Coronavirus help please TW

[eb150804]

Hi all,

I was looking fo some advice on how to deal with obsessive thoughts and compulsion around contamination and covid. I haven't every been diagnosed with OCD but the past year (last 5 months specifically) I have really noticed how out of control I feel towards my behaviours and the virus and how my 'symptoms' are sounding like OCD. I also now recognise that I may have had OCD for a while without realising, just in different ways

I feel that everything I touch has the virus on it and then I feel the urge to wash my hand thoroughly for way longer than the recommended 20 secs. It is getting to the point where my hands are red and flakey, I haven't been in a shop or anywhere other than a dog walk in around a month and I would feel much more comfortable staying in my room all the time. I even feel unsafe in my house- since my mum and brother are still going out to schools everyday- I feel that surfaces are contaminated. I even have my own space on the sofa that no-one else goes on as I make sure I don't wear my outside clothes on it! I wash my hands after touching door handles, coats, food packaging and when I get a parcel I don't try anything on until at least a day after it arrives- plus I shower straight after trying anything on.

It's getting exhausting, I feel emotionally drained and my only relief is after ive washed my hands and im in one of my 'safe zones'. My family are starting to get annoyed with me as they think I am giving into a 'weakness' and so relationships are becoming strained and with lockdown I have no escape from tension. They are normally very supportive but they think I am too much and neurotic- which I hate being called. All I really want is a hug but I am too scared of contaminating myself as they don't wash their hands as much as me. I am not even scared of getting the virus, it just seems to be about the germs and particles being on me and touching them. 

I am going to call the doctors and hopefully get some help as I can't go on like this. Though I'm sure any services to help will be a long wait- so any advice?

Thank you!

Edited January 22, 2021 by eb150804

[PolarBear]

Hi eb. Yeah, that sounds exactly like OCD. All those cleaning rituals you have are compulsions. You think they make you safer, but they actually make you stuck.

Tske a look at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is the fix for OCD. You also might want to get a good book, like Break Free from OCD.

[Handy]

There was a big Covid topic on the forum.  

[Angst]

Though your post has the title Coronavirus you say in the third paragraph that ‘I am not even scared of getting the virus’ so it is not a case of perhaps being over diligent in the COVID context. Of course over diligence or the degree of precautions taken depend on your location (the rate of infection) with some areas of the world having lower risks than other areas (reflected in whether an area is in lockdown and the degree of lockdown) and individual factors (age and preexisting medical conditions). But things like excessive hand washing is not rational. If you have raw hands you need to regularly apply skin creams. Get an appointment to talk about treatment with a doctor/therapist!

[BelAnna]

On 22/01/2021 at 23:08, eb150804 said:

Hi all,

I was looking fo some advice on how to deal with obsessive thoughts and compulsion around contamination and covid. I haven't every been diagnosed with OCD but the past year (last 5 months specifically) I have really noticed how out of control I feel towards my behaviours and the virus and how my 'symptoms' are sounding like OCD. I also now recognise that I may have had OCD for a while without realising, just in different ways

I feel that everything I touch has the virus on it and then I feel the urge to wash my hand thoroughly for way longer than the recommended 20 secs. It is getting to the point where my hands are red and flakey, I haven't been in a shop or anywhere other than a dog walk in around a month and I would feel much more comfortable staying in my room all the time. I even feel unsafe in my house- since my mum and brother are still going out to schools everyday- I feel that surfaces are contaminated. I even have my own space on the sofa that no-one else goes on as I make sure I don't wear my outside clothes on it! I wash my hands after touching door handles, coats, food packaging and when I get a parcel I don't try anything on until at least a day after it arrives- plus I shower straight after trying anything on.

It's getting exhausting, I feel emotionally drained and my only relief is after ive washed my hands and im in one of my 'safe zones'. My family are starting to get annoyed with me as they think I am giving into a 'weakness' and so relationships are becoming strained and with lockdown I have no escape from tension. They are normally very supportive but they think I am too much and neurotic- which I hate being called. All I really want is a hug but I am too scared of contaminating myself as they don't wash their hands as much as me. I am not even scared of getting the virus, it just seems to be about the germs and particles being on me and touching them. 

I am going to call the doctors and hopefully get some help as I can't go on like this. Though I'm sure any services to help will be a long wait- so any advice?

Thank you!

Hi OP, 

Yes you're right- this sounds like it's heading towards OCD. 

It's perfectly normal to be cautious and adopt additional hygiene measures for Covid-19. The elements of your post that sound more typical of OCD are that you're not actually worried about getting Covid; just very uncomfortable about getting germs/viral particles on you, that you're assuming that everything has Covid viral particles on it and the fact that you feel unable to hug family members because of your fears. 

Washing your hands after handling post, packaging, door handles is not actually illogical in the current situation but it is if you're not scared of Covid itself. 

I would start by reducing handwashing to 20 seconds each time and trying to hug family members when they have showered or at weekends when they're not just back from work. 

Remind yourself that you're not particularly scared of Covid so that you don't need to react to this- there are germs on everything all of the time and we don't need to do anything about most of them.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by BelAnna

[Lollipop]

Neurotic I hate that word, my mum uses it!

[eb150804]

5 minutes ago, Lollipop said:

Neurotic I hate that word, my mum uses it!

I know it makes me feel like she’s calling me crazy! 

[eb150804]

On 23/01/2021 at 00:52, PolarBear said:

Hi eb. Yeah, that sounds exactly like OCD. All those cleaning rituals you have are compulsions. You think they make you safer, but they actually make you stuck.

Tske a look at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is the fix for OCD. You also might want to get a good book, like Break Free from OCD.

Yes they are making me stuck, good way of putting it. I’m trying hard to challenge my obsessions and rationalise not washing my hands as much but it’s hard since I always end up telling myself that it could be on whatever I’ve touched. Also thank you for the book recommendation! 

Edited January 24, 2021 by eb150804

[eb150804]

3 hours ago, Angst said:

Though your post has the title Coronavirus you say in the third paragraph that ‘I am not even scared of getting the virus’ so it is not a case of perhaps being over diligent in the COVID context. Of course over diligence or the degree of precautions taken depend on your location (the rate of infection) with some areas of the world having lower risks than other areas (reflected in whether an area is in lockdown and the degree of lockdown) and individual factors (age and preexisting medical conditions). But things like excessive hand washing is not rational. If you have raw hands you need to regularly apply skin creams. Get an appointment to talk about treatment with a doctor/therapist!

Yep I agree. Thank you

[eb150804]

14 minutes ago, BelAnna said:

Hi OP, 

Yes you're right- this sounds like it's heading towards OCD. 

It's perfectly normal to be cautious and adopt additional hygiene measures for Covid-19. The elements of your post that sound more typical of OCD are that you're not actually worried about getting Covid; just very uncomfortable about getting germs/viral particles on you, that you're assuming that everything has Covid viral particles on it and the fact that you feel unable to hug family members because of your fears. 

Washing your hands after handling post, packaging, door handles is not actually illogical in the current situation but it is if you're not scared of Covid itself. 

I would start by reducing handwashing to 20 seconds each time and trying to hug family members when they have showered or at weekends when they're not just back from work. 

Remind yourself that you're not particularly scared of Covid so that you don't need to react to this- there are germs on everything all of the time and we don't need to do anything about most of them.

 

 

Yep this is what I’m trying to do! Tell my self that I need to keep it 20 seconds even when I know that it’s a rational hand wash. Thank you for you help!