OCD symptoms worse because of pandemic

Nora Calder, who lives in Comber, was diagnosed five years ago with OCD, a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.

She said: ‘‘I knew my thought patterns weren’t ‘normal’ but I’d always made the mistake of believing that there must be a ritual such as hand washing for someone to have OCD. Health care professionals were able to explain otherwise, ‘Pure O’ as it is sometimes referred to is a lesser known form of OCD, mainly because people go undiagnosed.’’

Nora, who works in business risk & controls, said her OCD manifested itself in repeated, intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts about death.

At the moment she doesn’t receive treatment, but practices CBT techniques and when times get ‘‘overly bad’’ revisits therapy. Writing down her thoughts, playing football and meditation also help alleviate her symptoms.

Nora said she has been reading about Covid-19 since the early outbreak in Wuhan began to surface.

‘‘Reading the news was an obsession of mine before, it’s something I try to avoid for long periods but then something like this happens and I can’t stop myself - I’m aware that this could lead me back down a dark path so I try and limit my time on the news.

‘‘My partner who I live with couldn’t understand when I was having severe anxiety over the situation, my thoughts had taken me to the lockdown we’re now in, even when it was inconceivable to most.’’

When the UK government first issued their Covid-19 guidance, Nora requested home working from her employer.

‘‘The thought of travelling and being around people made me believe with 100 per cent certainty that I would contract the virus and that it would kill me and those around me.’’

Nora said she has taken many steps to protect herself and her loved ones from Covid 19.

‘‘I’d labelled my cup, cutlery and glasses to make sure no one used them. I still have hand sanitizer at my front door, separate hand towels in the bathroom, a sign to clean your hands on the living room door and my toothbrush stays in quarantine in a food bag. I’ve been doing this since before lockdown, so my reaction was definitely heightened whilst Boris Johnson was still shaking hands in the hospitals.’’

She added: ‘‘When your obsession is death and there’s a virus killing hundreds everyday, your mind is a pretty scary place to be. When I begin to obsess about myself, I think about those in far less fortunate positions. Gratitude is grounding.

‘‘My advice for anyone with OCD or any other condition which is worsened by their circumstances is to talk to those around you. My partner can usually tell when I’m obsessing and that helps because otherwise I’d definitely come across like I overreact to everything.’’