Hi mum and dad. I have OCD and my final project for uni is due in two days. My brain has decided to fixate on what happened last summer in terms of I used to work in a geology lab. In one of the labs HF would be used and I was worried because yes you would have to only wear gloves in that room and none of the other labs (none of the others used HF). And HF was never used when I was there. Now I’m spiralling thinking omg what if I touched some particles of HF somehow? Along with I was in another section of a completely different lab that says you should wear gloves but I was in there and the lab technician never said to put gloves on and never wore gloves either. I have these stupid thoughts and they’re not going away no matter how much I try. I spoke to my professor before about the HF thing and he said they take extreme caution for that. But what about when I in another lab with no gloves? I was so stupid.
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Hi! Sounds like you have contamination OCD and are having intrusive thoughts. Have you been diagnosed? Are you being treated with therapy and/or meds?
I’m sorry you are experiencing this. One thing that may help is to recognize your thoughts as thoughts. Like clouds that pass overhead, they are just passing through your mind. Take a few minutes to sit and just observe your thoughts, acknowledge them, and let them float away again as a new thought comes. Just observe, slow your breathing down, and observe your thoughts. This should help you calm down.
What is HF?
Sounds like you forgot to breathe! I like to listen to ‘diggy diggy hole’ and breathe out for 4 – hold it for 2 – breathe in for 5 – hold it for 3 – breathe out for 6. Concentrate on the breath. Make sure you’re eating and showering. Go outside each day.
You are ok. Everything is ok.