Asbestos OCD and Anxiety

[AnxietyHopeful]

Hey all, looking for some guidance and reassurance about an anxiety trigger I had. TL;DR at the bottom

I work for a retailer, and brought out a pallet of stock onto the store floor. I cut the cling wrap around the stock, and when I went to take it off, a lot of dust came flying off, which isn’t unusual

I saw what looked like white fluff/dust bunnies scattered on top, and threw the top layer of stock onto the floor, because I thought it was weird dust, and proceeded to fill the stock

But what set my anxiety off was seeing the white fluff/dust bunnies that had fallen in the middle of the pallet. And in that instance, I got the thought, “What if this was asbestos?”

I tried to put that thought in the back of my head, not knowing what asbestos even looked like at this point, only knowing it as some kind of dust. For reassurance, I showed the manager, who said they didn’t know what it was, whilst another employee even kicked it around a bit

And for a week after that, I was feeling ok. But that nagging thought of “What if? What if? What if?” just would not stop, until it all just came out and I started crying from the insatiable negative thoughts

I’ve since gotten advice from a different manager, who assured me chances are slim it was asbestos, but the obsessing over what it could have been just doesn’t want to stop

I’ve been to the Dr now, due to restlessness and dry gagging when the negative thoughts become too much, and I have a psych appointment soon. I do have OCD and have a family history of anxiety

And I thought I would share here for thoughts and opinions on my situation. Thank you for anyone taking the time to read

TL;DR saw white fluff, and thought, “Is this asbestos?”, and have been obsessing over what it could have been. Would like thoughts/opinions

[Ggrand]

Hello AnxietyHopeful..

Im sorry your struggling so much with what you think was asbestos...

I knew asbestos hasn’t been used used in Australia for quite a while now..so I went to an Australian Government page and checked it out....this is what I leant..which I copied and pasted here for you..

Asbestos was banned in Australia on the 31st of December 2003. The ban makes it illegal to import, store, supply, sell, install, use or re-use asbestos materials...

I doubt very much it was asbestos as it’s illegal to use it anywhere or for it to be used in packing, imported or stored anywhere in Australia...

I hope I have helped to ease your thoughts a bit..

My kindest and most caring thoughts..

Grandy..

[AnxietyHopeful]

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post. I appreciate your input and hope with help from people like you, I’ll be able to get through this

[Petal22]

Hello Anxietyhopeful,

Sorry you are feeling this way....I had OCD severely ....... anxiety disorder..... I have now recovered from this....

It sounds like you are seeking reassurance which I learned from my therapy was a compulsion... I used to do this all the time... I would obsess over my thoughts with what if s constantly... this would send my anxiety into overdrive....you can work on stopping your compulsions....once you realise what they are...

OCD is a thinking cycle... when you realise what your cycle is you can learn to break free of it....... you CAN recover just like I have......

My cycle would be having the thought... analysing the thought.... seeking reassurance...... I learned not to do these things over time which has freed me from this OCD cycle...

One of my therapies was meditation I highly recommend you do this... every day ....it teaches you to be a bystander of your thoughts and not get so caught up in them....

practice mindfulness....

you CAN overcome this..... with the correct help... I highly recommend you do a therapy for OCD.... you are not alone many people have this condition... even see a clinical psychologist who can help you with strategies...

here if you want to chat 😊

[AnxietyHopeful]

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post

Since I first started the thread, I have come to the realisation that this whole episode might not have to do with asbestos at all, but my lack of control of the situation, so you saying I need some kind of reassurance is spot on

And the way you describe your OCD cycle is pretty much the same way as me. Get a thought, overanalyse, seek reassurance... and when I can’t find reassurance, my thoughts get more negative and that’s when the spiral gets out of control

If you don’t mind, can you please expand more on what you did to overcome this, as unfortunately my psychologist appointment isn’t until Feb

I have taken your idea of meditation to heart; I am now looking at apps and classes to start myself off with. I value any more input to overcome this debilitating disorder we all share

[Petal22]

Hello Anxiety Hopeful,

Well done on your realisation 😊 also that’s fantastic you are looking into meditation.... try to find a meditation for “ watching thoughts “ try to meditate every day...... it will teach you to be a bystander of your thoughts and not get so caught up in them...... it takes time and practice but the more you do it the better you will become at it 😊 meditation is such a wonderful daily activity that will really benefit you in every day life....... I believe it’s what got me over the line with my ocd......

