http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/tags/contamination It's Time to Act. OCD Action provides support and information for people affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Mon, 21 May 2012 15:08:29 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/search.php http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64568 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:19:35 +0000 daisychain7 64568@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>I also think it's a good idea to have gradual exposure, otherwise it would cause too much anxiety. I'll let you know how I get on &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif&quot; title=&quot;:D&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64564 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:22:55 +0000 wannabefree 64564@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi Daisy, The exposure needs to be gradual, I think... Especially for me... I sort of look at the tap first, get used to how it looks. I try to come to terms with it not being perfectly clean, cos it never is. We don't need to drink antibacterials, cos they would damage our existing defences. We have acid in our stomachs to dissolve germs, and that has served us since we were babies... Eventually you get to holding a glass full of the water, and when you feel ready, drinking it. But you must do it when you are ready, not before, cos it could make you feel ill from the fear... I try to do some of these things, but I sure do wish it was a lot easier...<br /> Wannabe </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64563 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:22:03 +0000 Tess 64563@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Wannabe, I used to have to get back downstairs before the toilet finished flushing too! I also used to have to check every room upstairs before I could get into bed, under the beds, behind the doors, inside the wardrobes, up the chimneys, in fact absolutely anywhere a very thin midget might manage to hide - and once one room was checked I had to do the others whilst constantly watching the ones which had already been checked to make sure no-one crept in while my back was turned - and all in complete silence because I was too embarrased and frightened to tell anyone. My nan used to cook a midday meal and mine was left to keep hot on top of the coal boiler until I got home from school - all those bacteria multiplying and then eating it straight after the rush up the stairs to the toilet and down before it finished flushing without even a thought of hand washing. Mind you I've made up for the lack of hand washing since! </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64560 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:18:54 +0000 daisychain7 64560@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi, </p> <p>Thanks for your response. I like your attitude towards OCD. I've been reading through a book called "Overcoming OCD" and I'm going to try and overcome my problems (the water contamination worries isn't the only element of my OCD, I have severe worries of being unprofessional in the workplace amongst other things, perhaps I will tell you more if you're interested). </p> <p>The advice that both you and Mike have given to me relates to exposure. I think that this would be the most helpful procedure to take in order to overcome water contamination worries. I also currently have plans for what procedures I am going to take for my professional boundaries worries. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64559 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:02:46 +0000 wannabefree 64559@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi Daisy... Thank you too for your input on the thread too, it helps me to cope, just knowing that I'm not on my own with it. To be honest, I'm supposed to be writing about it... I've tried also reading some of the great books that are available. I try to go with the idea that water is safe in itself. We are defended, and so is eveyone else. As Mike says, unless the recipe calls for it, just drink the water from the tap. It HAS to be okay... The worst scenario is that your body will reject it, and you'll vomit it out of your system, but that isn't very likely, and probably never happened before the OCD took hold. I think back to my childhood, when I used to try and get downstairs before the toilet stopped flushing... So much for the washing of hands, yet I was rarely, if ever, ill. Not that I can remember anyway. We're in this together...<br /> Wannabe </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64537 Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:28:12 +0000 daisychain7 64537@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi Wannabe &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>Thanks for your wonderful response. Do you have any helpful advice and tips for overcoming this problem? </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64482 Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:16:39 +0000 wannabefree 64482@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi Daisy, Hi Mike, it isn't easy is it? I too have a thing about water. We have a filter jug in our fridge, and I try to prevent it touching the tap, as if we'd have legoinellas (However you spell the damn word!) disease in our kitchen. I used to work in a hospital where the taps were run for a given amount of time, at regular intervals to prevent the buildup of any germs. That is the reason the water is so hot in hospitals, I guess that the cost of waste hot water is less than the trouble caused if one person in a million should fall prey to any illness while in hospital!<br /> I too struggle with all this stuff. I can write with confidence, but if my clothes should touch the toilet, well I'm a nervous wreck! It isn't easy, but I'm confident we'll get there! (Wherever there is of course!) &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; Maybe if we tried less hard?