u/Perfect_Chemistry132

I struggle with emetophobia and severe contamination ocd. I refuse to eat fast food because im scared that I'll get sick either from the food or people handling it. There are many foods I refuse to eat from these places. I only slightly trust fancy restaurants and even then there are foods I'll never try because of my fear (oysters etc). Im scared of chicken but eat it because I dont want to seem weird. I force myself to eat when my family wants to go out to dinner. I check reviews top to bottom and sweat in nervousness if someone wants to go get food. Is this typical or bordering on arfid territory? I also only trust food made by specific people. I only eat at other people's houses out of the fear of seeming rude, but the whole thing terrifies me the entire time. I end up hungry all day and am only able to eat without fear when I eat processed snacks that dont require cooking. When I cook meats and eggs I overcook them out of the fear of getting sick from it.

I'm curious if others with OCD have any unique 'rituals' you do. Not just counting by threes or excessively washing hands. I mean things that youre pretty certain others without OCD would think youre crazy if they knew. Mine is a bit strange and has a backstory.

Back in highschool, I went through rough times with dating. My OCD began to peak around then as my anxiety was high. I developed a 'quirk' of doing certain things in order to "decide my fate". If something was worrying me, Id swallow to "avoid the bad thing from happening". If i wanted something to happen, id say i was safe and my luck was safe and then say a random word I felt I didnt say often - as to avoid saying it when I dont want something to happen, and the word I chose was "quilt". (I know its weird, thats why im looking for others with weird rituals/quirks). After saying the word in my head/out loud, id swallow. In my mind the swallow cancelled out the thing i was thinking about so saying a word before that meant the swallow wasn't associated with the thing i wanted to happen...

I know this definitely sounds like crazy nonsense but its been years and I still do it everyday to this day. OCD makes our minds a little kooky 😂

My boyfriend's been in Mexico for a week and so far is totally fine but ive looked online and it says it can take up to 10 days for the sickness symptoms to start. Im worried that if i see him he might get sick while im there and give me it. We do sleepovers for a few days at a time as we live about 40 mins away from each other and gas is expensive. Im trying to be more rational and just see him on Saturday. He gets back on Thursday evening. Im scared tho!! What would you do if you were me? Im trying to recover and be more rational instead of letting the phobia consume me.

My boyfriend's currently in Mexico and leaves tomorrow morning. Hes been there for a week and hasn't gotten sick so far, but ive seen it can take up to 10 days for the bad sickness to kick in. I dont want him to get sick when I see him and get it. Should I wait the 10 days or just wait a few days? I really dont want to get anything.

I feel like since I started this med I became super paranoid. Like scared of being murdered by a stranger. I watch a lot of true crime but never had this fear before. I also get flashes of derealization where I feel like nothing is real. Help! I have anxiety so should I up my zoloft dose? This med helps my depression and adhd but makes me sooo off. If you've experienced the same and fixed it, lmk what worked! Im not sure if I should up my anxiety meds or quit this one.

How do you guys deal with nausea from hangovers? :/ It scares me.

I just drank a few gulps of this sugar free real fruit fruit punch juice. It was left out for like 12 hours. Should I be worried?? My stomach kinda hurts but I am also hungover.