Contamination OCD Struggles

Yes. As someone who went through a brutal bout of health anxiety and currently is working through physical compulsions and health OCD, trust me I totally understand… but think about it like this- if millions of people are going through this also and they will be fine, so will you. It’s not reassurance really it’s just facts. I try to do the same with my health anxiety and OCD. So just remember that you’re not alone and keep using the tools and keep using the community here!

I am having the same issue with the parasite outbreak and it is really tough. I think what has helped me is looking at the general guidelines and sticking to just them. I have heard that if you are eating produce, stick with frozen, cooked and unpeeled produce, then you are generally safer. I have had to be careful about my compulsions though and not add on an additional safety precautions just to be extra safe. Last night I ordered a burger without lettuce and veggies because it was from an restaurant and I didn’t trust it. Sure enough they forgot that part and served it with all the veggies. I was also stressing because the burger touched the veggies and I was worried it was now contaminated. But then I looked around and saw everyone eating it like there was no issue, and I pushed myself to eat the burger without the veggies. If they are recommending these guidelines to the general population then you have to be okay with maybe getting sick and maybe not getting sick, however that is the reality of all food. I don’t know if that makes sense, but my diet is primarily produce so I have kind of had to work through the uncertainty of getting sick while still following the general guidelines.