- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Well that fear is understandable that’s for sure. I don’t experience it myself but I definitely get why that would mess with you
- Date posted
- 3y
Yep.
- Date posted
- 3y
How do you get over the fear?
- Date posted
- 3y
Yes! Half an hour ago 🤣
- Date posted
- 3y
I have found a good strategy is to intentionally do the opposite of what your OCD is telling you. So in this circumstance just let the intrusive thoughts be there and swallow the pills. If you can do it once, it will be much easier the next time.
- Date posted
- 3y
Okay I will try that thank you!
- Date posted
- 3y
but still I ate what I was afraid to eat
- Date posted
- 3y
Does it get easier each time you make yourself eat?
- Date posted
- 3y
For me it didn't work like that , if I hadn't taken meds I wouldn't be in that position I'm in in which I still get the thought but it doesn't seriously prevent me from living a normal every day life. If it's something that constantly occupies your mind and makes u question every thing u eat then ask for some help.
- Date posted
- 3y
For me the amount of stress I was experiencing defined how much the thought of me getting an allergy will turn into a compulsion. If I was super anxious or depressed the thought turned into compulsion - I didn't eat and started crying because I knew that im not ok- some other times I got the thought but yet I ate and was ok, some other times I ate and was waiting for the allergy to come. So for me meds made me stable
- Date posted
- 3y
That’s how I’ve been getting. I constantly have intrusive thoughts about anaphylaxis possiblinh happening. And I get so paralyzed by the anxiety and fear and I can’t even be alone bc I freak out if someone is not there to watch me. When I do eat food i constantly look in the mirror to make sure I’m not having an allergic reaction. Honestly the worse thing I’ve ever been through my ocd is getting so bad where I can’t even function or take care of myself
- Date posted
- 3y
I understand 100. I couldn't eat , sleep and I was having panic attacks every minute for many days because of OCD. I couldn't even breathe without instructions. Go to a therapist and try meds! And go to an allergiologist and take that test that tells you to which ingredients you might be allergic to. It shows everything! Then you will know and probably this will calm you down!
- Date posted
- 3y
@tinaant I agree with the therapy and meds part. But getting tested for allergies without medical cause would be a compulsion. It would also likely be very expensive because insurance probably wouldn't cover it. Getting tested for allergies without cause will only strengthen the intrusive thought and make OCD worse. Trying to argue, reason, or disprove an intrusive thought doesn't work. No matter how much evidence you find to the contrary, OCD will never be satisfied. It will ALWAYS come back with "Yeah, but what about ________? " the only way to break the cycle is by doing ERP.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 Yes I know I have experienced it myself! But if the OCD is not out of control maybe it can work! I don't know how medical insurance works in the us so I didn't take it into account. I haven't tried ERP myself so I cant tell. I know that meds saved my life. I don't think any therapy could have helped more effectively at this point I had reached back then.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 18w
Ugh. So I’ve been having some stomach issues for about two or three months now. I started seeing a naturopathic doctor who ran some tests and put me on a restrictive diet. The stool test she gave me revealed that I have high levels of a pathogen called Aeromonas caviae. I was kind of relieved to find this out since it finally gave me some answers to my issue. That was about 3 weeks ago. Last Friday I got my food sensitivity results back which revealed that I have some mild problem with gluten, dairy, egg whites, and other random foods. They were all low-level igG sensitivities though. Again, I was kind of relieved to receive the results at first because it helped me better understand what might be going on with my stomach. I was good for about a day. I even had one of the foods that I’m “mildly sensitive” to and had no issues. I remember eating with my husband after getting the results and telling him that I was happy and that these results were “tolerable.” That was until I visited my mom on Saturday night. I decided to tell my mom about my food sensitivity results and she just had a reaction that kind of set me off for some reason. I’m not even entirely sure why it set me off because her reaction wasn’t overly dramatic or anything. She was more just shocked and made the comment “well what can you eat then?!” I immediately got super anxious after this. I started thinking maybe I wasn’t taking the results seriously enough and that I should be more concerned. I started doing research about food allergies and it’s all been downhill since then. That night I could hardly sleep. I kept waking up every couple of hours because I was just super anxious. The next day I cooked and ate a breakfast meal that I had the day before and was perfectly fine with. Except this time I noticed that the back of my hand started burning and itching a bit. I put some creme on and took a nap and by the time I woke up I felt better. Then again later in the evening my husband and I meal prepped for the week and ate dinner. After eating I noticed the same thing was happening but on the back of my foot. It went away after a while but I started going down the rabbit hole of “what ifs.” I started wondering if maybe I was having a mild allergic reaction to the food I ate. The next morning I ate the same breakfast and brought my meal prepped lunch. I was fine all day until I started driving home and had the itching again. I got home and was super worried. My ears and throat got a little itchy. I was going to eat dinner but I was too afraid that I was having an allergic reaction to my breakfast or lunch. Yesterday I ate the same breakfast with no issues and brought my lunch. While I was eating my lunch I noticed that my mouth was burning a bit. I did have jalapeños and a salsa in my food but the burning felt different than usual. I started to get super hot and my face was burning and getting a little flushed. I spiraled for much of the rest of the work day thinking I had an allergic reaction/I have a food allergy that I’m unaware of. I ate a snack when I got home and again, it felt like my mouth was burning a bit. Now I cant stop focusing on how my mouth feels and if it’s burning or not. I ate the same breakfast this morning and it felt like it was burning a bit but I cant tell what’s real and what’s psychosomatic.
