OCD, anxiety and medical emergencies
I’m diagnosed with OCD and anxiety, and while I’m mostly done with therapy and have a lot of tools to help myself manage both, I still get amazed by the kinds of fears my brain can latch onto.
Right now, my anxiety is focused on being home alone at night and having some kind of allergic reaction in my sleep - waking up unable to breathe and it being “too late” to call for help. My partner is going away for 3 weeks, and even though I’m trying really hard not to feed the thoughts, my brain keeps throwing these awful images at me about dying alone and being conscious of it while nobody is there to help.
Earlier this year, I went through some pretty intense health issues. Things are much better now physically, but mentally I’m still recovering because it triggered my health anxiety badly. I think that’s part of why this current fear feels so vivid and convincing.
I almost feel embarrassed writing this because I’m nearly 30 and scared of staying home alone for a few weeks. Rationally, I know I’ll have to push through it and not structure my life around fear, but I can already feel the dread and anxiety building in my body.
I guess I’m wondering if anyone else with OCD/health anxiety has dealt with a similar intrusive thought theme - especially fears around being alone, nighttime, or medical emergencies. Did anything help you stop spiraling or prevent yourself from getting pulled deeper into the fear of having a medical emergency and being alone? Not reassurance exactly, just maybe ways you got through the anticipatory anxiety without giving OCD more power.