!! TW COCD RANT !! my family and i are going away for holiday in about two weeks and i can’t stop thinking about it ,, all i can think about is lying on the used hotel beds covered in bacteria and the bugs surrounding the area - we’re going to a resort and my parents really want me to swim but i literally can’t ! when i imagine the pool i think of all the people who have swam in it and all their unclothed feet covering every inch of space available. i’m going to hopefully bring a sleeping bag from home and stay in that the entire time - we also have to travel on a plane which is even worse :( just thinking about sharing the air with all those strangers makes me want to cry :’((( also we aren’t making food in the resort so we have to go to restaurants to eat which i really can’t handle bc of the shared cutlery. i’m hopefully going to bring stuff from home to prevent panic but i’m afraid that this trip will totally ruin those safe items for me. sorry to write this paragraph but it would really help if u had anything to say which might help my situation in the slightest !!!

Have you heard of apple cider vinegar? Take that it might help I know it does for me because I never get sick when I take it. It might take the edge off a bit. Also it’s interesting because for me the chlorine from the pool makes me feel clean in the water. Sometimes I go to the pool just to feel clean when I don’t wanna spend over an hour in the shower. I also wear flip flops in the pool area up to the steps at the pool.

Glad you’re feeling happier!

my mother was talking to me about the chlorine and how it keeps the pool safe but i still feel bad when i’m in the water :( thank u so much for the suggestion i’ll try it out <3

I completely understand you, a similar thing happened to me last year. Here’s what I did, it might help you: - I brought a sleeping bag liner to sleep in (to hot for actual sleeping bag) and lots of sarongs which I’d lie on top of and use as protection from the bed. - vinegar in a mini spray bottle to spritz on cutlery and you can also get anti bac wipes that are safe enough for food surfaces - face masks for the plane and wipes for the seat handles, seat belt and table -anything you can do to possibly distract yourself, do it. Books, podcasts ( these absolutely saved me), musics, fiddling with things etc - and this probably isn’t the most professional advice, but completely forget about trying to do ERP or anything. Just do what you need to make it through the trip. Hope this helps!

Also, all the immunity tablets! They’re probably only placebos, but it made me feel safer

thank you so much

turns out i’m also getting extra immunisations for the trip so i feel a bit better now !! i also purchased some bacterial wipes and a few masks for the plane ride !! much luv for the help guys <3 i’m not dreading the experience as much as before :)