I'm just curious about this and I will get to why later: 1. Mandatory Covid Vaccination, yay or Nay? Why? 2. Needing to show vaccine card to enter venues, restaurants, etc. yay or nay? Why? 3. Mandatory covid test for the unvaccinated, yay or nay? Why? 4. Mandatory masks for the unvaccinated, yay or nay? Why? 5. Are you an anti-vaccine, yay or nay? Why? 6. Are you afraid of covid? And to the point...: 7. Are you afraid of needles? 8. Has your OCD impacted your ability to get the vaccine? 9. Do you have GAD, Panic attacks, etc., which has impacted whether you get the vaccine? I'm generally someone who is in support of Science. I encourage others to use their judgement in regard to the vaccine. I mask up in public. I'm just afraid. I'm also rather isolated because of my OCD in general. I understand that I could get sick and it scares me,, but I'm not emotionally ready to tackle the vaccine. I have an excruciatingly hard time with feelings of being contaminated with bodily waste, so anything medical is difficult for me. I have obsessive thoughts regarding the vaccine in general, since it is relatively new and people (even on here) have been telling horror stories. I don't think the general public is taking into consideration that people like that exist when they post things. I don't have anyone to help me out, so I'm just afraid my isolation will take me to even darker places if a mask is not good enough (which I try to follow).

Really need some support/advice right now. I’ve had multiple panic attacksbecause of everything that’s going on right now with this pandemic. I just really need some help but I know I’m not supposed to ask for reassurance. Everyone is panicking, even people w/out OCD which makes me panic even more. I honestly feel like I need to go to a psychiatric hospital or something, I’m just afraid of having a complete meltdown. I haven’t really been able to go anywhere such as grocery store, gas station, etc. bc I don’t want to touch anything.

Hi everyone. First time here. I suffer from Contamination OCD. I have a good support group in friends, family, and my boyfriend, but I have not met anyone else with OCD and I needed to reach out to others to find help. I first got OCD when I was 17 (I am now 33) and was able to go into remission, but COVID brought it back. I was struggling at work (which was outside with the public). I found a therapist and she wrote me a doctor’s note suggesting I be allowed to work from home. My work was not accommodating at all and only offered me FMLA leave, so I took it as my only option and eventually got on Short Term Disability. The whole process took forever and was incredibly stressful. My leave was supposed to be a time of healing and it just made my OCD symptoms worse. My employer basically treated me as though I was trying to get out of work and proved to me that though they talk about the importance of mental health, they don’t take mental health seriously. I ended up having to leave my job “involuntarily due to health reasons” as they would not grant an extension nor let me return with any restrictions/accommodations. My therapist seemed good at first, but it became clear that she wasn’t really helping me. She would often use our sessions to vent about the insurance company and in one session, she basically called me a hopeless case and kept saying “I don’t know. I am concerned. I don’t know how you are going to be able to function” and threw out the word hospitalization, though she did backtrack on that one. I struggle everyday. I am worried that something from outside of the home touched something clean and is now contaminated. I need help working through this. I am constantly looking for reassurance, question if things are clean, wash my hands, use too many disinfectant wipes, and take showers upwards of 50-60 mins. I feel like my mind is being taken over by my OCD, I’m losing time, and it’s straining my relationship. For anyone who is struggling with contamination OCD brought on by COVID - any tips? My therapist never gave me anything specific to work on with this - to help me focus on something else. I am in the process of finding another therapist, but until then - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

So I'll be getting my covid vaccine within the next few weeks. This is hard for me because I'm terrified of side effects of literally everything, and I know that when I get it I'll be so anxious and worried that something bad will happen. I'm still going to get it, because not getting it would not only be avoidance, but it's also just a risk I have to take, as many others have. Anyone else struggle with side effects of things who have gotten the vaccine? How did you handle it?