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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
fear of being poisoned
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
fear of being poisoned
by olivia, Nov 29, 1999 12:00AM
I am having a particularily disturbing problem, and I was wondering if you could help. It may sound silly, but is a very real fear to me. I am afraid to eat because I am deathly afraid that someone has poisoned what I am eating. Whether it be restaurant food, snack food from the corner store, or even food in my own house that I bought myself. I have no reason for this, no one is after me to kill me. But everytime I eat, I panic, thinking I have been poisoned. Have you dealt with this before? What is wrong with me? This has just started in the past week, getting worse everyday. What can I do for this?
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS-M.D.-HG, Nov 30, 1999 12:00AM
Dear Olivia,
From the limited information that is provided, it is difficult to make a specific diagnosis. It seems like you may be having either paranoia (suspiciousness, not based on a realistic assessment of the situation) or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Paranoid symptoms are seen in several psychiatric disorders. There are several medications that are available in the market which are proven to be effective in the treatment of paranoia. I would recommend that you get a comprehensive evaluation by a trained Mental Health Professional for adequate diagnosis and treatment.
Key words: Paranoia, OCD
From the limited information that is provided, it is difficult to make a specific diagnosis. It seems like you may be having either paranoia (suspiciousness, not based on a realistic assessment of the situation) or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Paranoid symptoms are seen in several psychiatric disorders. There are several medications that are available in the market which are proven to be effective in the treatment of paranoia. I would recommend that you get a comprehensive evaluation by a trained Mental Health Professional for adequate diagnosis and treatment.
Key words: Paranoia, OCD
Christine
god bless
Laura