Worry worry worry thats all I do diseases and contamination

well let me introduce myself I am turning 39 in October and I am a mother of two. I suffer from major anxiety and find myself constantly worrying about everything and even finding something to worry about all the time. As I was looking through some posts I came about the one of the mind being a powerful thing. My issue is contamination of diseases and illnesses. UGH!!!! My mind goes a hundred miles per hour!!!!! My heart races, palpitations, butterflies etc. because I get all worked up. Let me jus give you one instance that happened to me like 3 months ago.... this is just one of the many that I have worried about!! I went to the fair and I was walking to the car I stepped by under a tree that had roots uplifted I guess some dry leaves etc. I was wearing sandles and I felt some pinchy senstations along the side of my toe but lower than the toe. Me being the way I am my mind automatically assumed I stepped on a needle or something with a disease on it!!!!.... part of me tells me that can not be because I would have been in pain and noticed some blood..... etc. I did get to the car and started sweating and felt like throwing up..... I checked the side of my foot no blood etc... oh but when I got home a noticed a red mark that when i would touch it it would disappear..... it could have been there from before for all i know...... UGH!!!! I think about this forget about it and then it comes back like so many instances I have had. It could have been a rock, a stick, dried grass etc.........I am constantly worrying about EVERYTHING!!!

Ya know, justusgirls, I am currently riddled with OCD too. Even right now, I am battling away at thoughts in my head about feeling dirty and such. If I had my way, I'd go up and have a shower again, despite having one just an hour ago. Sooner or later, I learned to just say that 'enough is enough', however, and I ignored many of my OCD thoughts. okay, I had to have therapy to get to that point, but maybe you can listen to what i'm saying and apply it to yourself. For example, if you're in the supermarket and you happen to pick up a packet of something that has a smear of something on it, what would you do? - It happened to me today but I just said "###$ it", and got on with things. You can allow these 'imperfections' into your life every now and then. Worrying too much about them will just delay your life's progress too much.

Take care,
Kevin

I understand completely where u are coming from. That day I even saw a small red mark on the side of my foot and I said what if that was already there?? What if I got it from that stingy thing. Even my 9 year old daughter told me mom it could have been anything even a twig. I always well not always feel that everything is the worst and I tend to see the negative in everything!!! Which this makes it all the worst. Sometimes my mind tells me why do you automatically think it could have been a needle and that it was contaminated..... UGH... my thoughts kill me! I think I suffer from post traumatic stress because I lost someone because of contamination. Someone very dear to me! I think people are tired of hearing me already its nice to know others care! What would you have thought in a situation like that? I did not see any blood I would have at least seen a smear on my foot right??? UGH every situation in my life is the same... The what if's a person should not have to live like this.... how old r U? I am almost 39 and I have been dealing with this for about 1 yr but it is getting progressively worse.... I can say that I am a hypochondriac as well... Always petrified and worried. I wish a can be care free like some... my friend tells me it could have been anything a twig etc.....

Hi,

You want to hear something unusual? - I can even pick-up on your distress from the way you write your posts! You mentioned that your mind is racing, didn't you? People with OCD usually say that i how they feel, and I am much the same. I've had OCD for most of my life though, and have had therapy and merdication to treat it. Right now - at 27 - I have learned of ways to counteract the OCD thoughts as they come.

What hapened a year ago for you to develop this? Was it that incident with your friend(?) who you lost?

Kevin

well i lost my dad 8 yrs ago but I think somehow this has been creeping up on me since then. Now is when I think it has really affected me. I never knew that your mind can play such a controlling part in ones life...... what would u have done in a case scenario like mine? Can you give me some examples of yours to see if I can relate? I go from one thing to another. I had forgotten about the incident of the foot and when I saw myself not having anything to worry about I started with that again. Do i make sense?????

Heya,

You are making sense to me - yeh. If the foot incident had happened to me, I would just wash it thoroughly each night while I had my shower. For example, I would purposefully put a lot of shower gel onto my foot. I might also change my socks regularly.

justusgirls wrote:I had forgotten about the incident of the foot and when I saw myself not having anything to worry about I started with that again. Do i make sense?????

If this happens again, tell yourself that the 'foot' incident is closed and sorted out now, and that you must move on. Another issue might arise, but your foot is fine. Working with OCD is difficult, but keep trying different ways of thinking until you find a pattern that works. Due to my therapy, I can 'easily' reduce the intensity of any obsession that appears in my life.

I think the difference is I will continue to worry with the what if's my mind will continue with what if it was a needle what if I got something what if???? That is what drives me crazy yes I had a little red spot but when I got into the car there was no blood coming from there etc...... the what if I got something because there was something on the floor that pinched me is the part that causes me much anxiety!!!!!!!! I begin to think well if what a needle that touched the side of my foot i would have yelled of the pain. I think there is a difference between you and me. we would see the foot incident in a different way. Is there a difference???

There is a difference, but only in the way we process the obsessive thoughts that come to us. My therapy has helped me to process the obsessive thoughts in such a way that I can just forget about them. Right now, I just had a shower a few minutes ago but already feel dirty and want to have another shower. I am trying hard not to.