- Date posted
- 17w
I'm going to try and be coherent because I know that sometimes during these moments I tend to babble in fear. I have a mole on the left side of my chest that I've had since I was a kid. Been there for as long as I remember. And I never paid attention to it; it was just a part of my body. I even felt a little sad considering that I might not have it anymore whenever I get top surgery. Yesterday I went down a rabbit hole and landed on Melanoma. Which, of course, prompted me to look at my mole again. And again. And again. It's large, bigger than my other moles. Always has been, at least to my knowledge. I always thought it was cute whenever it crossed my mind. Now...now I'm just scared... I'm not asking for reassurance. None of us on here are medical experts (unless youre an actual doctor) (also insert OCD joke here). I sent a picture to my doctor, and she said that if it hasnt changed size that's a good sign. But she also suggested a follow-up with a dermatologist. And that's what scares me the most. All of this started yesterday, but I sent the message to my doctor this morning. And ever since then...I havent been okay. I can barely eat, and every time I try to I can barely swallow. I've isolated myself in the guest bedroom of my parents house. I cant move. I cant think straight. And...let's just say my thoughts havent been good. Like I said, I'm not asking for reassurance or medical advice. I just...I need help to not feel like I'm dying. I didnt mention that yesterday, in the midst of going down the rabbit hole, I realized how badly I didnt want to be afraid, and yet I also felt like I needed to be afraid. And I realized that that's what ERP is (at least for me in case it's different for everyone). I really did naivietely think that it was just going to be about avoiding compulsions. I didnt realize that accepting uncertainty would feel like a death sentence. And now this has happened. I just...I'm scared. And I dont want to be. I dont want to live in this reality where I'm sick and dying. I dont want to have to tell my family. I dont want to live in that world, but it feels like I'm already in it. My body is just preparing me for it. I dont know. I dont know why I'm even making this post. No one can help me, can they?
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- Date posted
- 10w
So I’m severely emetophobic but these past few weeks have gotten SO bad. I had a bad reaction to an SSRI that made me feel like I was gonna throwup, I stopped taking them over two weeks ago but ever since then the fear has got even worse. I haven’t left the house properly in weeks because I’ve convinced myself I’ll be sick. I feel nauseous even indoors a lot of the time (there are hours when I don’t, like for example this afternoon I was fine). But I challenged myself to go for a short walk this evening and omg it was so hard I really thought I might throwup. The thing is I KNOW it’s anxiety and not real nausea because it feels completely different to when I was actually nauseous from the medication. This feeling is more like a tight throat/sensation of a lump in my throat that makes me feel like I’m gonna gag. I also have RCPD (I can’t burp basically lol) so I just feel like I have trapped air in my throat that’s gonna make me puke. The phobia has gotten really really bad. I have started therapy recently but I’ve been scared of throwing up since I was a kid and I’m now 31 lol wtf. I remember last Christmas my mum said someone at her work had been sick and I was so scared my mum had caught it and would pass it on to me that I refused to leave my bedroom without wearing gloves and a mask and wiping everything with anti-germ wipes. But right now it’s so so bad because I have literally gotten to the point where I’ve convinced myself I feel nauseous pretty much 24/7 and I am taking anti-nausea meds almost every day. Has anyone else dealt with/has tips for this??? I’m literally desperate 😭
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