<br /> Wannabe </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64446 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:05:22 +0000 Mike 64446@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Thanks, I really appreciate it. Although I find that when the anxiety is low, I never naturally need to seek reassurance from others; it's only when the anxiety is high that I feel the need to do this. So I take the conservative position of assuming that if I feel that I need to talk about it with someone, it's probably because of the OCD, and I avoid doing it. I always regret it if I give in to these urges because once the anxiety dies down I feel better, and I realize that my behavior was compulsive.</p> <p>Thanks again, though (and no guarantee I'll never take you up on your offer, regardless of what I said above). </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64445 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:24:44 +0000 daisychain7 64445@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>@Mike - I'm sorry to hear that. If there are ever any delicate matters that you want to talk about do not hesitate to send me a private message on here. It's always good to make friends who suffer with similar problems. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64434 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:03:11 +0000 Mike 64434@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>No, my anxiety is always about failure with the opposite sex. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64433 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:23:04 +0000 daisychain7 64433@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>@Mike - Thanks, I will try that but it's probably easier said than done. Do you have worries that are the same or similar? </p> <p>@Nimrod - Thanks for that </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64430 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:50:54 +0000 Nimrod 64430@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p><blockquote>Hi, thanks for the response, I've only just seen this as I was waiting for an email alert to tell me that I'd got a response, I'm guessing this forum doesn't work in that way. </blockquote></p> <p>You can get a notification via an RSS feed - click on "RSS feed for this topic" at the bottom left of the thread just above "Reply".</p> <p>Nimrod </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64423 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:40:57 +0000 Mike 64423@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>To fix this: drink water straight from the tap, no matter how anxious it makes you. Only boil water if the recipe calls for it. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64418 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:18:19 +0000 daisychain7 64418@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi, thanks for the response, I've only just seen this as I was waiting for an email alert to tell me that I'd got a response, I'm guessing this forum doesn't work in that way. </p> <p>To answer your question: I rationalise other people as not being effected by the water because their immune systems are more powerful than mine, my immune system is weak, I'm more likely to get effected by this "contaminated" water. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64386 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:21:36 +0000 Cuthbert ffoliott 64386@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hiya Daisy -</p> <p>that's a real burden that you suffer from. OCD is irrational, and it is able to overrule our own attempts at rationally analyzing a situation. We often know very well that what we are doing (in terms of 'making sure') is not necessary, but OCD makes us perform these compulsive acts, and also tells us: if you don't do them, you're going to get ill, perhaps even die. But OCD is a bully and a liar (I guess that is why people with OCD, centuries ago, were seen as being possessed by an evil spirit - some inner tormentor, or terrorist if you will; come to think of it, that idea comes across as being quite apt in metaphorical terms. But of course there was no cure way back then.)</p> <p>I have a question for you: did the following thought cross your mind: hey, others are much more 'loose' in their dealings with water, for cooking and washing purposes, and yet they don't get ill, how is that? And if so, did you try to apply it to your own activities with water? I am curious, because it would be interesting to know how such a comparison gets assessed by yourself.</p> <p>Feel always free to PM me, in delicate matters. We're here for support and companionship.</p> <p>Best from a grey and dull Holland, Cuthbert. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/water-contamination-worries#post-64374 Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:32:38 +0000 daisychain7 64374@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>I have had OCD for a while now but over the past week my obsessions concerning water seem to have become more prominent. I have always (I suppose) "unconsciously" had worries about water contamination resulting in me leaving the shower running 10 minutes before I get in it, so the water that hit my body isn't contaminated, filling a glass with water at least 3 times before actually drinking it, for the same reason and also reboiling the kettle if I don't make a drink straight away, even if the water is still at full boiling temperature. Over the past week the thoughts about contamination have become more "conscious" and I keep getting the urge to run the taps to get rid of water contamination, to the point where I have felt very stressed and found it emotionally hard to travel and