Anyone with hiv ocd that recovered and can help

I had that. I made myself return to take care of an HIV patient and until I was desensitized

I respect u for that.

Good work

I educated myself about it and found it can't be caught as easily as you would think

There’s an amazing book called “the man who couldn’t stop” all about OCD, written by a man that had this sort of OCD involving HIV, would definitely recommend it

It’s possible, my doctor explained to me that HIV can’t live outside the body for more than a few seconds, which is why I think what helped a lot was educating yourself. I was also afraid of herpes, and would literally treat any belongings that touched someone who I imagined had the deseas as if the actual object also had the disease, which is why you should take care of this now. would be careful though and not dig too much as sometimes this can turn into reassurance seeking for OCD.

Hey where can we speak? Do you have WhatsApp?

Like I could never see myself doing that. I’m so scared I would contaminate everything I own and throw everything away. I’m convinced the virus could live in zippers or other closed places in my personal items

For me what helped was validation from my nurses that even if I were to cut myself with his razor it would be highly unlikely that I would transmit the disease. The largest portal of entry for HIV is mucous membranes like the anus. I still wasnt convinced but made myself continue to provide care to that patient until he passed away while showing him the dignity and respect that he deserved as a human being suffering to death of an illness that terrifies me to my core.

I guess what helped me was the level of compassion that I had for the person. Trying to put myself in his shoes and how he must feel actually having the illness.

I’m just convinced that the virus can live in places. Like if someone has a bit of blood and uses something I own, it might stay there and when I use the item I would get hiv. I don’t know if you had that.

I actually did have the same thoughts. I didnt even want to touch the door handles in his room. I even had a panic attack at work because of the fear, but after that I made the decision to make myself keep going back and dealing with the desrs

Fears**

I used to deal with this really badly as a kid. I think I just learned a ton about it until I felt I understood it and could work on training myself to be more rational about it.

Hey there! I struggled with this in college. I had multiple blood tests done to confirm it was negative and they were given to me on a sheet that I could physically see it was negative. Hang in there. ❤️

I agree with doing research to educate yourself as much as possible on the disease. It won't be the end all to the fear but it will allow you to feel more calm. I worry very much about contracting things such as HIV or other things that are a permanent thing. I recall while I was pregnant fearing having to give blood bc one time there was a spot of blood on the table that had not been cleaned up properly. Every time I went I after I always had to check And recheck my surroundings. I also have a fear of HSV for my new baby, people with cold sores scare me terribly. I couldn't imagine my child having to live with that bc of someone else. I'll refuse to let people hold my child, and no way can someone kiss my baby. I have also found that having a few reliable close people to reach out to in moments of panic are helpful.

Hey are any of you all still active on this app? There doesn't seem to be a lot of people with contamination OCD on right now and I'd love to chat with you all and gain support!