Just ate three bites of a sandwich and noticed the cheese in it was smelling odd and now I'm paranoid thinking I'm going to have a food poisoning or v0mit and I have emetophobia so...
Maybe you will, maybe you won’t.
You woke up and choose hard truth 👏
I have ,very severe ocd of contamination and other, but trying to do a ERP. It is very very hard , small steps . The best thing which I realised and it is helping me to fight ocd is . I tell my self do I want to live my life in a fear and worrying about things and have really bad life and at the end die. Or I want enjoy my life , do things peple do every day and do not worry about every single stain ,some dirt on my hand and other things and at the end will die anyway like all people. So I decided to live my life and enjoy. It is very hard to do not response to compulsions, feels very real, but when you resist the urge dissapears eventually…
@EdGrig I totally understand your struggle. I’ve cried and had sweat from anxiety to not give into OCD. Then I noticed through the struggle after about 10 months things weren’t bothering me as much. I’m still having bad hours but it has gotten easier. I know it will for you too. You can say “No” to OCD 👍.
@LowellT The worst is when , I know that everything is clean and I have clean hands havent touched or expised my self to anything contaminated , BUT! There is that feeling something isnt right 🧐 and it is very difficult to ignore that takes hours sometimes to get rid of that feeling
@EdGrig This link may help: https://www.shalanicely.com/aha-moments/shoulders-back-the-man-in-the-park/ The man in the park is telling you something is wrong
@EdGrig I know exactly what you mean and I still have things like that come up. I have hit and run OCD. Before I started with NOCD I would always go back if I hit a bump to see if I hit someone. But when I started doing my ERP if I thought I hit someone I was not to go back. I was to think “Yep. Someone is flipping around in the road needing medical help”. I remember one time it happened and I had so much anxiety I thought it would last a long, long time. It lasted a few hours then mellowed out. On this app we all have the same issue in the end. It is we can’t handle doubt in certain areas of our life and to not give into those compulsions to bring about certainty. I understand your struggle. I know something and that is I know you can say “No” to OCD. It’s just one step at a time. I know you can do it 👍.
Check out this resource for when eating is difficult and you have OCD:https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/what-can-i-do-when-ocd-makes-me-afraid-to-eat please know you are not alone and this is very treatable! You can do hard things. Eat the smelly cheese, LOL.
I'm just stupid and the cheese wasn't spoiled it was just a different kind of cheese...
@calicocookie You’re not stupid - OCD makes us jump to certain conclusions. I still remember when my now retired ERP therapist asked me what I thought something looked like on the bathroom floor- my mind went to the worst. He had me look again and consider other options - it was torn flooring that showed a sliver of the black underside - that really helped me realize how quickly OCD goes to what I worry about when other people would have seen the reality instead. 🤪
@Erin P I have a fake spider where I can see during the day to remind me is the false alarm OCD really is.
@LowellT I love it. I used to think insects were a bad omen now I take them as a reminder that I can do what I need to.
@LowellT Lowell that’s a creative idea! Erin, I’m glad you realized why the cheese smelled different, I’m sorry OCD jumped to conclusions, it is often a false alarm like Lowell said, which is why sitting with the feelings of anxiety and not reacting is so important.
This happens to me too. Have you tried watching a comfort show or movie while eating tobget your mind off of the meal or snack you're eating?
I have a lot of OCD obsessions and compulsions around food contamination, so I can definitely relate. I am in ERP (exposure and response prevention) therapy for my OCD. I’ve done both in session ERPs and homeworks around this theme. With time and practice ERP has been a huge help for me.
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