Are we all living this way or have I gone mad?!

[stardrops007]

Okay, so I'm not sure if I've just lost touch with normality here or if actually I'm living the "new normal"

Today was the first time in months that I met indoors with a friend (I know )

It was in the centre so I had to pay for parking, I found myself using a wipe to touch the parking meter.
Before entering the restaurant I sanitised my hands, once in the restaurant I sanitised my hands as I'd touched the chair before sitting down and became aware of possible contamination!

We then ordered a drink and I found myself sanitising again as I'd touched the glass.

We were there for two hours and I just couldn't stop sanitising.

I've come home and taken off all my clothes to wash them straight away.

My friend only sanitised before eating, but I noticed she'd touched the chair and other surfaces a lot!!!

Am I being OTT? Or is my friend quite relaxed?

You are being OTT and probably need some mental health support. HTH.

OP, give yourself a break from asking if you're being unreasonable.You are not.
I was talking to my GP last week and she said there's an influx of people who have never shown signs of OCD/fear of contamination but are now showing signs of it.
It's normal when a world wide pandemic is here and you're going out for the first time in months.
Do whatever makes you feel comfortable at the moment and continue going out living you're life, you may find it easier as the days go on and
try a day out that you don't need to alcohol rub your hands as much or bring your own cuterly.
It's a though one and nobody should judge you for feeling this way.

You took your own knife and fork?!
No not normal at all. Way OTT

I was a bit like this to begin with but I've relaxed a lot. I still wipe things like trolley handles, wash and sanitise my hands regularly etc.

At one point I was putting clothes straight in to the washing machine after work and getting straight in to the shower, then putting gloves on to disinfect anything I had touched eg door handle, washing machine buttons, shower screen. In my defence, social distancing is impossible in my job and we don't use any PPE.

At some universities they are telling the (self catering) first years they have to bring their own knife and fork to the dining hall.

Yes OTT. I try and avoid touching my face etc when I'm out rather than sanitising constantly. I tend to sanitise when I get back in the car if I've been to a shop, and always wash my hands well when I get home from anywhere.

I think it will get better when you go out more often. I was quite conscious of sanitizing my hands before but now that I have been going out more often, I am more relaxed.

You took your own knife and fork ??

Anyone remember that film, "As good as it gets" with Jack Nicolson. He takes his own cutlery to the cafe every day and won't touch the door handles. OP is like that only she doesn't avoid all the lines in the pavement...as far as we know!

This. A hundred times THIS.

OP if you really can only function in the outside world with that level of sanitisation I am truly worried for you.

@MummaGiles

This. A hundred times THIS.

OP if you really can only function in the outside world with that level of sanitisation I am truly worried for you.

That was supposed to quote a comment above saying taking your own knife and fork was OTT

There's no point taking a knife & fork if you are going to go to a restaurant and eat their food. All it takes is for an employee to report their symptoms too late.....or not have any symptoms at all despite being contagious. Also, it's indoors - it can spread rapidly in indoor spaces.

You're better off inviting each other for dinner or going out for a picnic. Restaurant going is nice, but is not a necessity.

I think this is OTT but as others have said you may relax a bit as you go out more. The most likely way of catching Covid is directly from another person i.e. they cough/sneeze on you or you’re too close to them when they’re talking and it passes to you from the droplets we all expel when we’re talking. While the virus can survive quite well on surfaces in lab conditions in the real world it’s unlikely to stay on surfaces in high enough concentrations, for long enough to pose a real threat.

It’s understandable that restaurants are doing things like having paper menus, loads of cleaning etc but there’s a part of that which is over emphasised to make us all feel safer as it’s something that can be easier controlled - there was a great article in the New York Times a month or so ago about “hygiene theatre” to describe some of the extreme measures that places are going to to try and make people feel safe (they’ve been shutting down the New York subway every night to spray it all with disinfectant) but there is little to no evidence of people actually picking it up from surfaces, in the majority of cases it’s tracked back to a person. You can be in the most sterile environment but it doesn’t matter if one infected person gets too close or doesn’t take the basic precautions of washing their hands, covering their mouth and staying 2m away. As human beings we’re not used to being a threat to one another (in most cases) so our brains find it easier to cope with focusing on the environment around us.

People are also obsessed with bloody hand sanitizer - people washing their hands and then putting it on top as if it’s some kind of protective barrier. It’s not, it’s meant to be used when you don’t have access to hot water and soap but people seem to think that it’s a superior prevention method to scrubbing your hands properly.

I used to have OCD.
I now only sanitise before eating and after touching 'heavy use' things such as petrol pumps, lifts - exactly as I would of pre covid. No change of clothes.
When I was in the grips of OCD I did sanitise after touching anything basically and would change clothes after having to sit in the Dr or public transport etc. In the nicest way I'd consider seeking help if you can't stop this extreme behaviour without it causing you significant stress.

That is OTT. I wash my hands several times a day, sanitise when handwash isn't available. However, I don't do after each time I touch an object! I try not to touch my face.

Not everyone who takes precautions against Covid has OCD!!!

You used hand gel a few times and then showered. That is perfectly reasonable during a pandemic.

If you started to be occupied with anxieties about germs that interfered with your life and were so upset by the thought of germs that you found it difficult to enjoy life then you might have OCD with a contamination obsession but what you have is a slightly over-inflated sense of risk!

IF the chair in the café had Covid on then it would be very reasonable to gel after touching it. So you were basing your hand gel use on the assumption that it might have it on.

The likelihood is that the seat did not have Covid on.

However the government are requiring cafes and restaurants to clean seating and tables between customers so it is a reasonable precaution to take.

People are way to quick to try to diagnose a complex and serious mental disorder, for behaviours, which are rational and logical in this context.

You do what you feel comfortable with. It’s your first time meeting someone indoors and that’s quite stressful. If sanitising helps thats fine, equally if you feel you’re becoming obsessive then it could become a problem.

It’s about balance really I think

I mean *way too quick, not way to quick.

I took my own knife and fork!

I mean this in the nicest way possible....but you need to get a grip.

You have no idea what was going on with the chefs and the kitchen etc, waaaaaay over the top, did you sanitize the plate?

By the way whether ott or not there is a weird thread running through here of people who seem to have forgotten there's a pandemic, in particular the 'how long are you planning on doing this for?' people or the 'we need germs' people.

I am the same as your friend. I would say you are a bit ott

And yet I caught it last Saturday doing necessary grocery shopping, with a mask. But an old cunt decided to cough in the queue to pay, without his mask. I am sure that shitstain had a great excuse for not wearing it, obviously..

I was on the verge of calling it a day with the sanitising shopping thing, then I witnessed exactly this. An old git with no mask actually coughing on to the food on the shelves! I mean wtf! He didn't even bother to cover his mouth. I haven't got OCD but this prick made me think wow! Where has he been living the last few months?! He prob lets his dog shit everywhere too and doesn't bother bagging it, or he bags it and leaves it hanging in a tree.

I've had a bad day sorry..

Every time I think I can stop washing my shopping I see someone do something like coughing or wiping their nose then raking through the bacon!

Apparently hand sanitiser loses its effectiveness after 4 uses in a row. It’s winding me up that if I go to a shopping centre every single shop expects us to sanitise our hands.