and you can take it in small steps, but you can do it, you are stronger than you know!
 

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8 hours ago, BelAnna said:

I tried Fluoxetine for a very short time but just felt more anxious and irritable and had awful nightmares. I'm considering trying either St John's Wort or another SSRI but I cannot visit the GP at the moment (because of the Norovirus worry). I have weekly sessions with a Psychologist but I've had therapy for about 16 years now on and off and it hasn't really helped so far. 

Is your psychologist treating you using CBT?  Are they specifically for anxiety disorders or a different type of treatment?  Also, if things are this severe, this limiting on your life, I'd strongly strongly suggest you do as much as you can to see the doctor and talk with them about trying another SSRI.  Its unfortunate that you had a difficult time your first go around, but a different one might work better and give you the edge you need to really start tackling this problem!

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