tired of worrying

[wmll19]

I worry about everything I don't know what it is but i've always been somewhat of a germophobe hypochondriac whatever you want to call it but its getting worse right now I am worried about this brain eating amoeba that is found in fresh warm water and I just got a pool I'm worried that my son may have gotten ecoli or salmonella poisoning because he bit into a pack of chicken in the grocery store he doesn't have symptoms but i am scared out of my mind and a few days ago my husband noticed a blood spot in my eye and it looks like its spreading i can't even take my son outside to swim or play because I'm afraid he might get bit by a mesquito and get west nile or some infection from the pool and i saw an advertisement on the net that said you may contract hepatitis from public swimming pools and I really wanted to take my son to a water park this summer I hate going in the grocery store because I'm afraid there's aids or some other horrible disease on the buggy and I'm going to get it or my son because sometimes he bites on the buggy I try to prevent it but he's sneaky In short, I think that if there is any rare or serious disease out there that I will be the one who gets it and anytime I hear about something I automatically have all the symptoms what I need to do is stay off of webmd anyway sorry about the ranting and waste of everyone's time I'm just tired of this but I can't help it

[Hensley258]

I think in your rational mind you fully understand that these Anxieties and fear you have are silly, BUT I can absolutly understand that in your mind they seems very serious and real.

For example, you and I both know that the odds of getting a brain eating amoeba that is found in fresh warm water by swimming in a pool is obsurd. Regardless, to you this fear is very real.

That's the funny thing about any and all mental illnesses. Even we sufferers, in our rational mind know that these fears are unfounded and obsessive, not to mention unrealistic. Despite this fact, to us they are very real and cause us a lot of stress and sometimes massive anxiety. This can often morph into obsession, and panic about the smallist things.

Think about when we were kids. My God! If I had a nickle for every nasty and unsanitary thing I did, then I would be a wealty man! I'm sure you can remember such things too.

Regardless.... these things are very real to you now and are causing you much anxiety and fear. This is not normal and must be taken seriously.

This is a kind of phobia, not too different than OCD and could even be OCD related.

For example: I suffer from Severe Depressive dissorder. No matter how much anyone tells me that I have noting to be depressed about, it makes any difference! I am still depressed just the same! To the rational mind this seems crazy and not at all logical, but to my mind it is very much real and causes me untold suffering.

The same can be said for any type of mental illness. We know it's not rational! This makes no difference to our brains because to us it is very real.

That's the big indifference related to any and all types of mental illnesses. They make no real sence, but yet they are just as real to us as the stars in the sky.

Mental illnesses are weird like that. They are so hard for the average person to relate to because they seems so absurd, Probably because they are absurd! Regardless, to us they are very real and they hurt. So bad sometimes that they can even destroy our lives.

I guess I'm just trying to convey to you that your fear is very real to you and I understand. It's not realistic and it's irrational, BUT yes it is real to you and I understand why it feels so real to you.

You need to get help. That's the only way. You must admit to yourself that you have a problem and get help. With hard work and learned skills, you can overcome this.

[ParamedFlorena]

I know what it's like to go ponder on "what if's". I do the same with reptiles. The other day we had an Iberia-snail in the laundry machine and you should have seen me scream. It's just grose anyway. At my worst moments I could combine anything with my reptile phobia - zig-zag pattern, even an arm towards mine. I can on all basic means freak my self out.
This summer I have dealt much better with it. I really stop myself on "iiiiiik, that's a snake!" instead of building up on that thought. No, I don't have the actual threat here either - this country has got snakes as big as shoelices. I worry - for pretty much: My own reactions.

How can this worry be beaten? Can it be beaten by learning about germs? Don't read about germs to learn how horrifying they are, but read about them to learn how the body can fight them.

The body has quite a good army to fight germs. Drink bottled water, cook meat thoroughly and do keep the kitchen clean, but know that the bacterial flora that we have around us is strenghtening us.

Cold temperatures (I want to specify this to you because I know it is true when it comes to germs and microorganisms) keep the germs from growing just like boiling water and high temperatures do.

We can make a worry grow incredibly much more horrifying than a bacteria. It takes much longer to culture a bacteria in a lab than what it takes to think "JIKES". Just make sure that you have something rational to fill the jikes with.

For me that is right now "No I won't step on a snake because of the hot asphalt... Where did that come from anyway?" And I follow the quiz back to start and see: "Aha, it started because that other sound reminded me of it. Now what was that sound really?"

I hope you can at least apply something of this to your fear. It is a whole lot of work to overcome worry, but there is always a reason to us the worry-energy on something else!

Is your eye better?

Florena