Tamper proof seals

[AngryRobot]

Sorry in advance if this is the wrong section to post this but I didn't feel this question fit anywhere else.

For some reason I've got this irrational fear that people will poison food/drink at the grocery store. For this reason I will only buy things with a safety seal.

I drink a lot of juice but recently I discovered that if I loosen the cap enough I can squeeze the liquid inside out without breaking the seal at all. This can also be used (in my mind) to put poison inside without breaking the seal. (By using the vacuum)

At first I thought maybe this one was just bad so I threw out the whole bottle and got a new one. I have to check the seals before I open things. Well, turns out...they all do it. No more juice right? Wrong. Every single bottle I've tired (With the exception of deer park) does the same thing.

Now I'm too scared to even drink anything unless it comes out of a can...

I feel really silly...I know nobody's trying to poison me but I can't help but worry about it.

If anyone has something to add that might make me feel better about this situation I'd really appreciate it. :unsure:

[MyNameIsTerry]

This sounds more like paranoia as you have this underlying irrational fear of deliberate poisoning by others.

Do you have other forms of anxiety as well as this?

Paranoia can be treated with CBT in the same way that it treates anxiety disorders.

I think many of us will experience forms of paranoia at some stage in our anxiety disorders and really what you are describing shares common ground with the OCD forms that concern contamination hence similiar treatment.

I don't think anyone will think this is weird or anything, OCD tends to have themes that seem strange, they are irrational by nature and feel like you have no control over yourself. You can regain this though. I would say give Mindfulness a go because it will teach you to control your thoughts more effectively and you may need something like Exposure Therapy/Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) to habituate to these situations.

Are you getting any help in the form of therapy?