Is it possible for OCD to convince me I have...

I've recently decided to get tested for HSV because I have kissed someone with HSV-1. I tested negative several months ago, but I want to be sure. Today I started feeling a tingling sensation and when I pressed my lips together I felt a bump there. So ever since, I've been trying to confirm if there is or is not a bump, where it is, if it's an early HSV breakout or an early pimple. The web searches say that tingle sensations usually means cold sore, but I know that as of a few months ago I tested negative and I have in fact had this tingle happen for zits along my lip line. So I'm super confused and dying to have an answer. I'm planning on heading in to a clinic for a test first thing tomorrow morning but if I can get any advice or knowledge I would so appreciate it, even if that advice and knowledge is helping me break from my compulsion to fidget with my lip or search up information.

Health Concern OCD

diaz44118

Date posted: 2d

you sound just like me. i do the same things. i’m currently working with, when i have those thoughts of wanting to google and check something on my body over and over, thinking instead “maybe i’ll get sick. maybe i won’t. this isn’t something to worry about right now.” you know you’re going to the doctor. all will be well then. if it’s nothing, all good! if it’s something, then you can treat it. either way, those are the outcomes. you know them. the anxiety is just ocd trying to rear itself in a sore spot in your life. fight it with the uncertainty :) all the best!

marie84

Date posted: 2d

I have HSV-1 and the outbreaks happen pretty quickly once the tingling starts. I usually get them inside of my mouth and I get outbreaks every time I’m stressed out. I think you would have seen a cold sore by now. I don’t think the tingling before a sore lasts very long. I think you’re prolly just making yourself anxious and our minds can play those physical symptoms on us. I get itchiness and tingling in my lips at times and it goes away within minutes and I think it might be allergies. I think you should be okay. 🫶🏻🫶🏻

JShay42

Date posted: 2d

That was very helpful, thank you! I think the part that bothers me is not wanting OCD to be taking control of what I do and do not feel in/on my body. Also I want to be responsible with friends/partners and want to make sure IF I have anything that I take proper precautions. So thank you so much for your experience and knowledge!

Anonymous

Date posted: 2d

I’ve struggled with this. I will tell you and any doctor will also tell you that the blood tests for HSV-1 are not super accurate and can give false positives and negatives because the blood tests are known to pick up antibodies from other viruses also. So it could hurt more than help. Also the HSV-1 virus is super common and most people (over 50%) have the virus dormant inside them. So it’s really not a huge deal although I understand because I also worry about these things.

JShay42

Date posted: 2d

The annoying part is I'm not even moreso worried about contracting it as I am just wanting to know so that I can be responsible in my relationships. And I hate the idea that OCD can possibly make me feel something that isn't there in/on my body 😭

Anonymous

Date posted: 2d

@JShay42 Yes I tested myself once just because I wasn’t sure if maybe I had it and didn’t know (I’ve never had a cold sore that I know of) because I didn’t want to give anything to my daughter. My test came back equivocal which means it couldn’t say for sure that I had it or if I didn’t have it.. it was only a couple points from being negative …. But I have had shingles which is is the same family of virus so my doctor said the test was more than likely picking up antibodies from that virus. But yes I understand.. the best thing you can do is be mindful if you did get a cold sore or feel like you may be getting one… lots of people get this virus when they are young kids because parents and grandparents have it and end up passing it to them somehow. I’ve done a lot of research.

JShay42

Date posted: 2d

@Anonymous I'm glad I have therapy tomorrow so I can talk about that feeling that OCD can create a sensation in my body that is so convincing that it literally feels real

blues1507

Date posted: 2d

I have similar OCD thoughts relating to HSV-1 and spreading it to someone. I get cold sores on my lip maybe twice a year and because I’m so worried of spreading it, I’ve stopped trying to find any romantic interests. In the past if I had plans to hangout with a guy I would start to feel a tingling sensation and I would panic about it being another cold sore…it never would become one. Our minds can be super convincing and I understand the worry.

JShay42

Date posted: 2d

I hate you experience(d) that and I'm relieved that I'm not alone because I was actually angry when I woke up this morning to literally nothing on my lip because that means I absolutely agonized, even to the point of skipping dinner, for absolutely nothing.

issphra 🫶🏻

Date posted: 19w

Help, Meta OCD/POCD?

I’ve been feeling the urge to avoid intimacy or purposefully engage (for reassurance that I won’t give into a compulsion) because of intrusive thoughts and fear that I’ll “check/test” my reactions. My OCD is making me so scared that I’ll purposefully think of a child and try to see if I like it. It’s so complicated but I guess I’m mentally checking if I would mentally check during intimacy. I’ve even envisioned myself checking and it’s making me so nauseous. I know it’s a compulsion like any other but the sound of “touching yourself to the thought of a child” sounds atrocious and vile. I’m terrified I’ll automatically start checking next time I am being intimate. I truly feel so worried. If anyone has gone through something similar, I’d appreciate hearing your experience. Or if anyone has any advice?

melaniebermn

Date posted: 12w

Confused about ocd

How to know if you actually have it or if I’m just making up the symptoms? I have a lot of intrusive thoughts constantly and even have a “theme” but it really surged after I search up what I was experiencing, but then again I search up a lot of what I experience and constantly have to recheck things. My parents say I’m normal but I know I’m not, (both of my siblings have adhd) I find it immensely hard to focus from turning 17-18. Please let me know what you think l! Thanks!

vaiiolyn

Date posted: 9w

Lesbian with Sexual Orientation OCD

I need too know that I'm not insane, really. I am 16 and for the past two weeks, this has been completely ruining my health and happiness. I only recently came out as a lesbian like 3 months ago after a lot of confusion about my attraction since I used to think I liked men. At first, I felt so sure that I liked women, but lately, I've been having these unwanted thoughts about the possibility of liking men. I never used to feel this way, but now, every time I look at a man, my brain obsessively fixates on it. It forces me to imagine kissing him, loving him, things I don’t want, and then tries to convince me that I do. It’s painful. The thought of this fills me with fear and anxiety, leading to panic attacks and breakdowns. I don’t want these thoughts. I hate them with every fiber of my being, but I’m terrified that one day I’ll act on them and somehow like it. I used to think I liked men, but back then, I was in a very unhealthy space in a time of escapism and something deeply parasocial. I’ve only ever liked the attention and validation a man could give me, but these experiences are somehow treated as further proof that I’m "bisexual." I’ve never been in a real relationship with anyone, which makes my brain constantly challenge me—telling me, “You don’t even know what love feels like.” It won’t shut up. It keeps obsessively trying to make me prove that I’m a lesbian, testing my reactions and questioning my certainty. Is this normal?

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