OCD worries or real concerns?-- ATTN Tamsin, Jane & Tracy

As most of you know I suffer with OCD and anxiety illnessess and I would just like to hear from those of you who are not in 'my mind' because obviously that is all I have, so if I explain a few situations with you would you be able to tell me if they are OCD worries and all will be fine or if they could be real concerns...

When leaving my therapist today I saw on her decking that she had slug pellets which have obviously been blown all over the decking, they were a blue colour so pretty obviously poison.
I was wearing flip flops and thanks to pregnancy my feet are quite swollen so they are not the best fit anymore and my skinny jeans are very long and do over hang my flip flops a bit.
I am so worried that the slug pellets have got on my shoes/feet or jeans.
When I came home I stamped my feet on the floor outside and then when i got in I turned up the bottom of my jeans but I am so worried that I could have not noticed some and walked it in and then the bunnies will eat it and die?

Again at my thearpy session because she practices outside in a shed type building she worries about bees and wasps and today when I went in and she went to get me a glass of water I saw that there was a canister of RAID by her chair- my OCD kept telling me 'You have touched it' which then rolls on to 'it is now on your clothes, in your hair etc...' which then rolls on to 'If you touch the bunnies you will posion them'
My therapist tried to explain to me that even if I had touched it that the bunnies would be fine and then before the end of the session she was trying to prove that it is not harmful by actually touching the nozzle then as I was leaving she tucked in the label of my top for me and now I am panicing about that. Since then I ahve washed my hair and had a bath so surley any contamination would have been washed away now?

Trust your therapist. There is no contamination. That said, outside reassurance is not necessarily going to be enough. I hope your therapist can help you work out self reassurance and self soothing.

I'm sorry you're having such a nightmare at the moment.

I don't have OCD but I do have anxiety and I too have sometimes had these type of fears.

They are not real concerns, they are the anx/OCD talking xxx

rachylou said:

When leaving my therapist today I saw on her decking that she had slug pellets which have obviously been blown all over the decking, they were a blue colour so pretty obviously poison.
I was wearing flip flops and thanks to pregnancy my feet are quite swollen so they are not the best fit anymore and my skinny jeans are very long and do over hang my flip flops a bit.

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I don't know if facts help you, but residue from these pellets would not contain enough of the active ingredient to cause any harm, even eating the actual pellet would probably be safe. They have done a lot of testing with these and hedgehogs and the amount they need to ingest you'd probably need to fill your pocket! Two reasons, one is a slug is a very different animal to a mammal and the pellets work on the mocus .. which slugs have a lot of and two, a slug weighs a few grams and a hedgehog or rabbit a few thousand grams. So the dose in a single pellet to kill a slug is tiny, most of the pellet is packing cos they'd be microscopic otherwise.

Thankyou to all of you and Tasmin thankyou that does help!!

It's the OCD and anxiety talking. I feel for you, I really do, my sister suffers very badly and I have had problems with anxiety myself.

What used to help my sister was to think 'did you ever read a newspaper headline saying...'

Because some of the far-out situations (which to you could be completely real, I know), if they had ever happened, you would have heard about it.

Good for you for going to counselling though x I really hope you start to make progress soon xx

I have OCD and I believe it is that and your anxiety illnesses. I get paranoid about stuff like that and I know it is my OCD. xx

I feel for you sweetie and as Tasmin and others have pointed out there is no need to worry your bunnies are safe,hugs to you xxxx

I'm so sorry you have to suffer with this Neither could have harmed the bunnies, microscopic amounts of anything wont. If you cant see it, they cant eat it.

I dont have OCD but do have some very mild (undiagnosed) issues with germs and sometimes patterns/orders. I know what you experience is so much worse, so I dont know if this is an option for you, but what I do is to force my mind away from it before it takes hold, if that makes sense, so when the mere suggestion comes into my head, I think 'what would ____ say' and deliberately ignore/walk away from the issue and focus very hard on something else or do the opposite of what my mind is telling me.

edit- just realised the rest of my post probably contained triggers :? sorry

Thankyou all!

I have definatly got worse since coming down on one of my medications but that has been put back up as of today so hopefully I will start to feel better soon.

I have had more triggers tonight... My bare foot touched my sisters shoe when I walked past it and then I walked in to our room (where the buns are) I have since wiped antibacterial hand gel over my foot so it should be clean now but it still feels 'contaminated'.

