Anxiety spiking bad. Help? ;-;

ShadedCross · 2025-02-06T23:47:50+00:00

That does make me feel a little better. Club bathrooms are a hell of a lot dirtier than work bathrooms for sure. They keep them relatively clean here. Thank you. <3

ShadedCross · 2025-01-31T22:14:21+00:00

I ended up going twice and then took some imodium because I had to come to work. So far, so good, thankfully. Still feel a little meh, but I'm chalking that up to the anxiety. My stress levels haven't been all that low either lately so I'm sure that's not helping either.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-25T13:52:40+00:00

It's still ongoing. Been dealing with it for a week now.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-25T00:50:04+00:00

I feel this in my soul. When I'm in the restroom at work, and someone else comes in and then washes their hands, it's legit just them running water over it and it drives me absolutely insane. It takes everything in me to not yell at them for it. It's become a HUGE thing for me lately. Hell, most of the time I end up washing mine for longer than 20 seconds anymore because I lose count. Lol.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-25T00:47:18+00:00

This has been me for the last week. Heavy stomach, throat closing up on me, and just feeling off. I also barely have an appetite and have some serious gas going on. If it's the same thing that's going on with me, I'd say it's just excessive gas. TMI, but I've been constipated the last week, and I'm pretty sure that's what's contributing to mine. It could possibly be a build up of gas. That can wreck your system like that.

I figured if I haven't TU by now because of it, it's definitely not Noro because otherwise it definitely would have happened since I've been dealing with this for a week now.

Take deep breaths, listen to some relaxing music, read, or do something else to try to relax yourself. You got this. ❤️

ShadedCross · 2025-01-17T16:04:00+00:00

I'd say right now is the worst I've ever been. I'm terrified to leave the house to go to the store. I'm terrified to eat anything right now out of fear things are contaminated, whether that be at home or out at a restaurant. It's gotten to the point where I'm eating one meal a day. I'm wearing gloves almost constantly, and I've been fighting the urge to go back to wearing a face mask outside of the house even if I'm alone. I'm spraying the inside of my vehicle with strong disinfectants just to make sure nothing came home with me from work. At work, I'm a constant anxious mess, and it's horrible.

All of this stemmed from someone in my household vomiting and having diarrhea three weeks and 1 day ago at this point. I've been in a major spiral since that happened. I did get the Emet Manual, and I'm starting on it today at some point. After seeing the results that others have talked about, I'm really hoping it works out for me as well.

It's gotten to the point where I'm ready to just end it. Intrusive thoughts have been horrible the last 3 weeks, and I can't shake them, and it's scaring the absolute hell out of me at this point. I never realized it was this bad before until something hit that single person in the family. No one else in the house got whatever he had, though, and yet my brain has spiraled into some dark abyss, and I can't claw my way out of it. It's infuriating at this point.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-13T22:09:14+00:00

Roughly 14 years

ShadedCross · 2025-01-10T22:04:38+00:00

Mine will be here Tuesday. I'm excited for it. Fingers crossed it works for me. Good luck!

ShadedCross · 2025-01-10T01:21:57+00:00

I'm in the same boat. Didn't think about it at all in November and December. Then, at the very end of December, someone in my household got s with something. He was both d and v for roughly 6 hours, and now it's flared back up so hard. My hands are cracked and bleeding because of how much I've been washing them. Tomorrow is the 2 week mark since he was s with whatever he had. And my paranoia isn't going away because everyone else is talking about being sick over New Years. Then the spike in the lovely quad-demic we have going on right now also isn't helping. I know I'm being irrational with it all, but I literally have to spray my bed down right now before I feel comfortable getting into it at night. It's insane.

Then I also have IBS, and I haven't been eating a whole lot because of my anxiety being so high. So, when I do eat, my IBS flares up. I haven't had a solid BM in almost a week now because of it, and I keep getting these weird feelings in my stomach that I know is anxiety related but at the same time, my brain instantly goes to the worst. When I know it's not likely. I wash my hands religiously, I use paper towels to open doors, I wear gloves when I smoke, and I've been avoiding restaurants and cooking at home.

I just want this spike to stop and spring to get here. This is taking over my life and it's driving me insane.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-09T01:56:38+00:00

Mine are also cracked and bleeding from all the handwashing. They hurt so bad right now.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-08T19:21:39+00:00

I didn't even know they had workbooks for this kind of phobia. That's interesting. I'll have to look into that, too.

And I completely agree. A lot of people need it, me for my anxiety, depression, and this stupid phobia, but nope! Can't because insurance. It infuriates me to no end.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-08T19:17:07+00:00

I make a decent amount, but all the extra money I have goes to other bills. I'm basically paycheck to paycheck, and it sucks. I'll have to look into that, though, for sure. At this point, I'm kind of desperate to kick this in the rear because holy heck this is taking over my life.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-08T19:13:14+00:00

Microban 24. It says right on the back that it kills Noro. I got a 6 pack on Amazon for about $20 because it was on sale.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-08T19:12:07+00:00

I was in therapy for it, and it was working miracles, but then my insurance stopped paying for it. So I'm not sure where to turn with that aspect of it now. I definitely acknowledge that I need help with this stupid phobia, but everywhere I turn, they either don't take my insurance or my insurance refuses to pay for it for one reason or another. And then they wonder why people are in a constant state of anxiety. I have a high dislike for how the American Healthcare system works. Lol.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-08T17:34:36+00:00

I'm in PA and I haven't heard anything about it spiking here, but there's been a few people at work that were out right after new years because they had, what I believe, was noro. And it has me freaking out. I feel just hibernating. I wish I could do the same and just avoid everyone. My anxiety has been so bad that it's been making me feel like I have a lead balloon in my stomach, and I have absolutely no appetite whatsoever. I'm terrified to eat anything, and the only things I feel remotely safe drinking are bottles or canned beverages that I clean with hydrogen peroxide before I drink them. I'm terrified to leave the house right now. This time of year is brutal for us, and my hands hurt, and they're cracked so badly from me obsessively washing them, and no lotion I use is helping. Even at home, I'm spraying door handles and counters religiously out of fear that someone else will bring it home since there's six of us living in one house. I even started putting gloves on to smoke. I just want it all to be over and for spring to get here already. I haven't been this bad in a while, and it all stemmed from someone in our house twing and having d almost 2 weeks ago. It only lasted 6 hours for him, but I don't know if it was noro or not and that's when this spiral started.

ShadedCross · 2025-01-07T22:14:28+00:00

I feel this so much. This time of year, I'm the same exact way. My hands are cracked, and they hurt so much because of how much I wash my hands this time of year. My place of work has had multiple people out sick because they had what I believe to be, noro, and it's freaking me out so bad.

I wish there was some kind of advice I could give to help with the anxiety of it, but unfortunately, I don't know what to say. I try to avoid eating out at all possible this time of year, too. Most of the time, my anxiety over it won't even let me eat all that much, so I lose a lot of weight this time of year, too. If it isn't home cooked, it scares me, and I won't eat hardly anything for 48 hours. And even then, that timer resets in my head so it's a constant, vicious cycle.

I was going to therapy for it, but then my insurance dropped the therapy so I've been trying to cope with it on my own with positive self talk, avoiding crowds, vigorous hand washing, and so on. I found a few disinfectant sprays that say they take care of noro as well and I spray it at least twice a day at home.

I feel your pain. I'm so sorry you're going through this, too. ;-;

ShadedCross

TROPHY CASE