Yuck

[Cutelittlenose]

((This is less an observation and more of a panic.))

Had to escape anime club about an hour ago, when a girl came in, supposedly, with the tail-end of a cold. And then another guy had bronchitis, which, strangely, didn’t shock me as bad. But acute bronchitis is contagious. Don’t know which he had. Considering sending a question. Not too sure if that’s rude.

Should I go ahead and dig my own grave?

Germs are so dangerous.

Did not feel comfortable when T came in with a cold. Too many germs in the air. Probably escaped too slowly. Should probably go ahead and prepare a deathbed.

Disgusting.

There was no sneezing. Only coughing.

Scary germs.

Thoughts on what I should do? Is suing possible?

[LapidotLover22]

No, you can't sue people for being sick. I'd look into meditation for the panic problem.

I say just take a long shower with lots of soap and drink lots of fluids NOW so you can flush out the bad germs before they strike you down, or more likely, to give yourself some peace of mind.

Hope that helps.

Edited September 12, 2015 by SoulSong22

[bloom]

Thoughts on what to do: Do whatever you normally do to bring yourself down from panic. This is a phobic reaction, not a rational one. Remind yourself that unless you're severely immunocompromised nobody dies from a cold.

Have you considered looking into therapy for your mysophobia? Because it seems like it affects your life in a debilitating way and a therapist might be able to help you with that.

[Sawyer]

Don't ask unless it's out of actual sincere concern for their well-being, or you have a legitimate condition that causes immunosuppression.

I understand having a phobia (mine was really debilitating until a few years ago), but you're going to be fine. Cold (and bronchitis) germs aren't dangerous unless, like I said, you're immunosuppressed. They're also not as contagious as you'd think, and unless you spent, like, 5+ hours with them for days or made out with them, you probably won't catch it. Just rest and drink a lot of water. It's very unlikely that you will catch something.

[SleepingPhlox]

I don't usually like to put this out there, but I feel like it'd help if you knew where I was coming from and not just spouting empty platitudes-for years I suffered with extremely life-limiting anxiety. I live a full happy life now. The latter is so much better. So when there is a chance I can tell people that it doesn't have to be like this, I feel like I have to.

It does not have to be like this. You do not have to live your life with this level of anxiety. I can't offer any advice because what worked for me mightn't work for you. If you have access to therapy or a doctor, I would highly recommend that. Keep in mind it might take a couple tries to find the right one for you. Otherwise: books, videos, stuff on YouTube.

As for the immediate situation, try not to feed into it. Thats probably a tall order if you're in the grip of anxiety, but try. Distract yourself with something you enjoy. Feeding into the fear only makes it take control of your life even more.

Its not easy to change your thinking. It takes a lot of work and sometimes feels impossible. But it us possible if you get the right help.

Hang in there, okay?

[March Hare]

Do not ever talk so lightly about deathbeds and graves again.

You have a problem with anxiety which causes you to greatly magnify the risks of germs and contagion. Be fully aware of this, and do NOT act out like this anywhere outside of this forum. Practice some self-restraint in real life.

[BananaTree]

I have germphobia too so I get it. Plus an autoimmune disease so germs are dangerous for me.

[Juniebee]

On September 14, 2015 at 8:20 PM, BananaTree said:

I have germphobia too so I get it. Plus an autoimmune disease so germs are dangerous for me.

Yikes! If you don't mind me asking...what disease? I'm just a huge, sympathetic, medical nerd....?

Thankfully, I can generally avoid getting sick, so I only get edgy if someone does something ridiculous, like sneeze/cough w/o covering thier mouth.

[Elektra]

Hi there. Sympathizing with you.

Plus, if I might add on a general level, I'm very touched to see the level of deep conversations and serious stuff going on on the forum, as well as mutual help and support. I mean, don't get me wrong : I *am* here for the fun stuff , but working things out and understanding ourselves better is also a big part of it.

Personnally, I have a disease that lowers my immunity, so a simple cold *can* turn into a full fledge infection that will last a month, and then another yet to recover. So in the past few years I have turned more or less germophobic ; at first it was kind of a joke on me , like 'we know you're paranoid and hate germs,' and such, and I'd get wisecracks but that was it. Then I started realizing that it wasn't so trivial : one day, I was in a work group and this one woman stepped out to the bathroom once, then twice, and a few times more, obviously with diarrhea. (sorry for the details) I started focusing on the fact I couldn't hear the water run : she had *not* washed her hands, and things went downhill from there.

What I'm trying to say is : what helps is watching what goes on in your mind, and confront it to reality. *What does mind say, what does reality say?* My mind told me I was gonna get sick and puke myself to death and it would start a fit that would trigger my other health issues and I'd be grounded for the next year. And trust me, it had *good* arguments.

Reality said the woman wasn't high on hygiene, true, but also didn't have anything serious. And I *never* got sick.

Colds *can* turn really bad for me, okay. But the reality of it is that most of the time, they don't.  Mind takes one example, (usually the worst one, have you noticed?:) and turns it into generality. Watch it carefully and don't trust your mind when you're in a panic, because emotions will make it speak all kinds of stupid things to you, all based on your worst fears.

On a more practical level, every time I find myself in your situation (I don't react as strongly, but it does get to me), I get Ravensara essential oil out of my pocket and rubs one drop on the inside of each wrist, and under each ear. It's very efficient against anything remotely contagious.

And it gives you time to do whatever you need to do, including get the hell out of dodge You're gonna be fine.

[BananaTree]

On ‎7‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 1:26 PM, Mwsapphire said:

Yikes! If you don't mind me asking...what disease? I'm just a huge, sympathetic, medical nerd....?

Thankfully, I can generally avoid getting sick, so I only get edgy if someone does something ridiculous, like sneeze/cough w/o covering thier mouth.

Lupus.