Which came first, body odor or anxiety? Anyone can relate?

[tatianaemm]

Guys I'm 21 yr old woman It's been 8 years since I started having chronic body odor, I was only 14 when it started. Before that I had some signs of anxiety, chronic depression and religious ocd (Which I've been already diagnosed with) but they were slight so I'm not sure. By the time I started with my body odor my health anxiety struck me as well. Headaches, palpitations, tingling, brain tumor fears, heart attack fears, stds fears although I'm a virgin..For my body odor I've tried all of the normal deodorants I have even tried driclor which is 20% percent aluminum (one of the strongest on the market actually) but it only worked the first week and then I started to sweat again. I also have bought a lot of supplements and my family calls me a freak bc of that. I have tried 3 different brand of chlorophyll including chlorofresh, activated charcoal, salt water flush, zinc tabs, magnesium, vitamin b2, washing my armpits with hibiclens or dial soap using a loofah, using topical antibiotics on my armpits, clotrimazole, I shower thrice a day, wash my clothes thoroughly with hot water or vinegar, using crystal deos, using home remedies like lemon, baking soda, vinegar, toothpaste on my armpit but the odor it's still there. Since the odor has been with me 99.9 percent of the time going out is a daily challenge. When I was at high school I was mocked, rejected, humilliated, they never told it in my face but they were always murmurating about me. Now at uni it looks like things have gotten worse, my odor is also in my groin. I have had a lot of tests done and they always come back normal. My doctors say thhey don't smell anything, they prescribed me strong deos but they never work and I'm just wasting my money when I'm an unemployed full time student. Now I'm about to drop out college when I'm one of the top students, my gpa is at 3.7 it's not like the best but most of the students are 3.0-3.3. I love uni, I study clinical psychology and since I'm only a year of graduating, I get a lot of assignments and have to go to lots of institutions to do research but I hate going out and nobody wants to be near me they're always sniffing, sneezing, coughing or with a look of disgust on their faces. At uni my classmates are talking sh*t about me, I'm not a bad person, I have earned some "enemies" because I'm a good student, and they like bringing in my body odor to bring me down, they never say it directly but they're always hinting and whispering about it. Even the people I thought were my friends don't want to get close to me, the guy that I used to like (and used to like me) now hates me. My family tells me that I should shower better but I shower 3 times a day with strong chemicals and there's no difference, and when they wanna go out with me I always find and excuse and call me an "antisocial". I don' hate ppl I actually would love to be social and it's one of the reasons I had chosen psychology. But I just can't take the daily humilliation no more. I'm scared of what people would think of me. I don't know what to do rn I'm desperate I don't wanna be known because of my body odor but for my hard work. I also suffer from health anxiety and depression, last holidays I thought I had lymphoma or a brain cancer, and thought I was going to die in like a month. That is such a long story but I'm gonna leave it here lol. Is anyone going thorugh the same thing? I feel so alone... Let's talk? I study psychology and even though I haven't sorted out my personal maybe I can help someone else.

[haris_m]

hi, hope you are well now, i have anxiety disorder and pungent body smell, I feel same like people sniffing coughing around me, i do sports and it really helps me, this thing has made me anti social, I want to connect with you in case we can share some remedies and also for support ***@****

[specialmom]

So, let me jump in here.  You mention that you are suffering many things that are psychologically related such as anxiety, ocd, health anxiety.  What type of treatment do you get for anxiety disorders?  I think this is really imperative for you.  Body odor aside, your life will be better if you fully address your anxiety disorder.  This may include medication prescribed by a doctor for you as well as talk therapy by a psychologist.  

As to the body odor, they do make deodorant that they say is clinical strength for stress that they sell in the drug store/grocery store and your doctor may have a suggestion.  I've heard using antibacterial soap under your arms can help, shaving regularly also might help.  Have you ever read about Patm?  I'm not sure if this is what you describe.  

But fully embracing having an anxiety disorder and treating that is the best place to start and you can undertake that in a variety of ways.  Please let me know if I can help with suggestions with that.  

[Paxiled]

Mom, the problem is, those products are highly toxic if used regularly.  Using strong antibacterial agents too often will produce antibiotic resistant bacteria.  Mom, I know you love to exercise, but you do know that using those sanitizers are far worse for you in the long run if used over and over than whatever's in the sweat of the person who was there before you.  Wiping with a paper towel and letting the oxygen in the air do its magic is actually safer in the long term.  Now, there are gentler agents, such as tea tree oil or neem oil, you can get in natural soaps, but if as seems likely this person doesn't actually have a body odor problem, treating one isn't going to help.  But killing off the beneficial bacteria in your system by using things only intended for occasional use and mostly on hard surfaces, not skin, won't really be a solution.

[Paxiled]

Since you're studying psychology, let's look at this in a scholarly fashion.  The only piece of empirical evidence you're presented is that the doctor didn't smell anything.  The things you're using are toxic to you -- you do know aluminum in cosmetics is not good for you, don't you?  So there's only two possibilities here:  you have some medical condition that has yet to be diagnosed causing odor, or, there is no odor and you have a pretty serious mental illness that needs serious treatment.  Where do I have this wrong?

[Paxiled]

I should also add, you don't seem to know much about using natural remedies.  They are not risk-free.  Activated charcoal, for example, has very limited and specific uses, it doesn't eliminate body odor, and can block the absorption of medication and nutrients if used improperly.  Those antibiotics you're using just make everything worse in the long run.  I'm not a medical expert, maybe someone else on here knows about causes of chronic body odor, but again, the only person you've mentioned who is a doctor didn't smell anything.  You say people are murmuring behind your back, so how do you know what they're murmuring about and how likely is it that they're all that concerned about you?  Are you all that concerned about people you don't know well?  Again, either you have a medical problem that has not been diagnosed or you have a horrible case of OCD, from the sound of it.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Only thing I can add to this extensive review is "last holidays I thought I had lymphoma or a brain cancer, and thought I was going to die in like a month. " indicates this might be part of a pattern of unfounded health worries, so consider the issues listed in paxiled's first advice.