Battery recycling - contamination fear

I am v afraid of leakage from batteries. I find it difficult to dispose of spent ones in the containers provided in supermarkets & usually keep my distance from them.
I urgently need to sort out two v old batteries & dispose of them I went to supermarket to check whether dispenser had sufficient capacity before I brought batteries over. When I looked at the supermarket dispenser it seemed virtually full & I felt v anxious that I could not bring my batteries. I moved closer to it to look at hole at the top of the container to see if there was sufficient room. Someone had put an electronic device in there! I was wearing a hand bag over right shoulder & held it to the front of my body with left hand as I did so. A few minutes later I had a big anxiety spike that the bag may have touched outside of the tall recycling cylinder as I peered at the top part where one puts the batteries.
The next 2 hours tried to rationalise that most batteries disposed there would be ok. If there was any residue of battery alkaline it would be inert.
At home I wiped handbag front with a tissue & continued to use.
I awoke in middle of the night panicking. I wish I had not gone near the container with my handbag. Whenever I dispose batteries I take just the battery and my house key is in my pocket. I broke a safeguard & now feel bag is "contaminated". I still feel upset & anxious despite my efforts.
I rarely post on this site, can any one please offer some useful words of advise.

Hey, you!

Thinking of you!

From what you've said, there's no way your bag could have touched the cylinder, it's just your OCD playing tricks on you.

Of course, nobody ever has enough handbags :) I'd probably treat myself, err, just in case.

I agree with Blue..

This is your mind, not reality.

You will have naturally held your handbag away. We do this subconsciously...

So now your mind is trying to convince you that you didn't do this? But you did because you've just described doing so..

I was wearing a hand bag over right shoulder & held it to the front of my body with left hand as I did so.

When your mind tries to detour you from the truth with a lie - read this back to yourself as many times as it takes..

You didn't touch the cylinder. You're fine.

When I do my checking, I have a list to remind me that I've checked an appliance/socket etc. Seeing it written down helps me, so maybe this will help you to write this down in a way that you can see it? So Post-It notes everywhere - even on your handbag if it helps!

Hi Lucinda,

So it's one of the tall cylinder style recycling bins? In Tesco they have a vending machine style with brush bars where you reach in.

If anything touched your bag there would be a trace of it if there was any form of leak. That could be in the form of a liquid or a crusty salt like substance. So you would have seen it. Since you didn't there is no sign of likely contamination.

So all there really is is what touches the sides as people put things in. Again liquids and crusty substances can be seen and felt. You would know they are there.

This means, based on what you describe, there is no real evidence of possible leaking substances touching you or your bag. Even if there were if they were toxic in some form you would feel that upon touching (If could burn) or wouldn't matter as long as you wash your hands/wipe your hands which is quite normal for anyone to do. If an old leaky battery has crusted you wouldn't be touching your eyes or mouth until you cleaned them, again all normal behaviour.

Also remember that these have been designed to be used with the potential for leaks. If it were dangerous it wouldn't be there in this format for us to use.

So there is no evidence. Only what your subconscious is telling you because it thinks it is protecting you. The scenario itself isn't irrational but your response is. Because of this trained response it is more important to your subconscious that it tries to warn you of it.

You can work on thinking this through rationally. That alone may not reduce your anxiety because your body is flooded with the chemicals associated with anxiety. Therefore you may find it beneficial to speed up their dispersal through activities that get you moving a bit. Walking can help but even housework can help you burn it off. You may feel unable to let it go until these chemicals reduce so distraction work may be needed. Or refocusing work with your breathing and mind such as meditation or visualisation exercises. Maybe even grounding? It's whatever you find works for you and depends on how your anxiety makes you feel since focussing work can be hard if your mind is racing.

I hope you feel better soon. :hugs:

Thank you all for your advice & taking the time to reply.

Have you been able to keep your bag, Lucinda? I understand the urge to ditch it when you're fighting your OCD thoughts. You lost control of your safety measures and it's very hard to deal with the fear and panic that follows.

I rubbed it over my face when I arrived home & as had no issues, I will use it. I can't buy another one like it in any case - traditional shop that used to sell it closed down years ago. Just annoyed with myself for acting on impulse. Other women wouldn't be bothered about such things.

Maybe not but you are you and not"other women" and maybe "other women" would have different issues which you can take in your stride?

You've done very well to successfully challenge your fears re the bag. You could have just thrown it away even if you couldn't replace it with the same one.