Is this OCD?? please someone reply, im worried im going insane.

[jen2503]

Hiya,

Im new to this section, i originally come from the health anxiety section! But thankfully i have overcome my health anxiety to the extent where i can live a normal life at the moment, i dont freak out at the drop of a hat ect which is great but....

i appear to be left with what may seem like a germ phobia type thing! i will explain what i mean so it may hopefully make more sense lol

i dont like germs, i dont like chemicals, i dont like dirt. now the problem is i get a bit funny about germs being in my eyes! if i have been cleaning i have to scrub my hands a few times with anti bacterial handwash before i can relax as i worry that if i itch my eye i will get germs in them and go blind! i am the same about germs, if i change my babies nappy i have to make sure my hands are scrubbed afterwards.

its making it a bit annoying to do housework, i have to clean to get rid of germs but then i have to clean my hands to get rid of cleaning chemicals.

another thing, my dog has sore skin at the moment, he is a staff and has a skin condition, not harmful to humans, i know this but i cant touch him, i cannot bring myself to stroke him in case i get infected with something!!

is this OCD? or is it the beginning of OCD? I used to have afear of blindness and i think the germ thing is coincided with that for some reason and its starting to annoy me. like i said, im not anxious as such, i dont have panic attacks anymore, i dont freak out at little things, i dont worry im dying but i do feel the need to be clean and i hate it.

the other day i cleaned the bathroom like i always do and i used bleach flash spray like i always do, i rinsed it down and dried it after cleaning like i always do but i could not settle until i had rinsed the whole bathroom and bath at least five times and then i had to fill the bath and use bubble bath to remove the bleach smell so i could stop thinking about the bleach being in the bathroom even though i had washed it all away!

I'm going mad arent i.

[lleksam]

Hey Jen,

I have had OCD for 8 years now and mildly to do with cleaning and chemicals.

I also dislike chemicals being on my hands and germs and even convinced myself I could feel when chemicals where on my skins compared to say water.

I did a test, closed my eyes and my GF put a little water on my skin and a little cleaning fluid and asked me to point to which was the chemical. I got it wrong almost every time :)

Many people dislike germs and chemicals and reclean stuff a few times but it does not mean it is full blown OCD, It becomes more likely to be OCD if the thoughts are unwanted and intrusive and cause so much anxiety and doubt that the only way you feel relief is to act on the a compulsion to clean away whatever it is.

If you find yourself unable to live with the doubt about something being perfectly clean and follow the compulsion to re clean it could be OCD but from reading your post it doesn't sound like OCD to me, OCD thoughts always come with anxiety and its not the same sort of anxiety you get from HA.

[stevenr1986]

ok so i fear that herpes type 1 (the NONE GENITAL cold sore type) is going to get into my eyes and cause ocular herpes which would or could blind me! so i was advised to wash my hands after i touch my face in case i cross contaminate from my nose (where the cold sore was) to my eyes! i wash my hands and worry that i may have contaminated my eyes! i have no issues concerning chemicals and i find the more power the chemical has in its ability to destroy viruses the more i like it! i use Dettol disinfectant spray on my hands as it 'kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria' meaning i like to use it as it gives me peace of mind. i also use very strong soaps and hand cleaners! does this mean i have OCD?