Also my husband used his bare foot to flip over part of the door mat so I didnt have to walk on the part where shoes have been and then he put his foot on my foot and now I am worried about the buns touching my foot and also worried that if I get in to bed I will dirty the sheets.

there is no contamination to fear from the feet sweetheart. i really feel for you living with this. big hugs xxxxxxxxx

Oh honey, I cannot imagine how stressful your life is with your mind working against you. You are safe at your Mum and Dads where people have lived for years with no ill effects. You must try and put a lot of the concerns back to your own house and relax here. Please, you are safe.

I wish I could beleive that I am safe and that my buns are safe but I am so fearful of everything at the moment and it is all centered around contamination and the bunnies because I love them so much, they are my fury children.
I am also so worried about having our baby and bringing him up with me like this, I know how unfair that would be on him but what can I do? I try so hard to fight it but it feels like I am a really small mini which has been crumpled and I am up against a huge double decker coach which is constantly reving up and aiming for me

I have slight OCD worries too and had them really bad in the past. Most of mine revolve around contamination or health and safety in some way too, so I feel for you. That panicky feeling is horrible

But I would be reassured by what everyone else on here has said as I would agree with them that everything is fine

And I also want to say you can get better and learn to overcome this, so keep hopeful hun and be kind to yourself

Ok a new one- Today I went to pets at home with Mum and obviously looked at the bunnies as you do... Anyway I knelt down so I was at bunny level and got very close to the glass and had a chat with the bunnies.
Is there ANY way that I could ahve brought myxi back home with me? Jims is due for his myxi jab and is not having it until next thursday, I am so worried that I am going to make him ill by cuddling up to him so I have had a bath and washed my hair but now I am panicing because I think my clean hair touched the bag that I got from pets at home, should I re wash my hair? Is there ANY way if they come in to contact with my hair that it will give them myxi?

rachylou said:

Ok a new one- Today I went to pets at home with Mum and obviously looked at the bunnies as you do... Anyway I knelt down so I was at bunny level and got very close to the glass and had a chat with the bunnies.
Is there ANY way that I could ahve brought myxi back home with me? Jims is due for his myxi jab and is not having it until next thursday, I am so worried that I am going to make him ill by cuddling up to him so I have had a bath and washed my hair but now I am panicing because I think my clean hair touched the bag that I got from pets at home, should I re wash my hair? Is there ANY way if they come in to contact with my hair that it will give them myxi?

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Did the rabbit look ill? Did you even touch the rabbit?

Looks like you didn't. If there was glass, given that myxo is transmitted by flies and fleas, I think we can safely presume the remote possibility of fleas is offset with the fact that no flea has glass boring devices to get through to you.

I can't see any likelihood of contamination. You would have known if the bunny had myxo and would have stayed away- I think you know that really.

No they all looked happy and healthy, very bouncy
Nope did not touch the bunnies either, but the glass was only around the sides of the pen not the top...

I did re wash my hair and now I am panicing because when I flicked my hair over to dry it I think it touched the clothes I was wearing from pets at home.

Also another one... yesterday when my husband came back from the flat (he had a few picture holes to fill ready for viewings today) before washing his hands he lent against the wall with his hand and I have just lent up against that part of the wall in my night clothes, could I poison the bunnies?

Both of those, all is fine.

Does getting reassurance from people help?

Have you researched into the different things so that you get facts and stuff? the info Tamsin gave you was fact based and you said it helped, so maybe you need to start researching the facts and therefore gaining more understanding?

Thankyou Sky-O, yes the reasurance form people is really helpful as it kind of confirms what the 'sain' or well part of my brain is trying to tell me.
I did look up on how myxi is spead which was quite reasuring, however then I went to get a drink from the kictchen which we just brought from tesco and when I was wearing the pets at home clothes it touched my top and when I just picked up the drink it touched the top I am now wearing, should I change?

rachylou said:

Thankyou Sky-O, yes the reasurance form people is really helpful as it kind of confirms what the 'sain' or well part of my brain is trying to tell me.
I did look up on how myxi is spead which was quite reasuring.

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:thumb: Until you can self reassure, then seeking reassurance when you're not able to reassure yourself (but remember to try first), is a good technique to help you cope.