work. The only trigger that I can think of is that I've recently started a new job in an office where we have a kettle and my office mate told me that I shouldn't keep boiling the kettle (which upset me), also I'm using water that doesn't come from my own home (I have a thing about that too, I think that water that's not from my own home has more of a chance of being contaminated because I'm not the only person who uses the water). </p> <p>I was wondering whether any of you have similar issues or any tips on how to overcome this problem? </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/pure-o-any-advise#post-54886 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:47:28 +0000 Ratwomble 54886@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi megz,</p> <p>Welcome to the forum. I know what you mean about perfecionism and interventionism. I always feel That if there is a "situation" I want to intervene and do something about it. This is not always the best course of action.</p> <p>OCD is a lot like perfectionism, but taken to extremes. It's a bit like paranoia too.</p> <p>Best wishes</p> <p>David </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/pure-o-any-advise#post-54882 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:23:01 +0000 bunnymad82 54882@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>HI and welcome to the Forum. I have had ocd for nearly a year and it feels like a blooming lifetime. </p> <p>I can totally relate to you on this on because i myself am a total perfectionist with quite a lot of things. I am always worrying about have i said this or that right at work and at home, i ruminate over past conversations, events and ordinary things that i have done in the day. Its exhausting. It often leave me with very little energy to do things that i want to with my family, and when tired or stressed that makes me much worse. </p> <p>I at the moment seem to be obsessed over the way i feel. Like generally my feelings and that i should be feeling this, or i shouldnt be feeling that. Its so complex sometimes what goes on mi my head that i dont know wether i am coming or going. </p> <p>I agree with Tess, as i know i do this all the time, You are being if anything too responsible with issues. therapy is hard work, and it takes a lot of effort. I have had cbt and it did help me greatly but i found it hard at first to have to talk about stuff that to everyone else may seem trivial. </p> <p>Please feel free to PM at anytime. i am here for you to bend an ear. </p> <p>Hugs Laura </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/pure-o-any-advise#post-54816 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:25:39 +0000 Tess 54816@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi megz<br /> Welcome to the forum. No, I don't think you're being irresponsible, if anything you are being overly responsible. If you are tired and stressed to the eyeballs you have to dismiss things or you would blow a fuse and most people wouldn't think twice about doing it in those circumstances.<br /> I don't think it is possible for anyone to go back over and over past conversations obsessing about what they said or didn't say without it intruding into their life in a negative way, but of course this is what OCD does to us.<br /> I think you need to work on your self esteem because therapy is a two way process and I get the impression you are trying too hard to be perfect. Your therapist is human too and can only advise what he or she thinks you should be doing, you are both trying to unravel the obsessions, you are not sitting an exam. As long as you feel you are progressing I don't think it really matters how correctly you do your homework, it is up to you to test your own boundaries and stretch them and to learn how far you can push yourself. You may even feel you can do more than you have been asked to do. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/pure-o-any-advise#post-54813 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:54:39 +0000 megz150 54813@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi, i'm new to this forum. I'm 21 and have had ocd for 6 years now. Im in the process of really trying to understand my ocd but im finding that im now obsession about doing therapy correctly. Has anyone else had this and can give some good advise.</p> <p>I struggle a great deal about harm coming to myself and am used to obsessively checking my mind for answers and ruminating. Sometimes it feels so much like I literally caant stop ruminating and that when I try, I still cant help but get flashes of events and memories that are my current obsessions &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_sad.gif&quot; title=&quot;:(&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>Often at work, I'll be so tired and the maximum stress levels that sometimes I'll dismiss things on that basis-that im so completely worn out, is this bad?</p> <p>Do u believe that to some degree, it is a case of no-one can possibly dwell over and sort out all their 'wrong doings'-such as conversations, things they've done, things they've said, bcos this prevents ppl from having a normal life? I always believe i'm letting go of real things, that i should be sorting out and mending/confronting but instead I let it go. is this wrong? this is being irresponsible? </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/a-thought-about-contamination-issues#post-52883 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 23:06:12 +0000 wannabefree 52883@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi Tess, Trudy and David, thank you ever so much for your info, it gives me more sense in what I'm trying to do...