- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
I am so sorry. I work at a college too and we are going to have to go in soon as well. I feel your fear and I dont know how to help because I'm also in that situation. I'm hoping a doctor can wrote me a note for mental health purposes.
- Date posted
- 4y
* UPDATE * Had my first day back at work yesterday. I started having obsessive thoughts about everything being contaminated. I did a lot of cleaning and tbh cried a lot. I wound up leaving early because I felt so physically sick, but I did it. I spent 6 hours at my office so I'm counting it as a "win". I still don't think any colleges should be in-person right now and I still have INTENSE anxiety about going back, but I'm doing everything I can to stay safe and keep my job.
- Date posted
- 4y
๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ Seriously, so proud of you! Continuing to send you strength.
- Date posted
- 4y
@ARTnotOCD Thank you so much, I appreciate it! ๐
- Date posted
- 4y
@coolghoul44 Also, my puppers is cuddled up asleep in my arm, so naturally Iโm just stuck here. Heโs dreaming real hard to send you extra lovins anytime you need them, especially at work. ๐๐ถ๐งก
- Date posted
- 4y
That's so wonderful! Does your management know that you suffer with this?
- Date posted
- 4y
No, they don't. I don't have an official diagnosis yet. I've been expressing my severe anxiety about going back to campus for months to HR and my supervisor. I called HR on Friday and explained to them that I experience a lot of the symptoms listed under COVID daily (headaches, GI upset, muscle pain). I said that I've been experiencing it before COVID and how I'm working with my doctors to figure out the underlying cause/problem. Do whatever is safest for you.
- Date posted
- 4y
And they still had you come back? I'm an administrator at a college and they are keeping us at home to keep the staff who NEED to be on campus safe. They need us to go in and pack up for a move but that's all for now. Are you essential on campus?
- Date posted
- 4y
@catattak Yes, I'm considered an essential worker as of last week. I work in sexual violence prevention and we had students return to campus last Friday. But it doesn't make sense because I don't have the space to meet with students in my office and I can't do any in-person programming. I specifically had HR clarify that everything should continue to be on Zoom. For your move, maybe try going at an off-time? Either super early or super late. That way you'll interact with the least amount of people possible.
- Date posted
- 4y
@coolghoul44 We will be scheduled but I have a biopsy in a few weeks I cant get sick before. So I'm going to try and reason with my ED and say I cant come in before then but will go in on a weekend when no one is there. I'm sorry you're back but I am glad for zoom as opposed to in person meetings. This is probably some amazing ERP as much as you can handle and I think your anxiety will lessen as you are out
- Date posted
- 4y
Going in on the weekend sounds like a great idea! I did that 3 weeks before I returned to work to grab something from my office. It was very helpful because I went on my own terms and I was able to handle the anxiety by myself without people being around! Def ask for that! And yes, I agree with you! It'll be good ERP haha I wish you luck on your biopsy!
- Date posted
- 4y
I wish I had some real suggestions. I donโt know if youโd wanna try any accommodations through ADA. (I usually disclose my OCD as a student, but not as an employee.). Keep doing what you know are the suggested precautions in the meantime. If you like dogs, can I send you some puppy snuggles to ease your anxiety at all? Best wishes!
- Date posted
- 4y
I don't know if I can get accommodations through the ADA because I don't have an ~official diagnosis yet. I bought cute masks to help me feel better and I have other supplies too. It's the physical anxiety and obsessive thoughts that I'm struggling with. Following the precautions may be the only thing I can do right now to keep my job. I love dogs! I would love to see pictures! ๐ถ
- Date posted
- 4y
@coolghoul44 Is there a way to share pics here? Iโll describe him: heโs a rescue, so weโre not sure of anything, but he seems like a Jack Russell and Brittany mix. Heโs mostly white with orange spots. The Russell in him makes him have a large rib cage and that full-body wag. It also means he sometimes just walks across the room on only his hind legs or do other circus tricks for no reason. The Brittany in him keeps his hair so soft and his tail very floofy. He has one brown eye and one half-brown, half-blue eye. Heโs also very good for helping me through anxiety and is learning to even respond to help me stop picking or do other compulsions.
