My name is Dean and im new here.

[DeanOz]

Hi all

My name is Dean , I'm 34 and live in Australia.I'm new to these forums and will try and see if i can help myself sort myself out.If i don't see any improvement i will then seek medical advice/help as well.

I seem to suffer from a few conditions and really cant label which one is the worst as they all tie within one another.I feel by even just chatting here about myself i maybe able help myself to a better road to recovery.

I suffer from :The fear of getting infected or been infected and infecting others , i have a phobia of needles/syringes and am fearful i will step on one or touch one and in hence get infected .I'm not keen on seeing blood and am worried that when i touch an item or box ect , that it has blood spots or dry blood on it.

I wash my hands many times a day to keep dirt/germs ect off so i can be as clean as possible.If i get a small cut on my finger or hands ect , i need to cover with band aids ect as quick as possible to remain clean.I cant bring myself to share plates/cups/forks with anybody else (family or friends) and will have all my own plates ,forks ,cups ect in a separate draw for use.I cant walk on the beach , long grass , alley ways , around bins , dark streets at night for the fear of stepping on a needle/syringe.

I barely ever go out anymore stay home most of the time , and have very few friends left.The friends i do have left invite me to there home but i always decline in fear i have something that i will pass onto them/there family members.

As you can see I'm pretty screwed up and i know i need help.I'm hoping by starting here i can start to deal with this all and see what happens.

Thanks for reading.
Dean.

[titchjd]

Hiya Dean ....
welcome 2 NMP hopefully u will get help and advice on here .U arent screwed up at all you are just having 2 deal with something you dont really understand .Do you know why u are scarred of infection and infecting people ? have u had a bad experience at all .U might get some help looking at the OCD links ....I havent suffered with it myself I suffer with severe anxiety but I do know someone who does and shes the same she has 2 wash hands constantly and doesnt drink from any cup other than her own will only use her toilet even if shes desperate and will wash her hands after handling money as she feels she will catch an infection or germs .
How long have u had this ?
I hope you find some advice on here Im sure you will xxxx

[DeanOz]

Hi titchjd and thankyou for the welcome.

Ive had these issues for around 20 years i say , talk about old habits die hard , im in for a battle to change i know.

I have gotten worse in the past 2 years or so and have become more restrictive on the way i live.I guess the earliest experiance i can relate back too is when i was about 8 or 9 the Australian Government ran an ad on TV showing what would happen to people who caught HIV.It was a horror looking ad showing the grim reaper in a 10 pin bowling alley , bowling a ball down the laneways and knocking down the people (who where standing where the pins are).It showed men , woman and children all crying and been bowled down and as they fell they were then dead.

It was an awful ad and it never left my mind , in fact there was a huge outcry about the ad here and it was banned very soon afterwards.Those haunting pictures have stayed with me ever since and i can honestly say i never recovered or thought the same way again after seeing it.

Dean.

[lorac]

Hi Dean

:welcome: to the site I am sure you will get lots of good advice and support on here.

Take care

Carol

[Lindalou64]

Hello Dean And Welcome To The Site... Im Sure You Will Find Lots Of Information And Support Here,i Wish Ya Well,linda

[milly jones]

hi dean

i can identify with some of ur issues

a big welcome to nmp

love milly xxx

[belle]

Hi Dean and welcome :)

x

[DeanOz]

Thankyou everyone , its amazing how when one starts to read that there are so many others like myself.As im so new at this , what is the next best thing to do on here? , do i go to a forum and write in further detail on what im feeling? , and just get it all out in the open......like off my chest?
Dean :)

[Captain America]

i'm new here too. i do this a little still today but at one point i wouldn't touch anything anywhere. i think i got over the worst of it when anxiety picked something else to terrorize me with.

i was afraid to get mrsa. i wouldn't leave the house after dusk because i was afraid of west nile virus. etc, etc.

unfortunately, the best course for this is exposure therapy. my therapist explained to me that anxiety feeds off our behavior, so although cbt is really helpful, if we don't change the behavior then anxiety wins. also the patterns get closer together the more we feed it, so that explains why we get worse and worse, in my case first not going to the hospital, then the store, then my parents' house because they sounded like they had colds.

before you know it, your house is the only safe place. exposure therapy for me worked in reverse. i started with my parents' house. i didn't get sick. then i went to the grocery store, and so on.

anyway i paid a therapist to tell me what i probably already knew. i didn't get too bad with it so i nipped it in the bud, but maybe it will help you.

good luck

[nomorepanic]

Hi Dean

I just wanted to :welcome: you aboard and lovely to see you here.

You will get loads of support and advice on here and meet some lovely people.