Emet and OCD going wild! Desperately need help. OVER 18.

[thelittlestranger]

Hey everyone, I haven't posted on this forum in months but my anxiety is just rocketing and I don't know what to do.

Last week at work (I work in a café) a girl I work with ran off v*. I wasn't there at the time but have since used and touched things she probably did. This was last Wednesday I believe it happened.

It's now Tuesday but I've been off my food all day. The girl I work with said she had been off of her food before she got ill so now I'm panicking like crazy. I haven't eaten much today - half a banana, breakfast biscuit, a muffin and Starbucks about 11am. I tried to eat a sandwich about 1pm to avoid low blood sugar (I was feeling light headed which I've been feeling for a couple of weeks now) but I could only just about manage half and even then I was forcing it down. I eventually came home from uni as my anxiety was just too bad. About 3pm I had some of those mini salted pretzels.

I'm petrified I have the bug the girl I work with had. I can't stop thinking about it. My stomach keeps hurting, I have wind (sorry if TMI) and a headache. I have that horrible throat n* too. I'm scared to eat dinner as well.

On top of all this my OCD is going wild - I keep thinking I've ingested bacteria. I won't go into details as I don't want to come across gross but I just have it in my head I've contaminated myself.

PLUS I have a blood test tomorrow and then back to work.

Please someone help - I haven't felt this bad and anxious in a long time. I just desperately need to talk to someone.

[Danniie_91]

I know Exactly how you feel, i work in an office and a few people a few weeks ago went home with a v* bug, and i avoided going anywhere near them and i was panicing about it all week, and then today my work Colleague said her husband come down with the bug last Night and that instantly made me go mad i wouldnt touch anything , i was even afraid on breathing in case i ingested it from her as i am scared she is carrying the germs, and now i keep having images of me v* and this is causing me to become Nauseous which makes me worry even more, the best thing to do is carry on being Hygienic for example washing your hands for 15 seconds and if it makes you feel better get some antibacterial rub to be extra careful, sometimes i even get some antibacterial wipes and wipe over the surfaces just to be extra careful, but the worst thing you can do is worry as too much worrying can make you feel worse. how long ago was she ill? if it was over a week ago, you would of definitely caught it by now , i think its the worry making you think you are going to get it.

[Syrup]

That's anxiety, not a bug. I am so certain I'd bet money on it. Given that your coworker was ill last week the chances that there are any particles still around today are slim. The chance that you put your hand in the exact spot that there was a particle is even slimmer. The chance that there were remaining particles (that haven't been cleaned in a week!), you touched the exact spot and put them into your mouth is ridiculously slim. Didn't happen. Everything you've described points to anxiety and NOT a virus. SV*s don't typically build up slowly the hit, which is why everyone hates them. Eat something! You're fine.

[emet-ana]

I think it's reasonably unlikely that you caught that girl's bug, unless other coworkers have had it since last Wednesday or the virus has been lingering in the staff toilet.
Try to keep calm by distracting yourself as much as possible, for example if you can- try watching a film/something on TV.
Diet coke contains phosphoric acid, which is a mild anti-emetic so if you can then drink a little of that.