The_Cheese_Man
05-30-2004, 12:05 AM
Ok, does anyone else have an obscession that thier room mate, husband, wife, etc is trying to poison them?. I have been married for 22 years now and we have a wonderful relationship but every time my wife is out in the kitchen cooking, I find myself being driven nuts thinking about what she might be putting in my food and I can't hardly stand it unless I'm right there watching her from the moment she starts preparing dinner until the moment it's served on the plates. I have to see everything first-hand just to "make sure" she did'nt "slip" something in there without my knowing about it. Sometimes I even sneak up on her while she's cooking or spy on her from a distance and yes, many times, I've even switched plates with her when she was'nt looking or outright asked her to switch plates with me and then made up an excuse for "why" I wanted her to do this. She always looked at me kind of strangely but never refused or acted suspicious about it. Many times I've insisted that she "taste" something and she has also never refused.
Sometimes, I'll ask her "pointed" questions to try and trick her into revealing the truth and if she takes too long answering, I'll get REALLY suspicious and think she's hiding something. I suffer from OCD, IBS, GAD and Panic Disorder and these things make the situation even worse because just *thinking* that maybe I'm being poisoned will bring on symptoms of a panic attack and I end up thinking these same symptoms are from being poisoned. Ok, I am dirt-poor and I don't have some huge life insurance policy. There is NO motive whatsoever for her to want to do me in and besides, she is a great wife and would give anyone the shirt of her back.
Like this evening, she called me to dinner and there were two salads sitting there on the kitchen table. She had already begun eating one of them and had left the other one on the edge of the table for me. I ate it but it tasted really spicey and hot and when I asked her what was in it, she paused for a few seconds and then said "oh, I added some pepper juice to it". I went ahead and finished it but within an hour or two I began to develop sharp pains on the left side of my neck and a prickly-type headache. I just did'nt feel right. Why?.
This has gone on for years now and meal-time has become a MAJOR hassle with my feeling like I can't get anything done because I constantly have to be out int he kitchen watching her every move, what she is touching, checking things in the fridge all the time to see if they were "tampered with" since the LAST time I checked them, watching her cook meals, etc. Often, I will outright ask her if she "put" something in my food and if she say's "of course not", then I'll demand that she taste it then. If she refuses or say's "I'm not hungry", then I'll get really suspicious and ask her what's wrong with it and refuse to eat it until she tastes it first. Usually, she takes it in stride but sometimes we argue over my paranoia and once she got really mad and would'nt speak to me all day.
I'm always asking her if she washed her hands, checking the soap to make sure she did and then grilling her about the exact manner she used while washing her hands. Then I'll demand to see under her nails to see if there is any dirt under them, etc. I tell you, I HATE being like this and I know good and well she certainly is NOT doing anything to my food but I am just consumed with this OCD that she is putting stuff in there when I'm not looking. We have eaten a LOT of separate meals and I have passed up some pretty good home-cooked meals because of this. I also can't eat meat because I used to work in a slaughterhouse and saw animals have their "privates" cut off with NO anesthesia whatsoever and people were shocking and beating and stabbing them and laughing about it, etc so between my refusal to eat meat and my fear of poisoning, meal time for me has become a total NIGHTMARE!!!.
Sorry this is so long but I've been really wanting to get this off of my chest for a l-o-n-g time. How would I even know if I was being poisoned and what signs would I watch for?. I must sound ridiculous but I can't help it. I am just nuts with this thing!!!.
Thank's everyone
Sometimes, I'll ask her "pointed" questions to try and trick her into revealing the truth and if she takes too long answering, I'll get REALLY suspicious and think she's hiding something. I suffer from OCD, IBS, GAD and Panic Disorder and these things make the situation even worse because just *thinking* that maybe I'm being poisoned will bring on symptoms of a panic attack and I end up thinking these same symptoms are from being poisoned. Ok, I am dirt-poor and I don't have some huge life insurance policy. There is NO motive whatsoever for her to want to do me in and besides, she is a great wife and would give anyone the shirt of her back.
Like this evening, she called me to dinner and there were two salads sitting there on the kitchen table. She had already begun eating one of them and had left the other one on the edge of the table for me. I ate it but it tasted really spicey and hot and when I asked her what was in it, she paused for a few seconds and then said "oh, I added some pepper juice to it". I went ahead and finished it but within an hour or two I began to develop sharp pains on the left side of my neck and a prickly-type headache. I just did'nt feel right. Why?.
This has gone on for years now and meal-time has become a MAJOR hassle with my feeling like I can't get anything done because I constantly have to be out int he kitchen watching her every move, what she is touching, checking things in the fridge all the time to see if they were "tampered with" since the LAST time I checked them, watching her cook meals, etc. Often, I will outright ask her if she "put" something in my food and if she say's "of course not", then I'll demand that she taste it then. If she refuses or say's "I'm not hungry", then I'll get really suspicious and ask her what's wrong with it and refuse to eat it until she tastes it first. Usually, she takes it in stride but sometimes we argue over my paranoia and once she got really mad and would'nt speak to me all day.
