Hi guys,
I am new here. Just a bit of introduction. I have OCD and am afraid of chemical that are too acidic and too basic, ie, any chemicals that are with very low pH and very high pH. I have fear that these chemicals will damage my belongings.
I worked unfortunately in an automotive industry as a design engineer. One of my co-worker that sit just behind me work in designing clock spring. Long story short, he sometimes deals with blowing up unused airbags. Airbags contain sodium azide, which after being blown off might leave some sodium metal particles (most of them have reacted into harmless salt, but regardless there is some sodouiuum metal left unreacted). Long story short sodium metal by itself is very dangerous. When it reacts with water, such as moisture in air, it becomes NaOH (sodium hydroxide) - things you found in drain cleaner.
Two months ago he found something interesting on the ground as he was blowing off airbags. He then left it on my table. That was when I went into panic mode. Now I feel that on my work table, there is NaOH. To make case worse, when he put that interesting badge on my table, I threw it away and wiped the table. I wore a new sweater when wiping the table and when I looked at it, I saw some irregularity. Granted it is a woven sweater and new, it could be because that was how it was. However my brain tricked me that it is from the NaOH that jumped onto me as I cleaned the table.
Long story short, I live in an apartment complex and they are going to come into my apartment and change the windows. I started putting everything into boxes and covered them with tarp.
Before I started cleaning up last Sunday, I took shower first. On the way out from the bathtub, while pulling the shower curtain. I had fear that I might touch a spot on shower curtain. This is the spot I usually pull when I jumped into shower after getting back from work. (I usually jump to shower once I am back from work, to clean up my body just in case there is NaOH on me).
So anyway last Sunday after shower, I had fear that I nmight touch that spot on shower curtain. But then I continue cleaning upt and puitting all my clothes into boxes etc while dripping wet. (I am afraid to wipe my body after shower).
So now I have anxiety. I feel that all my belongings have NaOH on it since I might touch that spot of shower curtain and as I was cleaning, water dripped onto my clothes.
I think this is just a venting. But if you guys have any advice, sayings or even "You are crazy, your fear does not make sense" remarks, I will be glad to hear them.