'Contamination'

[Carcassonne]

Hey! I've recently started this program and am really struggling in this one area and was wondering if anyone could give me some insights on what to do or how to deal with it. Over the past months (and really bad over the last two) I have become paranoid about germs and contamination. I wash my hands all the time. I also struggle to re-use or touch something if I associate it with being contaminated. If I do touch it I either wash my hands right away, or I just try to put it away so I don't have to use it again. This problem can persist even if I have washed the item. Often if I touch or think of using it I can get a panic attack. In addition I can't eat anything unless I have washed my hands. It wasn't so bad before, but ever since I've gotten married and moved to a new country it has become bizarre. It's frustrating my husband who doesn't really know how to help me and just makes me feel really down. I'm also afraid that it's affecting our marriage. I know that I am being ridiculous at times, but I can't seem to get these worrisome thoughts of what might happen if I use it or touch it out of my head. My husband will tell me I'm being irrational, but to me it doesn't seem like that. I feel alone in this area and like no one really understands me. Has anyone ever felt like this before? Can you give me some insights?

[tawascove]

Hi--this sounds like classic OCD--you are really afraid ,or not willing to deal with at this time,of facing the truly worrisome things in your life. You are suffering from a great deal of stress; it's no wonder you are dealing with other worrisome symptoms. This is a case of OCD where you aren't dealing with the external and internal stressors right now in your life because they are so overwhelming. I hope you can get some good old fashioned down to earth truths from this program--I know that they helped me during my OCD days. GodSpeed to you.~~~Trish