I'm always asking her if she washed her hands, checking the soap to make sure she did and then grilling her about the exact manner she used while washing her hands. Then I'll demand to see under her nails to see if there is any dirt under them, etc. I tell you, I HATE being like this and I know good and well she certainly is NOT doing anything to my food but I am just consumed with this OCD that she is putting stuff in there when I'm not looking. We have eaten a LOT of separate meals and I have passed up some pretty good home-cooked meals because of this. I also can't eat meat because I used to work in a slaughterhouse and saw animals have their "privates" cut off with NO anesthesia whatsoever and people were shocking and beating and stabbing them and laughing about it, etc so between my refusal to eat meat and my fear of poisoning, meal time for me has become a total NIGHTMARE!!!.
Sorry this is so long but I've been really wanting to get this off of my chest for a l-o-n-g time. How would I even know if I was being poisoned and what signs would I watch for?. I must sound ridiculous but I can't help it. I am just nuts with this thing!!!.
Thank's everyone
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Sunlover
06-02-2004, 10:49 AM
Sounds like a definite problem with paranoia. Have you seen a therapist? My mom's neighbor was just like you, with the food AND with things like she thought her husband was putting stuff in her shampoo! She got some help and medication and she was cured totally - this was years ago and she is just fine! Please see someone, that must be hell to live through day after day! :(
I have an OCD with every aspect of my health(different things at different times) and some days I feel like I am losing my mind, so I have SOME idea what this is like for you!
I have an OCD with every aspect of my health(different things at different times) and some days I feel like I am losing my mind, so I have SOME idea what this is like for you!
AdkLin
06-03-2004, 09:49 AM
Hi Cheese Man,
The only way to get over this fear (without medication for now) is to be WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK OF BEING POISONED. This is what they teach us in therapy with exposure exercises. Yous tart small but eating a little of the food you fear. Then when you get through that, you move on and eat a bit more of the feared food the next time around. In time you will get your brain used to taking the risk of being poisoned and then you will fear it less.
Also, I ask your logical part of the brain to realize that in all this time you have feared being poisoned by your wife, has it ever come true??? No. So what does that tell you? Think of the great food you have missed enjoying due to the LIES of OCD. DO you want to fight back and enjoy your food again? Then go to an OCD therapist. Check out: www.ocdhotline.com
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Medication will really be a big help to you. Wishing you all the best.
The only way to get over this fear (without medication for now) is to be WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK OF BEING POISONED. This is what they teach us in therapy with exposure exercises. Yous tart small but eating a little of the food you fear. Then when you get through that, you move on and eat a bit more of the feared food the next time around. In time you will get your brain used to taking the risk of being poisoned and then you will fear it less.
Also, I ask your logical part of the brain to realize that in all this time you have feared being poisoned by your wife, has it ever come true??? No. So what does that tell you? Think of the great food you have missed enjoying due to the LIES of OCD. DO you want to fight back and enjoy your food again? Then go to an OCD therapist. Check out: www.ocdhotline.com
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Medication will really be a big help to you. Wishing you all the best.
aprilmay
06-05-2004, 05:21 AM
yes I used to have this fear thinking that everyone was trying to poison me I used to make my mother take a bite of the food she had prepared before i took a bite and it hurt her feelings because she didn't understand, but eventually i got over that obsession
GinaAnn
06-05-2004, 06:31 AM
CheeseMan...I have the same exact problem...to a t!!! I agree 100% with Adklin...U must we willing to say OK ...whats the worst that can happen, I get poisoned...I'll feel sick and go to the hospital. You will free yourself if you can find a way to do this. OCD is very hard...I feel your pain. Gina
kalebnzekesmum
06-06-2004, 01:18 AM
yes. you're not the only one. i feel like that too. i've been with my husb for 4 years, and lately i've been feeling like he's "out to get me" or something. like that he's trying to poison me, or something. it's not just him i feel that way about though, i'm like that with everyone. i also think they talk about me, and have suspicious motives. i have ocd, gad and i have borderline personality disorder. my therapist says i might be suffering from schitzophrenic tendencies. i'm extremely paranoid about people and think they don't have good intentions. i constantly worry they're doing something to harm me or my kids. i get really nervous because my husb doesn't wash his hands like i think he should and it makes me think he contaminates stuff. in reality i know that people probably aren't doing things to harm me, but it doesn't stop me from obsessing that maybe they are. therapy is helping a little.
hope you start to feel better.
wishing you the best.
hope you start to feel better.
wishing you the best.