<br /> I'll write more tomorrow cos I'm absolutely exhausted now and cant think straight... chat tomorrow, wannabe </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/a-thought-about-contamination-issues#post-52865 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:07:12 +0000 Ratwomble 52865@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>I think that the problem is the OCD, not contamination. The OCD is distorting normal thoughts about health and making us do odd things. With me it also hits plugs and debris on the road. With you it is contamination. With every one of us it is slightly different but the OCD is the common issue. </p> <p>All of the worries and thoughts are normal. It is the obsessive rumination and compulsions that are not.</p> <p>Does that make any sense? I've rewritten it twi e and am still not 100% sure I'm making my point clearly!</p> <p>David </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/a-thought-about-contamination-issues#post-52861 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:09:32 +0000 truddles 52861@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>I agree with what Tess has said.<br /> Nothing on this planet stands in isolation, everything interacts with everything else. We are all ‘contaminating’ the world around us, every time that we touch something we live a bit of us behind, hence the development of forensic science. We leave hair, sweat and skin cells where ever we go.<br /> Even inanimate objects leave their mark on the world often on a microscopic level - concrete, stone, metal all gradually erode or oxidise leaving traces around them on other objects. But most of this 'contamination' isn't harmful in any way whatsoever or none of us would survive, but with OCD we're unable to see this, we just see danger in everything. Seeing the potential danger in everything is a mechanism that we've put in place initially to protect ourselves but this supposed safety mechanism takes over and eventually becomes our main problem.<br /> Everyone has the same thoughts that we with OCD have such as ‘Is it contaminated?’ That’s how we as humans assess whether it’s safe or not to proceed with any given action. Where it differs is that people without OCD have the thought, often subconsciously or fleetingly and then are able to quickly decide as to whether to proceed or not and then they forget the thought. But people with OCD aren’t able to do that, we seem to have lost that ability and so tend to perceive danger everywhere that we go. </p> <p>Everyone continually has thoughts going through their head and those without OCD are able to filter out the unwanted ones and only pay heed to those that are relevant to the particular situation that they find themselves in. We with OCD tend to pay attention to all the thoughts relevant or not. We get a thought in our head and we just can’t let it to and tend to catastrophise and see the potential danger in everything. We seem to have lost the ability to filter out unwanted thoughts and the ability to assess potential risks without over analysing.<br /> <center><strong>But we can relearn those skills &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; <br /> They are not lost for ever, it just takes time to relearn them. </strong><br /> </center> </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/a-thought-about-contamination-issues#post-52853 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 11:35:09 +0000 Tess 52853@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi wannabe<br /> To the best of my knowledge the answer to your first question is yes. The vast majority of people come into contact with the things we fear without even giving it a thought let alone having feelings of fear or anxiety about it. And in almost every case they come to no harm whatsoever, even if they have contact with things like dog poo. This has reminded me of an incident when I was a child and my friend and I thought we had found a piece of chalk on the pavement but when we started writing with it we discovered it was white dog poo - and we didn't wash our hands for hours afterwards and neither of us had any ill effects.<br /> In answer to your question does everything contaminate the world to enable us to develop immunities I think this is a complex subject but as I understand it our bodies are designed to protect us from harm and the simple answer to your question is also yes. Your reasoning is on the right track, you are not way off the mark.<br /> As for your question about food hygeine and CBT this is omething I have also wondered about and I think some CBT threapists go over the top in what they expect people to do to counter their contamination fears. For example, at our support group one day the psychologist licked her fingers, rubbed the sole of her shoe and then licked them again - and then said with a horrified expression "I don't believe I've just done that!". I've heard of practices such as CBT therapists making people wipe their hands round toilet bowls and then eat their sandwiches to prove they won't come to any harm and I personally think this is a step too far, in fact I will be very controversial here and say I regard it as abuse and dehumanisation.<br /> When I was a child our water was heated by a coal boiler and my nan used to cook the dinner at lunchtime and mine would be left on top of the boiler to keep warm until I got home from school. This goes against all the food hygeine advice and I am amazed that I never got ill, but the fact is that I didn't. But it is sensible to follow precautions when handling different kinds of food, especially raw meat because until it is cooked it will contain bacteria which can then be spread to other foods which you may eat without cooking.<br /> As for your final question everyone will have a degree of immunity and resistance to disease unless they have had to have medical treatment such as transplant surgery in which case they will be on drugs to suppress the immune system which would otherwise reject the transplant.