- Date posted
- 1y
Is this a type of OCD
Hi everyone! I’m new here! I haven’t been formally diagnosed yet, but I’m wondering if I have a form of OCD. I believe I have health ocd. Usually I hyperfocus on my body and how I’m feeling. If I feel bad in any way, nausea, chest pain, SOB, dizzy, i fixate on it. I was diagnosed with dysautonomia about 5 years ago which pretty much means my autonomic nervous system doesn’t cooperate sometimes, and my heart rate can get high and blood pressure can get low. (Im assuming since I was medicated the meds were helping at that time, I was on Zoloft). Anyways for the last three or so months I have been hyper focused on me passing out. I have almost passed out numerous times, and I find when I have to teach or talk a lot and get anxious it gets worse (the feelings of passing out). I think about it constantly, plan my life around it, always drinking salt water to keep my pressure up, skipping out on doing things like taking long walks, etc in case I will start to not feel well. Thursday something happened and I kept feeling like I was going to pass out, it was the worst I had felt, I had to climb to flights of stairs with my backpack to get to my car and honestly didn’t think I would make it, thought I was going to drop dead. Ever since I have been in bed or on the couch most of the time and am horrified to do anything in case that feeling comes back. I have been to multiple doctors who tell me I’m okay but these feelings don’t feel okay. I constantly obsess and panic that it will happen again. I’m worried I won’t be able to do my job tomorrow, or forever for that matter. I am so scared and feel like no one in my immediate life understands, this is so real to me. Not to mention passing out in front of people is so embarrassing, and I am a nurse educator so I talk to people and teach in front of people quite often. I ask for reassurance a lot from my doctor, family and co workers that I trust. Sometimes I feel it helps but sometimes my brain is too far gone. I also don’t eat food with my hands, that started probably about 4-5 years ago too! I have a big fear of vomiting and getting the stomach flu so by not touching my food I find in my head I run less of a risk of contracting the stomach flu. I guess I’m confused because I don’t do traditional compulsions, but thinking back when I had Covid I was obsessed with checking my oxygenation levels and heart rate to the point where my husband took it away! I’m just so exhausted and sick of this