How did I overcome my ocd? It took time and lots of practice with the skills I was taught at my therapy......

have you also looked into mindfulness?
when you feel yourself having a thought that makes you anxious put your attention onto something in the present moment like if your washing the dishes what does the water feel like? What sounds can you hear? What can you smell? Practice doing this in everyday activities really put mindfulness into what you are doing..... it’s a great tool to have 😊 it brings you out of your head...... and into what you are actually doing...

if you are driving your car.... what can you notice on the road? Sounds also... what does the steering wheel feel like? What does the seat feel like on your back?

we were taught how to challenge our thoughts also which was really good...

we also wrote our anxious thought on a piece of paper and said it over and over again...... this was also good.. it taught me just by having this thought didn’t mean anything.....

I also learned what my cycle was and stopped doing all the things that kept me in it..... eg I stopped seeking reassurance and did mindfulness instead..... I also learned to just let the thoughts be there and come and go and not put my attention on them... ( they will go if we don’t focus on them and get caught up in our cycle)..... meditation really helps with this...

I highly recommend you go outside and do some exercise.... walking ect this really helps.... even a group fitness class at the gym.... I found being with a group of people really helped.....

don’t allow your ocd/ anxiety stop you from doing anything you want to do this will only reinforce your anxiety..... I went against it if it told me not to go out side I went outside....

you will overcome it 😊 never loose hope..... if I had a bad day I’d tell myself tomorrow will be better

im here if you want to chat or need support... any time 😊

[AnxietyHopeful]

Thank you again for replying, and expanding upon what treatments and therapies you have done to help overcome this disorder

Per your advice, I am now using an app to help meditate, which I feel has greatly helped me in reducing my anxiety and stress levels, and I will try to do “mindfulness” in everyday situations now

Thank you again for your help, and I hope anyone else reading knows that you are not alone in our fight against anxiety

[Petal22]

No worries Anxiety Hopeful,

Keep practicing..... it takes practice 😊

that’s great meditation is helping you....

mindfulness is also great..

yes we aren’t alone many people have this condition...

always here if you want to chat

[Guest_342]

Hi AnxietyHopeful,

I'm glad you were seemingly able to recognise the asbestos worry as just another example of something your anxiety decided to cling onto. And for what it's worth - I highly doubt it was asbestos - a retailer would not be allowed these days to stock the material. And, even in the extreeeemely unlikely scenario it was asbestos, you had absolutely minimal exposure, if any - rest easy 🙂

ANYWAY.... I thought I's share a few things that have helped me.

By way of background: My anxiety - which is generally pretty well under control nowadays - used to be put of control. The little bugger would cling onto anything and everything - did I exceed the speed limit (no? I better retrace my steps), did I complete the questions in my tax return properly (not sure? I better spend my whole Saturday going through my past year of bank statements to check I reported everything correctly), did that guy I dated have an STD (there's every chance - I better not socialise with anyone until I get a clear blood test, for the 4th time this year), and the list goes on. I was creating catastrophes in my head and had no time to enjoy my life. I also frequently sought reassurance. I also often tried to disguise the fact I was seeking reassurance, feeling people might judge me for worrying.

One thing I have found that helps (in addition to speaking freely with my GP about my struggles and her particular treatment plan for me) is asking myself what I would advise a friend or family member if they had sought the same reassurance from me - surely I would take a common sense approach in giving that reassurance. Another useful tip I got once was (and this might be especially helpful if you are gradually trying to transition to being less worrisome - rather than cold turkey disregarding your worries, which is so hard to do) to allocate yourself some 'worry time' each day - it might be a few minutes or might be a tad longer. During that time you can give undivided attention to those worries but the catch is you must stop when the allocate time is up, until next time. This can allow you the space you need in your head for the rest of the day and can give you a strong justification for not entertaining particular thoughts when it's not time for that. It's not designed to make you worry more - I think it has the opposite effect because 23.75 hours a day you actually give yourself permission to occupy your mind with other things.

Hope this helps!

[geoff]

Hello AnxietyHopeful, I am truly sorry for what you have had to suffer from and do believe for some people that mediation and Mindfulness is certainly able to help them, for me, I've had OCD for 60 odd years and have done an online course on helping with this illness, it did help while doing it, but as soon as it finished, I didn't try and keep up with what I learned.

It's highly unlikely the white fluff would be asbestos, it's been banned for years and no company, big or small would dare to import any materials where this particular material as the fines would be enormous, this, however, doesn't mean that it's not present in older type houses.

Where I live it's present on rooftops, although this has significantly been reduced.

I know that having OCD certainly increases anxiety, so hope you feel you feel at ease.

Best wishes.

Geoff.