<br /> I am nervous of posting this because sometimes understanding the facts can fuel the OCD thoughts - there was a thread a while back in which two or three of us tried to explain the facts about clothes eating moths and we just made the situation worse. So I hope you find this helpful. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/a-thought-about-contamination-issues#post-52850 Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:07:13 +0000 wannabefree 52850@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>I really struggle with this one but, I've just had this thought...<br /> When I believe that I'm contaminating the world, am I simply doing what evryone else does naturally,all the time, without thinking about it? But I can't stop thinking about it...all the time? Is it accurate and rational to say that the people around us come into contact with the stuff we fear all the time, but they don't fear, all the time? Yet they don't come to harm do they?, otherwise no one would survive? Does every thing, in it's own way, sort of 'contaminate' the world, but not in a bad way, which is how we develop our immunities and physical resistances? 'Contamination' sounds such a negative word, but in a way, is it part of our survival? Or am I way off here?<br /> In catering, they use food hygiene rules, and yet, in my understanding, At home, and in cafes, CBT encourages us to defy all that, or am I simply taking this wrong? I just can't get my head around this... I'm so scared all the time...<br /> Are the people we fear 'contaminating', already resistant and immune anyway, simply due to their own life experience of touching things in their own environment? Does this make sense to anyone? </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/grocery-store-visit-freaked-me-out-today#post-46040 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:58:45 +0000 lah71 46040@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hi Sarah</p> <p>Sorry to hear you had a bad experience the other day but great to hear you are feeling better today. I've just had a similar few days with reason and fears but am feeling a bit more positive today. I got your PM thanks, will message you back later.</p> <p>Take care<br /> Laura x </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/grocery-store-visit-freaked-me-out-today#post-46037 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:29:33 +0000 sarah81 46037@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Thanks Cuthbert, I am feeling better about it today. I just have to trust my own eyes with what I saw, and not try to re-write my memory and frighten myself.<br /> That's an interesting story about the radioactive glass. I probably wouldn't want to drink out of it either, even knowing how well it had been cleaned. Maybe it's like how people won't want to buy a house in which someone has been murdered, even though it's all been repainted/redone etc. It's not logical at all, yet it's quite common.<br /> Three cheers for reason! </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/grocery-store-visit-freaked-me-out-today#post-46036 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:18:39 +0000 Cuthbert ffoliott 46036@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Hiya Sarah -</p> <p>wishing you all the best with this issue. You know: even for non-OCD people this might have been unsettling. I think that seeling a piece of cloth with blood can scare anyone (out of evolutionary dispositions). So for you it must be extra hard.</p> <p>Am I right in thinking that no rationale that you are able to apply on the grounds of your study is enough to calm you down entirely?</p> <p>Weird - suddenly I recalled an analogy, not HIV related, but about radioactivity. Someone once told me that she'd drunk wine out of a glass thingy that was once used for carrying harmless radioactive tracers (very low concentration, very short halflife) from one room to another. It had, of course, been cleaned to lab standard with detergents, measured with counting machines (standard procedures), the lot.</p> <p>Yet I jumped: how could anyone do such a thing? I really needed some time in convincing myself that this must have been the cleanest glass in the whole city, if not the whole country, so to speak - because if it were to be used for further experiments, it had to be absolutely contamination-free. So using it for drinking was as safe as could be determined in any way humanly possible.</p> <p>It's the fight between our reason and our fears.</p> <p>Ciao, Cuthbert. </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/grocery-store-visit-freaked-me-out-today#post-45993 Sun, 19 Sep 2010 10:39:01 +0000 sarah81 45993@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>Thanks you guys.<br /> I think that just seeing that there was something bloody sticking out of a garbage can was almost as disturbing to me as the idea of my little girl being close to it. I end up feeling like the world is so dangerous and scary when something like that happens.<br /> I don't think I have ever seen bloody garbage sticking out of a garbage can before, in my whole life, but seeing it now when I am in this really worried state of mind was just quite bad timing for me.<br /> Anne, I am going to stop mulling about this, as you suggest. It certainly doesn't help.<br /> Thanks you guys for all your nice comments.<br /> Sarah </p> http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/topic/grocery-store-visit-freaked-me-out-today#post-45985 Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:53:02 +0000 truddles 45985@http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/ <p>I'm pleased that you were able to confide in your friend, it must ease the burden being able to share and to know that you're not the only one at medical school with OCD.</p> <p>It's not easy to not focus on your fears but being able to discuss today with a friend will help. &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p>