WHAT IF MY INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS ARE REAL?

Remember that intrusive thoughts tend to be at odds with people’s actual beliefs or values. So a person with an eating disorder may have intrusive thoughts about being overweight, even if they can agree, when looking at a number on a scale, that they’re not.

By the same token, a person with OCD may have intrusive thoughts about something bad happening because they’ve been contaminated by germs or particular items aren’t ordered in a certain way. And those thoughts may still bubble up even if that person can rationally say that nothing bad is likely to happen.

Sometimes, however, real-life events occur that can confuse matters. Such as when a pandemic breaks out, for example. Disease outbreaks are known to temporarily increase intrusive thoughts about illness and in the world we’ve lived in for the last two years, contamination of every available surface and air space is a legitimate concern.

So if you have intrusive thoughts about virus-contaminated surfaces or catching COVID, is it something to be concerned about? Prof Meredith Coles, director of the Binghamton Anxiety Clinic at Binghamton University, New York, ponders the question. “In some respects, I could argue that your anxiety should have been elevated in the last year or two – that you should have been having more intrusive thoughts,” she says, adding that a bit of anxiety may not be a bad thing if it motivates you to get vaccinated. “Does that mean you have OCD? Or does that mean you’re human and you’re going through a pandemic?”

We’ve certainly all been through a difficult time. But what about those of us who are already suffering from OCD.

Could COVID exacerbate the condition? One Italian study published in 2021 suggested that it could.

For the study, 742 people completed questionnaires and the respondents who scored highly on washing and contamination questions normally used in OCD diagnosis tended to perceive COVID as more dangerous. However, a high score for health anxiety (previously referred to as hypochondria) was more strongly associated with concern about COVID.

Coles reckons that as we pass the peak of the pandemic, we should see any rise in intrusive thoughts receding. We’re more resilient than we sometimes believe, she says. Though she does advise doing things to stay on top of our anxieties, such as seeking support from friends and family, and turning off the news once in a while.