Irrational Fears/Intrusive Thoughts

agoraphobickatie

Well-known member
Woah.. I haven't been here in ages!! Like many of you, I'm not "cured" or "normal" now, lol.. My anxiety/OCD has really just evolved and I'm not sure how exactly to deal with it the best way.. Maybe someone can relate? People all the time are like "yeahh, I have anxiety, too! I get nervous in big crowds!" and that's nice, I can relate, but I don't know anyone who has the same types of fears/OCD that I do..

Basically, I've kind of narrowed it down to a few major "phobias" that I have. One being the phobia of throwing up. I go into serious panic if I get nauseous, exponentially more so when I'm not at home in my "safe zone." Also, I have this crazy fear of having to be rushed to the hospital for any reason, usually I fear it'll be my appendix or gall bladder or something and I'll have to rush to the hospital for emergency surgery. At the slightest pain in my side, I go into full panic and start thinking of all the terrible things that could happen, etc etc.. This has really caused my body to actually FEEL physical symptoms of stuff when there's seemingly nothing wrong with me. Like I've gone the past few years having random "pains" (nothing super painful, almost just like a "feeling" that I'm aware of) in my side, all over the place and nothing has been wrong. I go through phases where I'm kind of on top of things and don't have any "pain" at all..

Anyway, I'm not sure where either of these phobias came from, because I've never experienced either of these things. I'm just terrified I'll have to be rushed to the hospital in all kinds of pain and puking, etc etc.. One thing (person) that I kind of lean on is my dad. I think "okay well at least dad doesn't live far away, he can take me and I'll be okay because dad will be with me." ..so when he goes out of town, I'm basically in a state of constant distress because I'm so dependent on him being able to "save" me if something happens... and this is super weird, on account of I'm 29 years old and don't live with my parents..

So I'm still pretty agoraphobic, because I fear something bad will happen if I'm not at home and I won't be in my comfort zone so it'll be way worse.. Like puking or having some kind of gall attack or whatever, really anything, lol.. I work every day, but my job is my family's business, super low key, and it's about 1 mile from my home, so I'm super blessed, but it's also not a huge challenge to face every day.. some days are harder than others. I pretty much just work and go home and don't venture out anywhere else. At all..

Does anyone relate to these kinds of fears or lifestyle? How have you dealt with it, etc? Let me know, guys! Much love--
 

FountainandFairfax

in a VAN down by the RIVER
You might want to look up Dr. John Sarno's "The Mindbody Prescription".

I used to have some of the problems you're talking about and listening to his audio book helped me out a lot.

I work for my family too, and outside of a cousin that I hang out with a couple of nights a week, there's really no social life or anything for me either.

I definitely inhabit a small world, ha ha.

Welcome back. :D
 

agoraphobickatie

Well-known member
You might want to look up Dr. John Sarno's "The Mindbody Prescription".

I used to have some of the problems you're talking about and listening to his audio book helped me out a lot.

I work for my family too, and outside of a cousin that I hang out with a couple of nights a week, there's really no social life or anything for me either.

I definitely inhabit a small world, ha ha.

Welcome back. :D

I definitely will, thank you!!

Same here, I have a very small "circle", and my cousin is my best friend lol.. Everyone knows if they want to hang out, they've got to come to me.
 

Kiwong

Well-known member
Hello Katie, good to see you back on there. You were a regular when I first joined. Sorry to hear your anxiety/OCD.

I agree, for some people anxiety is a word, they don't realise that severe anxiety comes with a whole series of behaviours that are confronting overwhelming.

I remember at the worse of panic disorder, I thought I was going to have a heart attack, or I had brain cancer, and many other diseases.
 

lilly354

Active member
I have issues like this. Seems like any little thing will make me thing to worst. I had to break away from the habit of googling everything. I at one point thought I was dying of multiple different cancers. It sounds silly but in the moment, I couldn't control the thoughts.
 

saxyman99

New member
I'm just coming to terms with the fact that I have OCD. I've washed my hands until they got so dry the skin started cracking and bleeding. I believe I am personally making progress out of this wormhole. I'm limiting myself on my handwashing to when my hands are visibly dirty, after using the bathroom, and before eating. I'm convincing myself that I can't be worried about whether or not someone got sick because I didn't wash my hands. I'm trying to tell myself "if they get sick, they get sick. I can't live my life in constant worry of spreading germs."
 

theoutsider

Well-known member
This might need its' own thread but it sounds like you may have symptoms of Pure O or Pure Obssesional OCD. The examples of some of the symptoms in the link are pretty far out there but my therapist says intrusive or unreasonable thoughts and fears are examples of Pure O as well. For years, the thought has been in my head that I don't want to look at a woman in a way that she will perceive as me objectifying her. Therefore, I became obsessed with not being caught looking a woman inappropriately. It became so bad that I started avoiding certain co-workers and even friends if they were dressed a certain way. This can be the same thing as thoughts of becoming sick in an inappropriate place. It may be worth looking into if you haven't already. At any rate, good luck with your anxiety/ocd. I have good days and bad days but every day is a battle to some degree or other.

https://ocdla.com/obsessionalocd
 
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