- Date posted
- 4y
@ARTnotOCD He sends snuggles whenever you need them!
- Date posted
- 4y
@ARTnotOCD HE SOUNDS SO CUTE!! Thank you!! โก
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Hello! I am really looking for some advice. I have been struggling with OCD for a few years now and it drastically affects my daily life. I am going to give a quick run through of my OCD, and then the current situation I am in now. So for almost 2 years now my most prominent themes of OCD have been getting sick with the stomach bug (emetaphobia) and watching someone die/ having to see large amount of blood or do CPR on someone (I just graduated nursing school). Last year I stopped eating out, wouldnโt touch any of my food with my hands, would wash my hands until they bleed every day, bleached everything I touched when I was in public etcโฆ I would have these major panic attacks all the time and the thought of getting sick hasnโt left my head 24/7 for 2 years. I was unable to complete my nursing school clinicals due to panic attacks each time I was at the hospital afraid someone would die and get these terrible images in my head. I didnโt sleep ever, barely graduated. I did ERP after school and was able to make up the clinical days I missed. Got to a point where I was eating again, felt like I was able to get my hands clean just by washing them. I have been doing exposures every day, and have accepted that getting sick will probably happen at one point and I am okay with it as long as I am at home when it happens. So locking myself in my apartment for 48hr every time after I could have been exposed to the stomach bug is major progress for me and I have been overall doing much better. Fast forward to now: Itโs time for me to start my new job on a med/surg floor in a hospital. This week I have made it through a few days of orientation with panic attacks day and night but I am doing it even though I am petrified. I donโt feel ready for this big of a step, being exposed to both of my biggest fears constantly. Today at orientation the girl sitting next to me told me she had been vomiting all day, and continued to run out of the room a vomit the rest of the day. I now am 90% sure I am going to get sick and feel as if I would rather die than continue this amount of stress and anxiety I have felt from just a few days of being on the job. This is my BIGGEST fear and itโs coming true and I donโt know if itโs worth putting myself through this every day at work to just be having constant panic attacks and be miserable. I know with OCD you have to face your fears but I have been pushing myself and trying so hard and I donโt feel like itโs worth it to work this job. I would also feel incredibly guilty for quitting on the first week, but there are a million other nursing jobs that are not in a hospital. I think this is too big of a step for me right now but I wanted to see what others think. Any advice at all is so appreciated!
- Date posted
- 19w
Recently, Iโve been struggling a ton with what I eat/put into my body? Iโm a first year college student with a few different health issues (including IBS), and lately itโs been hard for me to find food on campus that doesnโt upset my stomach. I also have pretty severe emetophobia, and feel extremely anxious when I feel sick. The ironic thing is that being anxious makes me feel even worse, so I end up sticking myself in an impossible loophole. My OCD has taken hold of these fears over the past few months, and itโs been such a struggle. Especially since people have been getting food poisoning from various dining halls on my campus lately. My OCD has gotten so bad that sometimes Iโm too afraid to eat food other than what I buy myself. I feel so trapped. I donโt want my OCD to affect my physical health or prevent me from eating, bc I love eating!! Itโs the fear of getting sick thatโs the problem. And itโs even harder when everything is so unfamiliar. Just wondering if anyone could relate. Advice is appreciated!
- Date posted
- 18w
i am a freshman in college and i have always struggled with depression, anxiety, and OCD. i have never received help for my OCD despite being medicated for my other two issues. i have noticed that what most of my panic stems from is my OCD and more specifically my OCD around school. i havenโt been able to get myself up for class for multiple days and im starting to panic about everything im missing and think about every little thing i have to fix. i am so behind that it makes me want to panic and i feel like i cant fix this. i just want my mind to feel normal but it feels like my whole world is falling apart all because i am feeling stuck in school. please help me i just want to feel okay but i dont know how to. i have tried doing all the assignments i can do to catch up but it isnโt enough i still feel so panicked
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond