Have you heard about that stupid new study of ATMs and germs as much as I have? I'm composing a ranting blog post about it in my head, but it's still forming.
On Saturday, I did a pretty good job with exposures. I walked 10 minutes in the rain to the game (without spending hours ruminating about it), went to book club, shopped at about 5 stores without any handwashing. This included putting a trip to the thrift store right before grocery shopping. It gave me some pause, but I did it.
I also put a book on hold at the library. I will arrive at a "bad" time, and I almost cancelled the hold, sat and stared at the screen for about 3 minutes. Then clicked OK. It felt good.
Interestingly, just as my boss is almost done with chemo, I'm feeling like something is wiggy with my own health. Despite my fear of germs, I'm actually sort of an "anti-hypochondriac," generally just waiting for any symptoms I have to subside. They often do. So we'll see.
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You are stronger than you think!
8 months ago
Good for you! I, too, take pause when out shopping or running errands, sometimes suddenly struck by the "wrongness" of their order from a contamination standpoint.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to hear about the ATMs. I haven't read anything about the studies. What is frustrating to me about things like that is the highly distorted thinking that the media promotes and the way it ensnares people like us who are sensitive to that sort of thing. The truth is EVERYTHING is dirty, people just tend not to think about it. Yes, ATMs probably are covered in germs. But so are a lot of other things. "Normal" people may find themselves appalled by the germs on ATMs, and they may even engage in some compulsive avoidance, but we know the truth: they are dirty, like everything else. I just find it frustrating because when the general population supports contamination fears and compulsive counter-measures, it makes it that much harder to resist, even when I know what's best for me, as an OCD sufferer.
Yes! That's exactly right.
ReplyDeleteHi Ann! I saw the news about ATM, I have avoided pressing ATM bottons for about a year I think, i use other items to press the pins. When I saw that news, i was like " See, im right!".
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I got diagnosed with severe OCD, fear of contamination recently, by reading your blog, i think we are very similar!
I will start expsoure therapy next week, i hope i can get better soon!
TTT