Hi everyone,

I posted this in the somatic (sp?) forum a week ago but had no response on there so am going to post in this forum as it is more generic and get a greater response as I am interested to see if anyone else has gone through the same thing. I believe this disorder has routes in OCD but has also manifested itself into other mental health areas.

A little history: Since my late teens/early twenties I have had a disorder whereby if I felt contaminated or dirty then the area I felt affected on my body would hurt or become irritated. This lasted until either I removed the clothing I was wearing, washed the skin etc. Since I have got older (I am now 34) the symptoms have gotten worse. I have also suffered from OCD, anxiety and depression over the last 15years. In my childhood/early adolescence I had a fear of germs. Since 2010 I have been on anti-depressants. Citalopram up to last year and now Sertaline where I am building up the dose.

The symptoms of this disorder now have become a lot longer lasting such as a few weeks or a month. I had an anxiety/OCD episode last November where I experienced a distressing irritation in my feet for a few weeks which was maddening.

I currently work with children in a Nursery and a few weeks ago an unruly child spat at me in the face. At first i thought I could get past it but then I developed an irrational fear that I have caught something such as HIV or other viruses. I know in myself that the likelihood is non-existent but my OCD is very powerful and the irritation in my feet returned and also I felt pain behind my eyes. The last few weeks my eyes have been quite sore and sensitive. I am not sure whether this is due to the disorder or the sun being out in Britain for a change! Also the pain and irritation moved to other ares in my body which was extremely distressing.

I started to feel a lot more positive after I returned from a family holiday last Bank Holiday Monday and because the weather was better over the the UK then Tenerife I decided to go to the local pub (through a park) for a few before going back to work the next day. I lost a set of keys that evening. My OCD and depression came back and I gave myself a psychological roasting for it almost to the point of ending it all which would be a mercy.

I honestly feel like I need sectioning and seeing a psychiatrist over this condition that I have had for the last 15 years at least. I have seen people in the past but never helped long term.

Thank you to anyone who replies to this with their own experiences or guidance. It would be very much appreciated.