Asbestos anxiety

[losin]

My ocd has fixated on something that has spiralled over the past few days.
It started when I read something online about vermiculite loft insulation possibly being contaminated with asbestos. Apparently a major supplier from the States imported the contaminated insulation years ago. We have vermiculite in our loft and it matches the description of the dangerous one. There is fibreglass insulation laid over it, but there are huge patches where it doesn't fit and the vermiculite is on full show. I started to get paranoid that it was dangerous for us to have our stuff in the loft and that the kids have been exposed to it when they've helped me load boxes up there.
The more I looked online for info (always a bad mistake where ocd is concerned!) the more scared I became as it said artex ceilings can also contain asbestos and that the artex shouldn't be drilled or cut into. We had our loft hatch enlarged a few years ago and the builder never mentioned that the artex could be dangerous. They cut the larger hole and cleaned up and that was that.
I have drilled into the kitchen ceiling to hang a pan hanger from the ceiling. Apparently this is a no-no as well.
I'm terrified I've exposed my family to dangerous asbestos and that they're going to get ill in the future because of me. I'm so scared I can't eat and have been throwing up because of the fear.
Why didn't I research all these things before? Why has all this only occurred to me now?
My husband says because the house used to be a local authority property it would probably have been tested for asbestos in the past.
I'm so bloody frightened. My husband says it's my ocd playing tricks and the risks were minimal - he thinks we're more at risk from other things in everyday life like driving on the motorway or eating junk food.

[ankietyjoe]

Unless you're up there slapping it and breathing it in for months/years on end the risk is zero. Not small, zero.

[losin]

Really? For the vermiculite AND the artex? I'v read such scary things online about exposure causing horrible deadly diseases :( :( :(

[ankietyjoe]

Really? For the vermiculite AND the artex? I'v read such scary things online about exposure causing horrible deadly diseases :( :( :(

Well stop reading them then if they're scaring you!

[losin]

I keep telling myself I'm making things worse looking things up on the net but that's the nature of my ocd

[losin]

I told my husband that I was going to ask the housing association if the house had ever been tested. It says on their website that over 9,000 homes have been tested. They own about 9,000 homes so it looks like ours would have been done before renovation works were done before we moved in.
My husband says I shouldn't ask them as that is reassurance seeking. They will either tell me it has been tested and put my mind at rest or say it hasn't been done and then I'll worry more.
I know he's right and it's better for my ocd to just not know and to try and sit comfortably with that uncertainty but it's so hard to resist dropping them an email and asking.
I guess this is where my past cbt needs to come into play!

[Pamplemousse]

Hi Losin,

I hope you'll find this useful: www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/iacs/acts/watch/010206/paper1.pdf

It seems to present a very low risk.

[Fishmanpa]

I keep telling myself I'm making things worse looking things up on the net but that's the nature of my ocd

How can people on the other side of a computer screen on a forum stop you from shooting yourself in the foot? To say this is essentially rationalizing it, giving it power and giving yourself permission to do so. I recently came across a couple articles that compared certain mental illnesses like OCD and it's behaviors to drug addiction and co-dependency behaviors which makes perfect sense based on what I've seen on the forums. To say it's complicated is an understatement.

Positive thoughts