OCD during lockdown

[Ariadnee]

Hello, everyone! Hope you do well. I am battling with OCD the last ten years (I am 29). During 2020 I feel a bit uncomfortable socializing and I have the need to disinfect everything. I personally don't think that I'm overreacting but my closed ones think otherwise. I am currently in lockdown. I feel very angry when I see all those people in social media hanging around, having fun at houses. Why am I locked down? My dad is in the hospital-nothing to do with Covid19-and I am so stressed that someone might infect him. I leave with my boyfriend. We only go out for groceries and sometimes for a walk with masks and all. But I am afraid that he might meet his closed ones during Christmas and get infected and then infect me and then I might infect my family and eventually my dad who gets help from my mother... Am I overreacting? I feel so disappointed when my boyfriend or my mother tell me that it's just OCD and I don not need to be so isolated. Am I unreasonable for cleaning everything after I come home from the supermarket? Am I insane if I don't my boyfriend to go for a walk-with mask-with his best friend because I fear that he might get infected? Should I stay alone during Christmas? Is it just OCD? My dad may be home for Christmas i fear that if we interact with someone we might infect him.... Sorry for the long post, bad English and saying the same again and again.....

[MothFir]

Can you talk to a doctor or someone from a local health department? It is hard to know how much of this is OCD and how much is good precaution without knowing all the specifics of your situation, like your family's health, Covid levels where you live, etc.

A lot of my OCD themes right now involve contamination and I find it very helpful to establish some sort of baseline for what is reasonable behavior. If you talk to a health professional, they can tell you whether some of the activities you mention are risky or not, and if so how you can deal with it (quarantine for a period of time before seeing your dad, for example, etc.). Just don't make an obsession out of it by constantly asking for the same information (always a temptation for those of us with OCD).

Once you know what is reasonable it will be easier for you to determine whether your anxiety is legitimate or not. For example, if a doctor says it is probably okay for your boyfriend to spend time with his friend as long as they are masked and stay reasonably apart from each other, you will know that the anxiety you feel about that is not something you should pay attention to. But if the doctor says your boyfriend shouldn't do that because of a significant risk to your dad, then you know it's a real concern.

These sorts of situations can be tricky to navigate. Do the best you can to find a balance between keeping your loved ones safe from Covid and doing what's best for your mental health.

[Ariadnee in reply to MothFir]

Thank you so much for your help!!! You are right. I will talk to someone...

[Playonwords]

Hi! Have you seen this article on the IOCDF page? It might be helpful for you 💚iocdf.org/covid19/covid-19-...

[Ariadnee in reply to Playonwords]

Thank you for your reply! It is very helpful indeed!