- Date posted
- 2y
Long rant. At wit's end. Don't know what to do.
I can't believe my life has come to this point. I went 32 years with doing things "normally." Did I have some kinda gross habits? Sure, everyone does. (They are LONG gone now, I promise.) It took only around five or six months for my life to be turned inside out. I am afraid to use the bathroom. I am afraid to soil myself. Every little muscle movement down there becomes "potential for germs" and I am afraid to go check because I'd have to go to the bathroom and actually engage with my waste/waste areas. Then I am immobilized, feeling the need to change or shower, thinking, "do I need to clean the sofa? My bedding?" because I am unsure if I wet myself or not. I know deep down I don't, but the doubt is crippling. As are the "consequences". Anyone else might be embarrassed, clean up, and move on, but me? Everything would be contaminated. And not checking/cleaning/etc feels like a misdeed because I can't trust my own brain. I even now have an aversion to actually cleaning, especially the bathroom--which I used to really enjoy, it was fun and satisfying--because I could get germy in the process and contaminate everything I just cleaned, and the cycle begins anew. That makes it all worse. I feel like I must be as close to "bathroom germs free" at all times otherwise I am doing something morally wrong. I am hyper aware of everything I touch, everything I do. And anything that drives a "what if this touched that", or "did I do this" I take in the direction that it did happen, even if I don't really believe it did, just in case. I can't let it go because I feel guilty for even trying! Attempting to allow a little bit more germs here and there feels like I am being irresponsible, or sneaky or committing a crime, which I then either have to reverse by cleaning, or confess. And this is all combined with the "fear of touching blood/contracting hepatitis c/unknowingly infecting people". I feel like I have to be in control of all of this, and if I'm not, well. Then I was negligent and if I get sick, or someone else does, it's because I was just lazy or deliberately misleading myself that things are actually fine. I know it's all an effort to avoid feeling guilty, because if I get trapped in that cycle again, I will never get back to normal. That doesn't mean what I am doing now is morally better, or right, not if it's causing me daily stress and anxiety. I felt I was doing a little better, but the cycle is obviously still here, kicking my ass. How could I ever even attempt ERP if doing THAT would feel like a crime too? I am stuck and I don't even want to get out of bed anymore. Thank you for reading my rant. I hope you're doing better than I am.