Aa
HIV OCD PLEASE HELP!
Hi guys,I m 23 years old and having a great fear of HIV Panic attacks,and all that fear stuffs since December year 2011.It really drives me crazy.I got this fear after watching a local freaky movie about HIV and a circulated false e mails.At the beginning of this fear it was unable to control but with medicines and counseling helped me a lot in decreasing my anxiety.But still I do get irrational fears in day to day life.But right now I m not taking medicines.
I mainly get this fear when traveling in a bus.When I travel in a bus I m getting fears of poking by a infected needle by someone.Sometime I feel some pains in my back.Are these pains creating by the body itself because of the anxiety?When I gets home I thoroughly check my clothes but there are nothing.I do wear light colors so as I can identify the blood spots.I also check the bus seats before sitting.
If you guys got these kind of fears how did you cure it.I do not like to visit doctor again because he gives medicines everyday i visit him.What are the methods did you used to decrease this fears.Please HELP!!!
Thank you.Sorry for my bad English.
I mainly get this fear when traveling in a bus.When I travel in a bus I m getting fears of poking by a infected needle by someone.Sometime I feel some pains in my back.Are these pains creating by the body itself because of the anxiety?When I gets home I thoroughly check my clothes but there are nothing.I do wear light colors so as I can identify the blood spots.I also check the bus seats before sitting.
If you guys got these kind of fears how did you cure it.I do not like to visit doctor again because he gives medicines everyday i visit him.What are the methods did you used to decrease this fears.Please HELP!!!
Thank you.Sorry for my bad English.
I used to think every little sensation I felt while sitting could be a needle! It seems our OCD just becomes more aware of regular little muscle twitches and such. Best of luck in getting better :)
I used to walk down the street (in a small seaside town in Ireland) and worry that every thing on the ground was a needle. It got to the point where everything i saw became a needle in my mind. My Dad told me chances are it would never be a needle and if I get the 'vision' of the needle I should ignore it. At the start it was hard but after a few weeks it died down and I felt less stress and didn't 'visualise' needles as much. I realised if my dad was willing to take the 'risk' that i'd miss a needle (mistake my imagination for the real thing) then I could take that 'risk' too. The same with sitting on train seats, I'd be so worried about sitting on a needle that I'd visualise one on the seat, and later any sensation on my body I felt it could be a needle. But it never was. And again my family said there is never going to be a needle on the train so just ignore it and eventually I imagine it less.
i have the same as you and it's very hard to live with this. ocd is my enemy in my mind.
Also, it wouldn't hurt to educate yourself on the ways in which HIV is actually transmitted.
HIV is transmitted through unprotected vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Non-sexually, it's transmitted through shared injection equipment (like injection needles for drugs). It can also be transmitted via occupational exposure, the latter of which is especially rare.
It's important to note that in your case, EVEN IF you were pricked by a needle, the chances of you contracting HIV from it are extremely unlikely. There are 0 cases of people becoming infected with HIV due to needle sticks outside of the healthcare setting.
Read this post by a MedHelp doctor, who explains why HIV is hard to transmit. Scroll down to Dr. Handsfield:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV---Prevention/Vaginal-fluid-on-hand-touched-inside-of-condom-and-head-of-penis/show/1119533
HIV is transmitted through unprotected vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Non-sexually, it's transmitted through shared injection equipment (like injection needles for drugs). It can also be transmitted via occupational exposure, the latter of which is especially rare.
It's important to note that in your case, EVEN IF you were pricked by a needle, the chances of you contracting HIV from it are extremely unlikely. There are 0 cases of people becoming infected with HIV due to needle sticks outside of the healthcare setting.
Read this post by a MedHelp doctor, who explains why HIV is hard to transmit. Scroll down to Dr. Handsfield:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV---Prevention/Vaginal-fluid-on-hand-touched-inside-of-condom-and-head-of-penis/show/1119533
If it's affecting you this much, you should probably take some meds to calm you down. Your anxiety is probably causing you to look for sensations that aren't there, and in the process of doing so can probably make you think you felt them, when really you didn't. Look at other people on the bus. Do they analyze each seat before they sit down? No, they just sit. I have the same irrational fear, and I have to fight against it every day. However, my fear deals with unidentified liquids and fluids, which my OCD identifies as HIV-infected bodily fluids. Meds are definitely helping.
As for things you can do without meds to treat this, you can do exposure and response prevention (basically, forcing yourself to face your fears without performing your compulsive response). Next time you sit on a bus seat, don't analyze it for needles. When you get up to leave, don't look at it again. Walk away. This will certainly cause you a lot of anxiety, but you have to do it if you want to be rid of this. Once the bus drives away, the situation is out of your hands. It's gone. Eventually your anxiety will come down on its own and you WILL forget about it. Also, wearing dark clothing (especially in a situation where you won't be able to go home to change) can be another way to exposure yourself to these fears without performing your compulsive rituals.
You have to remind yourself daily that your thoughts are a direct result of extreme anxiety. If you remove anxiety from the mix, OCD isn't OCD.
As for things you can do without meds to treat this, you can do exposure and response prevention (basically, forcing yourself to face your fears without performing your compulsive response). Next time you sit on a bus seat, don't analyze it for needles. When you get up to leave, don't look at it again. Walk away. This will certainly cause you a lot of anxiety, but you have to do it if you want to be rid of this. Once the bus drives away, the situation is out of your hands. It's gone. Eventually your anxiety will come down on its own and you WILL forget about it. Also, wearing dark clothing (especially in a situation where you won't be able to go home to change) can be another way to exposure yourself to these fears without performing your compulsive rituals.
You have to remind yourself daily that your thoughts are a direct result of extreme anxiety. If you remove anxiety from the mix, OCD isn't OCD.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Community
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
