Vomit Anxiety ?OCD

[kaimare]

Hi all,
I'm Kai, i'm 24. Lately I have been wondering if I have an issue, bought up by another friend who laughed and joked about maybe I am "OCD".

I have an intense fear of vomiting but only when related to Gastroenteritis. From this I excessively wash and sanitise my hands, I don't touch public doors/handles/buttons, I always check if my food is properly cooked or warmed (even in public restaurants), constantly wipe and clean my benches and my house (i'm talking 4-5 times a day with antibacterial wipes) and when a friend or family member mentions to me that they or someone they know has been "vomit-sick" I either make excuses not to see them, or if we are already together my anxiety hits the roof..I find myself trying to rationalise it, I get sweaty, nauseated, I feel an intense need to wash my hands and long to be back at home. My friends alway laugh because I am a "germ-o-phobe" but I have only just thought, hang on, maybe this is next level and I actually have something else going on here..
I know all of these things are silly, and I even feel silly feeling or doing them but they make me feel better and safe.

Has anyone got a similar phobia?? Or experience similar things??

[kaimare]

Hi Gnomadicmind!

This book sounds very interesting and I will definitely be looking into it. This sounds like something I would enjoy reading 🙂
The author definitely sounds like me at least. Recently an article was released and it was all the talk in my tea room. My worst fear. A new strain of Norovirus that we aren't immune to, not matter our exposure previously. So naturally, I went into overdrive. Much like this author.

[kaimare]

Hi Bridget, thank you so much for replying to me. Sometimes i waver in checking this account as i feel like i am doing okay, and then there is tonight where i hit lows. Where in the last few days i re-affirm that nothing much changes and things are much the same.

I know how you feel with BBQ's and buffets. I avoid them aswell but recently they have become unavoidable and I have been left as that rude person who was invited to the wedding/party and didn't eat the food that they paid for. In that way, it affects my life and my relationship with my friends and partner.

Recently he and i went out for breakfast on a saturday morning. My anxiety was heightened already that morning for no particular reason. I woke up with a knot in my stomach the a coffee and a hug couldn't fix. Anyway, we ordered and I ordered avocado on toast. Now, the one thing I do which doesn't help is watch the people in the open-style kitchens and at the front desk touching money and then touching food. My hands start to sweat and I instantly become agitated but deep inside myself I was disappointed with how I felt and attempted to ignore it for the sake of my boyfriend. He and I are both shift workers and we rarely had a day together in weeks, so i didnt want to ruin it but i did and i became this type of customer monster that i didnt want to be. My toast was cold, my coffee was burnt, the table wasn't even..all these minor ridiculous things that any other day i would ignore. Instead of opening my mouth and telling him "im incredibly anxious about getting sick today" i ruined our morning with my snippy complaints.

These are the sorts of days where it affects me, they are usually rare but seem to stand out the most.