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Mental Health HomepageConditions LibraryConditions CategoryConditions CategoryIs This OCD, or Just Normal Anxiety About the Pandemic
Table of Contents:Overview
OCDRead Time: 5 Minutes
Published On: May 5, 2021
Reviewed On: May 5, 2021
Updated On: November 3, 2023
OverviewOur Council of Experts are available each week to offer insight, guidance, and tips to answer your questions. Have a question for our therapists? Submit it to[email protected]Q: Ever since the pandemic started, and to this day, my husband seems to have developed an intense fear around getting COVID, and now he obsessively cleans everything. He Lysols our home almost daily, washes his hands constantly, and still refuses to take the subway or any public transit to work for fear of contracting COVID, even though the vaccine is here. Is thisOCD, or just normal anxiety about the pandemic? If it’s OCD, how can I help him? — Peter
Overview
Our Council of Experts are available each week to offer insight, guidance, and tips to answer your questions. Have a question for our therapists? Submit it to[email protected]
Q: Ever since the pandemic started, and to this day, my husband seems to have developed an intense fear around getting COVID, and now he obsessively cleans everything. He Lysols our home almost daily, washes his hands constantly, and still refuses to take the subway or any public transit to work for fear of contracting COVID, even though the vaccine is here. Is thisOCD, or just normal anxiety about the pandemic? If it’s OCD, how can I help him? — Peter
Hi Peter,
I can tell this has really been on your mind, and I am sure you are concerned about your husband. It would be difficult to know whether or not he is struggling withObsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)without conducting an actual psychological evaluation from a mental health professional.
In your husband’s case, wanting to keep things clean, and not wanting to take the subway are both completely understandable, given our current circumstances. If you can talk to your husband and help him rationalize why he doesn’t want to take the subway, or even get him to begin to think about when he is ready to do those things again, it will likely get better on its own.
–Reshawna
Ask a Therapistis for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental-health professional, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical ormental health condition. By submitting a question you are agreeing to let Talkspace use it. Full names will not be used. *In case of urgent issues, do not ask a question, call 1-800-273-8255 or go tohttps://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Reshawna ChappleDr. Reshawna Chapple, PhD, LCSW is a Therapist and Peer Consultant at Talkspace. She is a California born - Florida based Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Central Florida. Her areas of research, teaching and practice include the intersection of race, gender and ability, intimate partner violence and trauma recovery, and access to culturally responsive mental health treatment for Black women and Deaf women.
Dr. Reshawna Chapple, PhD, LCSW is a Therapist and Peer Consultant at Talkspace. She is a California born - Florida based Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Central Florida. Her areas of research, teaching and practice include the intersection of race, gender and ability, intimate partner violence and trauma recovery, and access to culturally responsive mental health treatment for Black women and Deaf women.
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