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OCD Anxiety
Im having this intrusive thoughts about an incident a did in the past regarding HIV fears . I even asked the experts in this forum about my fears and they assured me that I have no risk in the incident and it's is even not a risk but whats bothering me is the need of constant reassurance and it would rabbit hole to more internet searches and reassurance. Looking for a guide to help me ease this and help me sleep . Thank you .
https://medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/Risk-of-breast-milk-to-adults/show/3076277
https://medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/Risk-of-breast-milk-to-adults/show/3076277
Best Answer
Definitely, you will get no reassurance here. That you need it is a hallmark sign of ocd. Which is treatable. You know the best thing? Break the reassurance cycle and any mental ritual like researching, overthinking, quizzing, etc. That's how you get over it. And saying . . . ya, maybe I got HIV. Maybe I didn't. And allowing that discomfort to just be there. You'll get used to it and then it won't be uncomfortable. Reassurance makes it go away for a little bit but it ALWAYS comes back. Try Exposure Response therapy. It works well and you can read about how to just do it without a therapist if you have to on your own. and medication can help. But you will have to accept discomfort and stop doing what you are doing to get better.
3 Comments
Thank you very much specialmom. Il try my best to stay away from Google from now on and stop constantly looking for reassurance that I don't even have a risk . Will try meditation, exercise and keep my mind busy at accept the facts that GuitarRox, anxiousnomore and CurfewX stated. Il put there statements in mind because they are the experts and studied this matter. Again thank you for taking time to answer my question.
Learning to realize thoughts are just thoughts. You've got facts. But we also live with uncertainty in life and it makes us uncomfortable. I think being uncomfortable should be something you tolerate better as well. I'm not reassuring you here. I don't know if you had an hiv risk or not. Maybe you did. Maybe you didn't. Uncertainty. We have to learn to tolerate it. Hang in there
Again thank you . So Immediate controlling and stopping of all reassurance, researching and rereading facts and answers in my question from the link will definitely help ?
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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.
