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Am i insane for this? OCD

Lately i’ve been not wanting to go into inclosed public spaces, for example, train, supermarket, etc because of fear of the air being ‘dirty’. I realise this is obviously something to get therapy for and I do have OCD, but i believe that my fear is in fact NOT IRRATIONAL and i am extremely sensitive to things, so when i’ve been in an enclosed space like a train or supermarket, i can FEEL that my hair, the skin on my neck etc is EVER SO SLIGHTLY dirtier, and it really bothers me.
Maybe it’s just the place that i live because there are is a proportion of the population who aren’t the cleanest like most people are clean, so i get paranoid that people with bad breath, their breath has diffused into the air etc, am i being completely irrational, has anyone experienced anything like this, is there any truth to it?

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

I don’t know. I’ve been told that I’m at risk of developing ocd if my anxiety gets worse but I get obsessed with they hands being dirty and although I can stop myself from washing my hands more then necessary, unless they are actually dirty, they feel dirty. I also lose the plot if my hands get wet/ sticky. Is this kind of like how you feel?

Anxiety is always worse when there is a rational fear behind it but maybe try some CBT to get some coping mechanisms so that the thoughts are less intrusive and also try the fact-opinion technique (write a list of thoughts and state wether they are fact or opinion).

Hope this helps